Should the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sanction a pilot program to train drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 to drive truck in interstate commerce? If so, what might such a program look like? In coming months, FMCSA officials will ponder those questions as they sort through some 1,400 written comments received during a comment period on the Truckload Carriers Association-sponsored proposal to establish a pilot project to train young truck drivers.
The young driver program is one way to address a growing shortage of drivers, according to TCA. Some industry groups estimate the industry will need some 80,000 new drivers over the next few years, and they note that finding drivers has been a problem for several years. Many truckload companies complain that by the time many potential drivers reach the age of 21, they have already established themselves in another trade.
“The construction trades are not prevented from hiring 18- to 20-year-olds now,” Hirsch noted. “Nor are the plumbers or the painters or anybody else. That’s the problem. We are restricted as far as interstate commerce is concerned.”
Under TCA’s proposal, a consortium of about 10 truck driver training schools and 20 fleets will carefully select, screen and train about 1,000 drivers who are under the federal age requirement of 21. The program would include a minimum of 48 weeks of classroom and driving instruction, plus supervision. The selected young drivers would receive a minimum of 22 weeks training at a truck driving school, followed by eight weeks of training in a motor carrier’s finishing program. The finishing program would include instruction and on-the-job training to further develop a young driver’s skill level, all under the direction of an experienced driver trainer. Drivers in the program would then drive team for 18 weeks with an older, more experienced driver.
The end result, according to TCA, will be a young driver trained to drive a big rig in a responsible, mature fashion.
A brief survey of some of the comments filed with FMCSA on the proposal shows a less-than-enthusiastic response from some industry groups, while others support the plan.
One key concern for many of those filing comments is the skill and safety record of young drivers as a whole. Statistically, young automobile drivers are involved in more accidents than more mature drivers are. According to comments filed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the state’s statistics show that “the at-fault accident rate is highest for the youngest drivers and decreases as drivers get older.” California, and most other states, allow 18- to 21-year-olds to drive commercial motor vehicles within the state. The California DMV’s concern “is that the pilot expands the issuance of CDLs to the highest risk group by including younger drivers between 18 and 21 years of age.”
