After the FMCSA dropped the minimum behind-the-wheel driving hours requirement from the final entry-level driver training rule, the industry registered its surprise. Now however, safety advocates and industry groups are hitting back, demanding that the FMCSA add minimum BTW requirements back in.
In each iteration of the proposed rule up until the final rule was published, new drivers were required to spend at least a small number of hours behind the wheel before they were eligible to earn their CDL. That requirement was removed entirely from the final rule.
Driver and safety groups claim that losing the minimum BTW requirements will allow unprepared, undertrained, and unsafe drivers on the road.
The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Truck Safety Coalition, and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways all signed a letter to the FMCSA, petitioning them to reinstate the BTW hours minimum.
According to the petitioners, passing a skills test where a driver has to demonstrate their ability to do specific tasks does not prove that they’re ready to safely operate a truck in real-world situations.
The petitioners point out that the driver training rule was supposed to ensure that new drivers actually have the skills to operate safely, but “instead, the Final Rule does nothing more than ensure that future CDL candidates will acquire only the most rudimentary skill set needed to pass the most basic of maneuvering tests, as has always been the case…”
Carrier advocacy groups like the ATA voiced their approval of removing behind-the-wheel training requirements. The ATA called the change “a victory for common sense,” claiming that not every driver needs to spend the same amount of time learning how to drive.
OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer weighed in on the issue with Heavy Duty Trucking saying “It’s absurd that the required amount of hours behind the wheel training is zero. Hairdressers and barbers have a minimum. Pilots have a minimum. It’s totally insulting to professional truckers that have dedicated their lives to driving safely and sharing the highways with others.”
Source: FMCSA, truckinginfo, fleetowner, overdrive, truckersreport
Edward says
This industry just amazes me at times. Whine and cry about too much government. Then complain when the government doesn’t do enough. Maybe, if the industry as a whole, as implied in this article, thought minimum standards are needed, we could impose them ourselves. We don’t need government to force is to do what we already think should be done. We can take care of ourselves if we would.
Roady304 says
If these big companies that train on the job had some ethics, we would not need the goverment.
Victor T Nolasco says
I Totally agree with you !! My training at prime was very deficient and trainers ( had 3 ) had no idea how to train with no sistem or knowledge of how to transfer their expirience to a new Driver the first one said guess what? You are driving and it will be the same if you kill me awake or my sleep. I’m going to sleep. To make my story short I kept my self on taining for 6 Months without hearing any advice got tire and end up teching my self.
Yankee says
Minimum standards cost money. You don’t actually expect companies to waste money on actually training their drivers. All they want is a warm body in the seat. Since when was safety anything but a phrase to keep the doors open. Welcome to new world of drivers where ignorance is bliss and incompetence the norm.
Reno Blues says
Six years ago the school I attended pushed me through after 8 weekends. I could only do half days on Sunday’s. So I had like 52 hours at the school. I drove the DMV test course for a couple hours and then took my test at the DMV. The next day I’m behind the wheel running a load all alone thinking “What did I get myself into?” Luckily six years later and nobodies been hurt, but that first couple weeks alone was dangerous.
Ray1547 says
When I went to school in 2012 a total of 120 hrs was required of which 115 was spent in an extremely boring classroom. OUT of the remaining 5 hrs spent behind the wheel less than 30 minutes was spent learning how to park/back up. Totally inadequate. This was via CRSTs school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Andrew H says
Thankfully I grew up disciplined so I have a head that is screwed on correctly. But my experience as being a new driver, involved only 3 weeks, yes, 3 weeks of school. 2 hitting the books, and 1 on the road, which 2 of those 5 days was actually on the road, the other 3 was in the yard hitting cones.
Just the bare essentials to get the license is all. I still knew nothing about trucking at this point except shifting gears and going forward or straight line back. I went to Werner after that which at the time had a really great training program (they’ve been slacking as of late) so I did learn more, but their requirement was 240 hours behind the wheel. Which at 70 hours a week, that’s barely 3 more weeks.
Mark B. says
My company trains for eight weeks anyone that has less than one year of continuous solo experience. But, yeah the danger is, someone that can afford their own truck can just pass the CDL test and hit the road. 80,000 pound of screaming death.
Karen says
You’re all idiots if you don’t think someone needs a certain amount of time behind the wheel before they get a cdl! You would be the same bunch of people screaming to the heavens when a driver that hadn’t had much training at all has an accident with your loved ones. Use some common sense would you.
