Georgia Senate Candidate Mike Collins Criticizes Foreign Truckers Over Road Safety—While His Own Fleet Faces Violations and Fatal Crashes

Georgia Congressman Mike Collins, a Republican candidate for one of the most competitive U.S. Senate seats, has made road safety a central campaign issue—particularly targeting noncitizen commercial drivers. In April, Collins posted on Facebook,

‘If you can’t read English road signs, you don’t belong behind the wheel. Period.’

Collins, who owns a trucking business and serves on the U.S. House Transportation Committee, has been a vocal advocate for the Trump administration’s effort to revoke commercial driver’s licenses from nearly 200,000 noncitizen truckers. The administration has moved forward with the policy despite its own officials acknowledging no empirical evidence linking foreign truckers to higher crash rates than American drivers.

Meanwhile, Collins has opposed federal safety regulations that experts say could significantly reduce severe crashes—rules that would have required his family’s trucking business to invest in critical safety upgrades for its fleet.

Collins’ Trucking Business Faces Decades of Safety Violations and Fatal Crashes

Over the past 25 years, crashes involving truckers from Collins’ business have resulted in five fatalities and more than 50 injuries, according to federal data, court filings, police records, and plaintiffs’ attorneys. One crash left a woman with severe brain damage, requiring 24-hour care. Victims in these incidents have reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses, though the exact payouts remain undisclosed due to confidential settlements—a common practice in such lawsuits. Court documents from one case indicate a $1 million settlement was reached through the business’s insurer. Collins’ company has denied any wrongdoing in these incidents.

ProPublica Analysis: Collins’ Fleet Has Higher Violation Rates Than Most Competitors

An analysis of federal motor vehicle data by ProPublica found that Collins’ trucking business has a higher rate of unsafe driving and speeding violations per mile compared to the majority of similar companies with comparable mileage. While the company’s overall crash rate aligns with the median for similar businesses, its injury rate from crashes ranks in the top 20%.

Safety Experts Advocate for Technologies Collins Opposes

Safety advocates argue that technologies such as speed-limiting devices and automatic emergency braking systems on semitrucks could drastically reduce the severity of crashes. These systems are opposed by Collins, despite their proven effectiveness in preventing injuries and fatalities. Notably, the American Trucking Associations—a trade group Collins’ family business is a member of—supports the adoption of such safety measures.