WASHINGTON — On April 4, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued an emergency request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a revision to its previously approved request for comments on its Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program.
Approval of the revision is requested by April 15, 2024.
The revised language makes two changes to the original program requirements:
- The FMCSA may not require the use of inward facing cameras as a condition of the apprenticeship program.
- A motor carrier is not required to register an apprenticeship program with the Department of Labor before instituting the pilot program.
Questions related to this information will be removed from applications and monthly reporting forms; however, participating motor carriers will still have the option of reporting such information.
In the request, the FMCSA notes that drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) must be 21 years of age or older to operate a CMV in interstate commerce. It also points out that drivers under 21 can operate in intrastate commerce based on individual state laws and regulations. With the ongoing driver shortage, revisions to these requirements have been under consideration, and the FMCSA has been researching remedies.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), enacted in November 2021, requires the development of an Apprenticeship Driver Pilot Program as a potential way to bring safe, qualified younger drivers into interstate commerce. The program proposes that 18-to 20-year-old apprentices complete two probationary periods.
During these periods, the apprentices can operate in interstate commerce, but only under the supervision of an experienced driver, who must be in the passenger seat whenever the apprentice driver is behind the wheel. To be considered an “experienced” driver, a person must be at least 26 years old, hold a valid commercial driver’s license and have been employed for the previous two years and have a minimum of five years of interstate CMV driving experience.
The first probationary period includes a minimum of 120 hours of on-duty time, 80 of which must be spent driving a CMV. To successfully complete the probationary period, the apprentice must demonstrate competency in the following areas:
- Interstate, city traffic, rural two-lane and evening driving.
- Safety awareness.
- Speed and space management.
- Lane control.
- Mirror scanning.
- Right and left turns.
- Logging and complying with regulations related to hours of service.
The second probationary period comprises 280 hours, 160 of which must be spent driving a CMV. More advanced aspects of operating a CMV must be demonstrated during this period including:
- Backing and maneuvering in close quarters.
- Pre-trip inspections.
- Fueling procedures.
- Weighing loads, weight distribution and sliding tandems.
- Coupling and uncoupling.
- Trip planning, routes, map reading, navigation and permits.
After successfully completing the second probationary period, the under-21 apprentice would be allowed to operate a CMV in interstate commerce unaccompanied by an experienced driver.
The pilot program requires participating carriers to submit data to the agency about any incidents involving an apprentice driver, as well as reports about the apprentice drivers’ overall safety performance.
Data collected will be used to determine the effectiveness of technologies and training provided through the program in improving safety; to compare the safety records of apprentice drivers to other CMV drivers; the number of apprentices dropping out of the program; a comparison of safety records of apprentices before, during, and after each probationary period; and a comparison of apprentices’ on-duty time, drive time and time spent away from their home terminals.
The FMCSA expects a total of 14,830 responses to its original request for comments, 13,230 of those comments from CMV drivers. The request for approval of the revisions has been labeled as an emergency because FMCSA is likely to miss a mandated deadline if the required information is not received.
Since retiring from a career as an outdoor recreation professional from the State of Arkansas, Kris Rutherford has worked as a freelance writer and, with his wife, owns and publishes a small Northeast Texas newspaper, The Roxton Progress. Kris has worked as a ghostwriter and editor and has authored seven books of his own. He became interested in the trucking industry as a child in the 1970s when his family traveled the interstates twice a year between their home in Maine and their native Texas. He has been a classic country music enthusiast since the age of nine when he developed a special interest in trucking songs.
