With major carriers still struggling to hire and keep enough drivers in their trucks, the fight to allow younger drivers behind the wheel has been brewing for some time. Now, the first blow has been struck.
Acting as mandated by the FAST Act, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed a three-year pilot program which would allow 18-21 year-olds to operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce.
There are a few stipulations for the pilot program however. Not everyone between the ages of 18 and 21 will be able to start driving OTR. Only a limited number of people will be given permission to be part of the pilot program, and only those who have received heavy-vehicle training while in military service will be eligible. The drivers must also be sponsored and employed by participating carriers.
The goal of the pilot program is to compare the performance of these younger drivers with the performance of a group of older drivers to see if the age of a driver is a factor in safety.
Already, critics of the program are pointing out that a 20-year-old with military training and experience operating CMVs is hardly the same as an 18-year-old fresh out of high school with only a few weeks of CDL training under their belt. If the veteran is able to drive safely, it does not mean the 18-year-old isn’t going to cause accidents.
The FMCSA is currently seeking public input on the proposed program for 30 days. You can read the full notice here and leave a comment on the program here.
Source: gobytrucknews, truckinginfo, overdrive, federalregister
Rutro says
Yeah, this is a great idea. Bad enough I watch guys coming out of school, and they act like they know everything. I see no pre trips being done, speeding through toad work zones passing when it is not allowed. This is a great idea. I think the director of the FMCSA should put his family in one of these trucks with a recent graduate and tell them to be safe. What a crock!!
Rutro says
Road work zones is what I meant.
Shoshi says
Oh yeah! Fresh from High school into trucks! Buckets of hormones on the loose! Then when somethkng nad halpen, make the trucking industry look bad! What a great idea!
Shoshi says
I meant, when something bad happened to blame the trucking industry. Sorry for the typos.
Wesley Cory says
Get ready for more crashes and deaths and people pointing fingers screaming ALL truck drivers are killers on wheels if this goes through.
John says
There is a reason that companies cant keep good Drivers. Experience cost money. You get what you pay for. Unfortunately our industry pays for the mistakes of people sitting behind a desk.
T.Ward says
Amen preach
Steve palmieri says
The reason they can’t find drivers is simple. The big companies don’t want to pay a decent wage. So the only ones dumb enough to drive for peanuts would be kids.
Will says
Right on. Give us decent pay, maybe some real benefits, and we wouldn’t have a shortage of srivers. We’ve gone from being upper middle class to barely above poverty level in 15 years.
Vinnie says
If companies treated drivers with respect and pay they would have drivers. Getting younger and dumber drivers is not a smart idea but this is the big companies pushing it of course they want cheap labor . And they wonder why driver retention is way down . Common sense is not very common in the trucking industry or the White House ,!!!
Gonzalo says
Pay checks is a big factor on truck driver shortage. Warner, swift, etc. just don’t pay enough for a expirence driver to work for them. You sacrifice your personal life to be on the road and you get paid less than a local fuel driver. I did my part got the expirence and moved to a local better paid job home every day. Why would I want to get paid less and be OTR with one of the mill carriers? There’s no driver shortage there’s greed at corporate level that’s all. If they would pay more, they would have more expirence drivers staying with them after the year mark.
Mark. Smith says
No amount of schooling can replace REAL experience . I got trained in the Air Force on heavy equipment ( tractors, trailers, loaders, etc) on road & off road. Then I got paid to operate them for 4 years for the Air Force . I got out of the Air Force in 1979 & now have over 3,000,000 safe miles . No company would even consider my ” military experience” when I got out of the Air Force so I’ve had some crappy driving jobs . If they’re good enough to drive a military tractor trailer , they’re good enough to drive a civilian one!!
ynp says
if the big companies get this rammed through, I can almost guarantee that the crappy rates we’re getting now will get even worse.