Bill continues to advance adding human trafficking prevention training for Hoosier truckers

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHI) – A bill continues to advance that adds a human trafficking training requirement for Hoosiers pursuing their commercial driver's licenses.

Tuesday morning, the Senate Homeland Security and Transportation Committee unanimously passed House Bill 1196. The legislation aims to inform truck drivers of the signs of human trafficking. Under it, drivers would watch a 30-minute video about identifying, preventing, and reporting human trafficking.

Those who undergo the training would not be under a legal obligation to intervene; however, advocates say after watching the video, drivers may feel called to take action.

“You learn things that you never had any idea existed, with regard to the fact that, you know, it's always been like ‘that happens in other countries and that happens in other places, it happens right here,” said Gary Langston, President of the Indiana Motor Truck Association.

Advocates hope the bill would disrupt human trafficking in the state. According to the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault & Human Trafficking, more than 1,700 calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline since 2007 have been about Indiana Victims.

Karen Maher, Director of Anti-Trafficking Initiatives at ICESAHT, told the committee that Indiana is susceptible to human trafficking as the Crossroads of America with its major highways and interstates. She said the more people who are educated, the better.

“There's just a whole host of ways they may come across these individuals that maybe no one else is reporting it,” said Maher.

To reporting human trafficking concerns, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1 (888) 373-7888. Concerns individuals can also report tips online.