While testifying in front of Congress about multiple different transportation priorities, the head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) admitted that they’re having trouble finding enough military veterans to fill their under-21 military pilot program. But what seems like a failure of common sense may actually have been a deliberate bait and switch.
On June 19th, the Senate Commerce Committee called on multiple agencies within the DOT to speak about safety issues. FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez was one of those called. During his time, Martinez admitted that the under-21 military pilot program is finding that there is a distinct lack of qualified candidates.
As Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) put it, that may be because anyone with relevant driving experience and an honorable discharge from the military is “probably already eligible to drive across state lines.”
“I understand that, and it’s one of the challenges of the pilot program,” Martinez responded according to Freightwaves.
Martinez admitted that the under-21 military pilot program will likely fall short of the 200-participant goal needed to gather enough data to make a determination about the safety of under-21 truckers. But the FMCSA is currently pushing a new rule that’s almost identical except in one very important way: The applicants don’t need to have military experience.
Large carriers represented by the American Trucking Association (ATA) have been pushing for the interstate driving age to be lowered to 18+ for a long time with no success. But by allowing for a pilot program marketed as providing job transition for military veterans, the FMCSA may have opened the door just enough for the ATA to get the foothold it needs.
Because of the ‘failure’ of the under-21 military pilot program, it will likely be much easier for the FMCSA and the ATA to push through an under-21 pilot program for drivers in general. In fact, there’s already one in the works.
Source: freightwaves, FMCSA, Truckersreport, Truckersreport
Image: FMCSA
L.A. Draper says
The ATA campaign began when it lied about a major shortage of drivers. Figures from the feds prove there wasn’t a driver shortage. The ATA wants more people that will accept low wages.
Francis says
Good perspective. You’ve probably nailed that one!
Glenn Helmly says
The ATA will hugely regret this when they see the work or lack there of they will get from the average 18-21 year old in today’s world… sadly to say, but all you got to do is walk into your local fast food business and try to order without one of their phones ringing or having to hammer out a text all while screwing up to hold the mayo on my samich! Accidents and lack of service will go through the roof and will ultimately frustrate what few older drivers they have left…. IMO
Scott says
Calm down grandpa. Your generation wasn’t any better.
Isabella Kirby says
My generation WAS and IS better. We started when the regulators allowed us to think for ourselves. We didn’t need a phone 24/7. We were more courteous on the road and cared about the drivers who were stuck on the side of the road.
AND the CB wasn’t filled with foulmouthed, disrespectful creeps. When a woman was talking, the men didn’t call her nasty names. If they did, quite a few folk dressed that creep down and they stayed quiet.
So yeah, my generation was better!
Roni says
That is exactly what Glen is talking about LACK OF RESPECT! What Glen is expressing is the fact 18-21 year olds are lacking in public service. Perhaps you don’t recognize it because you are a contributor. You are not mentally old enough to refrain from coming back at Glen with a smart aleck retaliatory answer. Therefore, you are a legend in your own mind who will absolutely be a menace regardless of your employment. It takes a mentally functioning person to operate a tractor-trailer. Judging from your answer to Mr. Glen , my advice to you is to avoid trucking by all measures.
Jim says
….and then there are the idiots who created all the big problems to start with ……..working 100 hour weeks for crap pay, making owners filthy-rich because they have a “work ethic”
max says
It costs companies less money to pay a few lobbyists and politicians than to pay their drivers a decent wage.
Edwaed Johnson says
And that’s the bottom line. Get military personnel. They don’t need to go to College to better themselves for this world we live in . We always pay them low wages and profit from them. Never mind these men and women went in at an early age and have not establish themselves in society. Never mind how we got to having fewer drivers today. Let’s just keep using and abusing people.
Cliff says
It was a bait and switch. Most veterans, except severely injured ones sent home early, are over 21 when they leave the service. Many enlistments are 3 or more years.
Glenn Helmly says
Come on now, no one expects Congress men and women to under simple mathematics and god forbid them to knowing anyone who would actually stoop so low as to serve our country and enlist, so they wouldn’t have any idea that you would need to be 18! Plus 3 makes …. 🤔🤷🏼♂️
Jeffrey says
Going to be hard to make that one work. Any contacts for the military are 4 years active. 4 years Reserve. Doing the simple math. Join at 18 out when 22.
