Texas lawmakers have proposed a new bill that will require truck drivers to learn the signs of human trafficking.
Politicians and anti-trafficking organizations believe that truckers are in an excellent position to observe and report human trafficking.
“The thing with truckers is they’re carrying their beds with them,” said Natalie Garnett, the Assistant National Coordinator at anti-trafficking organization Unbound. “Traffickers usually take victims around truck stops because there’s a plethora of possible buyers and customers.”
The organization Truckers Against Trafficking says since they started training professional drivers on the signs of trafficking, truckers have made over 1500 calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which has led to more than 1,000 rescues.
Because of the results of Truckers Against Trafficking’s program and other similar organizations, lawmakers in Texas have proposed Senate Bill 128, which will require all drivers applying for a commercial drivers license to take a course on human trafficking.
Watch the news coverage from KWTX-10 in Waco, Texas, below.