Luis says
You know instead of putting minimum hr on the students,give the trainer final authority when the students are ready after all there the ones who would know when the students ready to drive,also fmcsa what’s the driver’s to police the company,and yet there no labor laws to protect the driver’s.the big three major carriers constantly ask drivers to go on line 4 on duty but not driving.case in point trainer are required to do 67 hours of observation but not pay for it at one of the major carriers.wouldn’t be nice if drivers were compensated for any time they were on line 4 on duty but not driving,fmcsa should put this into law in there hos rule. Thank
Sandy says
When I took my course to get my CDL, my course was a joke-mind you this is about 20 yrs ago-When I “graduated ” I didn’t know how to back up a trk-their philosophy was it’s only 10% of your job, you will catch on out there-, I didn’t know how to do a legal logbook and knew nothing about sliding tandems, and I only had 10 hrs btw training. Thanks to being able to run team I did eventually learn how to do these things but it amazed me how a school could charge $3000 and get that sort of training. Thank God that school no longer exists. Running around a parking lot is nothing compared to being on a real rd w/other vehicles and pedestrians. If you have to stop in a parking lot while learning how to drive a trk all u might hit is a cone, in the real world lives matter
Sandy says
When I took my course to get my CDL, my course was a joke-mind you this is about 20 yrs ago-When I “graduated ” I didn’t know how to back up a trk-their philosophy was it’s only 10% of your job, you will catch on out there-, I didn’t know how to do a legal logbook and knew nothing about sliding tandems, and I only had 10 hrs btw training. Thanks to being able to run team I did eventually learn how to do these things but it amazed me how a school could charge $3000 and get that sort of training. Thank God that school no longer exists. Running around a parking lot is nothing compared to being on a real rd w/other vehicles and pedestrians. If you have to stop in a parking lot while learning how to drive a trk all u might hit is a cone not a human being
Howard says
This rule illustrates that the FMSCA is just a lap dog of the ATA. The whole goal of the FMSCA & ATA is to put the small companies out of business. FMSCA says they have a mandate to have zero deaths by trucks, but this rule and the exclusions that they have given to a couple of the mega carriers to allow trainers to sleep while students with learner CDL are driving is proof of this.
Marion D. Hunt says
Of course the ATA doesn’t want minimum standards, it consists of bottom feeders such as CR England and Schneider with their joke of training programs.
Norse Queen says
I also only had 3 weeks of CDL school; they called it “truck driving school”, but it was just the basics in order to pass your CDL. And the person who tested me for my license was the man who took us out in the truck. At that time, Swift required 6 weeks of training, which was mostly with the trainer asleep in the back while the newbie did the driving. I teamed with my trainer for 6 months and was allowed to back 3 times. So when I decided to run solo, I’d just make a joke out of my lack of backing skills to the customers. And they assigned me an old long-nose Freightliner. So even if there are minimum BTW requirements, one doesn’t necessarily get trained well enough to run solo, in my opinion. I agree that if most of the industry wants those minimums back, why not just regulate themselves and leave the Feds out of it?
Matthew says
Once again OOIDA is fighting the wrong battle. Minimum training hours? Yeah I get it but that is just a symptom of the real problem which is “corporate welfare”. These companies don’t want zero turnover, thus they “train” the bare minimum or less than the bare minimum to make room for the next cycle of undesirables after the current group is fired or quits after their “training company” makes life miserable for them. Want real highway safety? Fight to end the corporate welfare “training money” which will in return end most of these “training programs,” creating a real driver shortage, effectively raising industry wages and reducing industry driver turnover as a whole while at the same time making roads safer (less undesirables). These current “training programs” benefit almost no one except the mega carriers. In most cases the student gets screwed, the taxpayer gets cheated, the roads are increasingly more unsafe and the carrier pads their pockets. Come on OOIDA, you’ve been involved in the trucking industry for somewhere around 50 years. You guys still can’t figure this out? You claim to stand for the “Independent” yet the “independent” is ineligible to receive corporate welfare.
Anthony says
Their so darned concerned about safety…They want ELDS in all the trucks, but refuse to implement min hours behind the wheel for rookies???!!! Talk about hypocrisy!!!! These rookies need to learn the basics…Backing the rig (SAFELY) into a parking spot, and adjusting the trailer tandems, and learning how NOT to tailgate…It’s not a 4 wheeler…It’s 40 tons of rolling steel, and it doesn’t stop on a dime!!! The rookie needs to learn to find a parking spot before 7:30 pm or you may not get one!! The rookie needs to be comfortable behind the wheel…Getting direction to the shipper/receiver, and talking to the shipper/receiver, and not the receptionist…They’ll send you to those low over passes everytime!!