I am retired military. Did trucking for awhile. Great traveling. Even more B. S. than the military.
A C Deck says
I am also former military who tried driving for a few years after discharge. Military is better. Jeffrey has explained why this “under 21 former military” idea is stupid. Most if not all enlistment contracts are for 4 years. Do the math.
john baran says
18 years old is to young for this kind of responsibility. They don’t have enough driving experience to fully understand the dangers and hazards of this kind of work. Think drinking age lowered to 18. Remember that?
Cris Lazar says
ATA, is nothing more than a common thug, fighting for years to push ouy the Owner/ Operator. They were The loudest voice out there to push the ELD Mandate. I hope they lose their voice on this under 21 scheme!
Cris Lazar says
Out*
TexasJester says
ATA was the voice behind the speed lolimit, as well as the “driver shortage”. It’s all greed.
TexasJester says
^limit, not “lolimit”!
Roni says
There is no driver shortage.! The mega companies want young men and women who have no families to support and will be satisfied with a lower mileage pay. The seasoned drivers on the other hand expect more pay due to family expenses, etc. Claiming a driver shortage is simply a preface to drivers who will accompany a robot for a lower salary. The loss of jobs will be astronomical for drivers, and the mega companies win again.
Andrew says
I agree ☝️
Marty says
There’s no shortage drivers. Larger companies do not want to pay deserving wages to their seasoned drivers. Instead they would prefer to have younger inexperienced drivers out on the road that they can manipulate into believing that they can make thousands each week. Once they get them in and on the road, they’re not making what was promised and then they end up quitting. These vacancys they use as their justification for a “shortage of drivers”. Most eighteen-year-olds are not experienced enough to drive a regular vehicle safely and should not be behind the wheel with 80, 000 lbs.
If companies stepped up and paid season drivers what they deserve, maintain their equipment, and ensure the trucks have proper & legal weight loads, there wouldn’t be a problem.
Marty says
In addition, there are plenty of owner-operators out there who are willing and ready to work.
Daniel Henry says
Umm vets are going to be over 21… Earliest u can get out of contract is at 3 year mark so if they recruit hard enough Matty find a 20 year old…
Francis says
Having drivers under age 21 is ridiculous. These kids may not have the skills to even driver a 4 wheeler. The recruitment for that age should be in rural America in the farms. That’s the most driving experience for large equipment since those kids have probably contributed on the farms
Jerry says
I started at 18 being Canadian. Was trained properly and supervised and no accidents in 35 years. With on-board computers that monitor just about everything these days on exactly how the truck drivers are driving the truck I don’t see a problem other then the obvious….many fleets will hire and use a foot to the floor dare devil type just because they want the freight moved and are willing to roll the dice.
Mack says
Jerry, the on board computers, sensors and what not, did not prevent that driver of a truck in Saskatchewan plowing into those kids’ bus and killing 18 of them. I’ve been driving big rigs all over Canada and the USA for the last 23 years. Things were getting better in the late 90s and the 2000’s, but the last few years have erased all of the truck safety accomplishements of the past. Now I can’t write here why that is, but if you drive here in Ontario, you know. Look at the stats. 48 percent of truck drivers in Ontario are from a certain part of the world that does not have a deep, inbedded drivibg culture. Enough said.
Keith says
Typical corporate/government scam…
Ed says
If demand for drivers is so great, why are driver wages stagnant? This is another effort by the ATA, on behalf of large carriers, to keep driver wages low. It’s simple economics, increase driver pay and the fake driver shortage will disappear. This is the only job where hard working people can’t make a living in a 40 hour work week!
Inanyminet says
A majority of these New Millennial CDL Holders cannot drive as it is and they are on the average 25 years old, what they think will happen when they put 18 and 19 year olds behind the wheel. ATA is quick to open their mouth with absurd suggestions yet I’ll bet you my last paycheck that they will not be so quick to accept responsibility when these same 18 and 19 year olds drive an 18 wheeler over several cars, killing people because they are driving like its their car and abuse the power behind of a 18 wheeler.
