DETROIT (Washington Insider Magazine) – The federal administration is moving through with a test program that will allow adolescents to drive heavy trucks from state to state.
Truckers must currently be at least 21 years old to cross state lines, but an apprenticeship program mandated by Congress to help alleviate supply chain backlogs will allow 18-to-20-year-old truckers to travel outside their native states.
The pilot program, which was revealed Thursday in a proposed rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, would evaluate the teens, banning any who had previously been convicted of driving while intoxicated or received traffic citations for causing a collision.
Congress mandated the apprenticeship pilot program as part of the infrastructure legislation passed into law on Nov. 15. It mandates that the FMCSA, which itself is part of the Department of Transportation, begin the program within 60 days.
The American Trucking Associations, a major industry business group, backs the bill as a solution to address a driver shortage. As demand for moving freight reaches unprecedented highs, the association believes that the country is over 80,000 truckers short of what it requires.
Younger drivers can cross interstate borders during their 120-hour and 280-hour probation period phases as provided as an expert driver is in the passenger side under the apprenticeship. Trucks participating in the initiative must have an electronic braking crash prevention system, as well as a forward-facing video camera and a top speed of 65 mph.
They can drive on their own after probation, but employers must oversee their efficiency until they reach the age of 21. At any given moment, no more than 3,000 trainees can be enrolled in the program.
According to the Transportation Department, the FMCSA must contact carriers with exceptional safety records to invite them to participate in the program.
According to NBC News, the initiative will last up to 3 years, and the road transport agency will have to submit a report to Congress evaluating teen drivers’ safety records and recommending whether they are as completely safe as drivers 21 and older.
The test is part of a larger set of actions taken by the Biden administration to address the trucker shortage and enhance truck driver working conditions.
According to NBC News, the initiative will last up to 3 years, and the road transport agency will have to submit a report to Congress evaluating teen drivers’ safety records and recommending whether they are as completely safe as drivers 21 and older.
The test is part of a larger set of actions taken by the Biden administration to address the trucker shortage and enhance truck driver working conditions.
