18-20 year olds possibly driving

How many 18 year olds that don’t have an interest in driving will be lining up to get trained by a mega? If they’re only doing it for a job I would tend to think that most wouldn’t last to the end of their training. The ones that do want to drive will have an easier pathway into trucking instead of having to find something else to do until they turn 21.

 

It is easy to know your own State and area IMO......different when you go to another state with mountains or lots of snow and ice. 18 year old from Texas on I80 in Pa in the Winter?

 

There really is no good reason to not let 18 year olds drive OTR. They are adults. Let them have the opportunities some will make it some will fail.

 

It's an awful idea in general and we will all be worse off because of it. 95% of American teens aren't going to get behind the wheel of a big truck. The 5% that will were raised driving farm equipment and they will take right to it, just as they always have. The other 95% are going to be imports who think America is a big hip hop video, new to the country, ESL (English second language) and will risk their lives (and ours) doing anything here.

I wish them the best but it's not a good idea to put that on our overcrowded, undermaintained roads.

 

Not that I entirely disagree with you but I still don't see how it's any different than 30 yr old Joe Blow from dallas that has never left the city

 

I got my class A as soon as I turned 18. I was a better , more responsible truck driver than a lot of the moronic steering wheel holders i see on the road now.

 

Ever heard of prefrontal cortex development? See any 18-20 year old (mostly males) do anything ELSE stupid? Youtube can help you.

 

It will be interesting to see the data that comes out of the pilot, but I really think it’s going to end up not being a big deal. I think it will help recruit younger people into the industry. If an 18yo out of high school decides to start a vocational career, he’s not likely to choose trucking when the opportunities are so limited at that age. Once he turns 21 and is four years into another career, say mechanic, electrician, etc, he’s not likely to decide to switch to trucking at that point.

 

That's what I've been screaming everytime this comes up! I drove in California when I was 17, but a driver can't drive from Lansing, IL to Hammond, IL.