Jeff says
Well it’s like I’ve always said ATA is totally against the truck drivers And always has been supposed to be for us and help make this country run smooth all they want is more restrictions more and more they changed her tune really quick when the FMCSA done their studies and found that E-logs are not safer which most of us truckers try to tell them that years ago now they’re walking around with egg on her face 😜😂 and I love it.
Andrew H says
Kids can’t get off their phones. Heck insurance companies don’t start lowering rates on people until they’re at least 24. There’s a scientific study on that, saying that the human brain (rational portion) doesn’t fully mature until around 25.
Tom says
I don’t think you will find any Vets that are under 21. Most vets are older than that!! LoL
I wonder who thought of this well thought out plan??
Nuck says
Let them drive enjoy the travel fine accommodations and great pay.
Wally says
Haha! I don’t know if this is a joke, but I found it funny. My opinion on 18 year olds driving is that they will miss out on friends and family in a very important time of their life. This is the time to go to college, learn a trade, start a family, etc. NOT help some cheap, needy, predatory trucking company and enter a field that has more deaths per capita than any other type of employment in the US.
James rollins says
I have been trucking for 32 years its all greed they just dont want to pay us what we deserved all along. Trying to use the driver shortage exscuse so they can line thier pockets like they always have.
Lenwood Richardson says
Has anyone noticed that most of the problems in this industry are caused by the “so called ” experts at the big companies.
Eventually thay are just going to announce that the true goal of the ATA is to enslave all drivers to them.
Most of them go to bed at night with a picture of an self driving truck under their pillows, and dream of a day when thay do not have to put up with a man or woman that demands to get paid for a service provided.
Douglas Kirk says
Age alone is hardly a determining factor. I started at 18 and never had a problem, but I never had the NASCAR cowboy mentality. I don’t care who gets to the top of the hill first, or how much horsepower your truck has vs mine, or what transmission you have. A truck is nothing more than a tool for getting a job done. Beyond that it’s just an expensive piece of metal
Danilo Gonzalez says
Amen
Michael Orourke says
I am a Washington DC politician I am on drugs
shogun says
The FMCSA couldn’t find their butts with both hands. I bet Administrator Ramirez could find some applicants at a bar since he has two DUI’s. He’s all about safety,( hiccup, belch).
Jeff says
😂😜😊 I love that shogun well you know they’re all crooks if FMCSA, ATA all the same boat along with mega carriers which I think needs to be put in her spot and drivers stand there ground and quit going to the mega companies that railroad drivers I don’t give the many miles to live on but advertise it I.E. Roadrunner transportation they’ve already been in trouble once by the government that I know of are used to work for one of our companies which was a good company and advertised mandatory 3000 miles a week but couldn’t get them
sonny Pruitt says
The law of supply and demand contradicts any driver shortage as evidenced by the stagnant wages in the trucking industry. When supply is short and demand is high the price goes up. Duuuhhh.I was watching b.j and the bear a while back and he was getting 1.10 per mile as an owner operator back then, in the 80s.if rates kept pace with inflation owner operators should be getting 10.00/mile,but they’re not because the market is saturated,not facing any shortage. Must be some kind of ploy to hand cdls out to illegals with no training or experience is all I can figure.
Mark says
Hmm … under 21 and already out of the military? THAT shows commitment. Remember- ya get what ya pay for
Wally says
I love this is going on, out in the open, and no one in the general public cares, AT ALL. Is there even anyone left to stop this kind of thing that common sense tells you is bad idea? Next it will be 16 year olds. Who is to stop them? So in 5 years, after all the semi truck wrecks start piling up and our reputations take another hit, the laws will change and at the same time our cost of insurance will skyrocket. One more cost to put O/Os out of business. That’s the end game. The ATA wants the entire trucking industry to be so costly, that only the major carriers can survive. Who is to stop them? 15 commenters on the truckers report? Ha! What a racket, the trucking industry is! What a racket!
ziff says
The real solution is to stop letting mega carriers self insuring. That way they are far closer to the reality of small fleets and they couldn’t afford to run $1 a mile freight because they are saving $800-1000 a month on insurance per truck. Most of them pay out of pocket for anything under 100k so even with 100 trucks your saving money just going one month without a major accident. With swifts 15k trucks they would need 15 major accidents a month before it stops being in their favor to self insure and probably more given their low experience average for the fleet which would bump their average rate up.
J W Bukowski says
I have been driving commercial Vechile in Texas since the age of 16.
Was one the first to get a CDL when it came to that. So yes I have been around commercial vehicles over five decades.
Not real sure I want drivers under 21 crossing state lines. But there a hundreds driving in Texas. Don’t see a real high accident rate with them.
I would prefer a under 21 driver to the other choice. Driverless/computer operated 18 wheelers. We have to make a choice. Young drivers or automated drivers. With the population grow also comes the demand for product. It doesn’t get from the field or plant to market without trucks.
Do you really want to see non human drivers in an eighteen wheeler? So far the only law they have changed in FMC book is not all drivers are human. That tells me money is pushing for the non human drivers not safety.
Kurt says
All this isn’t going to happen military is a much better paying job than working for one of these Mega carriers nowadays I researched all this back in 2009 while applying for a military Advocate position with California EDD. You’re much better off staying in the military nowadays then driving a truck. That would even inclued E2 over 1 if you were on reserve status. It’s not like when I was in the Navy was just not a job it was a $90 a month job nowadays you make a living wage in you do not die.
Chris says
If I was 21 I certainly wouldn’t be looking to get into trucking. That’s actually the age when I started trucking in 1981 and it’s been down hill pretty much ever since. Stagnant wages over regulation, etc……….. I will never recommend the trucking industry to anyone. On my way out prematurely at 59 come new year 2020.
John brueckman says
The same brainacks are making up our HOS.31 yrs I’m getting out this is just getting to stupid for me.
Kenny says
You have people running the show with no true insight. Have they ever driven a truck, but they make all the rules. Really people a pilot program? What I smell is corporate America recruiting cheap labor like our military who sadly either die at a young age or come back wounded. How many 18-21 will die behind the wheel along with innocent other people on the road. The number of deaths will surely increase
I’m a veteran and proud to be an American but 18 year olds have no business driving a 40 ton truck.
Reasons…
1). They want to party and get drunk
-military will babysit those individuals
2). Not enough years screwing up on the road, no less making a stupid mistake with 40 tons of metal
3). Time management is crucial. Mommy ain’t shaken Jonny to get the up and start rolling down the highway at 3AM in the morning
4). Children as they still are need time development into a career. They need to flip bugers first, then the military then some other career before they jump head on first into trucking.
5). There are multiple things going on and it may be too overwhelming and mistake here verses mistakes at McDonalds hold an entirely different weight
5). Military can train anybody to be brain washed but military recruits are in constant supervision not so in trucking
6). Drivers are in charge of delivering safely and weather/accident barring here. The driver is in full control after he is dispatched and knowing your truck, your planning and time management is critical.
The question should be surveyed throughout America if we want our 18 youths driving a truck. With all due respect, not the people pulling the strings right now.
walter l mcclain says
Their many many job’s , other than driving a truck , just need to use alittle moore brainpower . I drove a truck for many years was a owner operator , owned five truck’s , iam so happy to be retired , and out of this industry . Their is a change comming in this country , a major change of power , not only in this country , but around the world , the powers that be , will be no moore . Any kingdom devided , can not stand .
Juan Robledo says
Well if this program is seeking 21 and younger veterans for under age truck driving then it’s going to get worse these veterans they’re seeking are better off in the military then driving for low wages, stuck out on the road for days, and being miserable, not going anywhere great
Laurie says
I remember how I was at age 18. I was irresponsible and crazy behind the wheel, and I thought I was immortal. I drove every car like I was on the Indianapolis speedway, and this was all BEFORE every teen had a phone attached to their ear 24/7. I am terrified by the idea of having clueless kids like this behind the wheel of a 40 ton machine that takes concentration and dedication to control safely. But that’s what you’ll get when the only thing that matters is money.