WASHINGTON — Leaders of the DRIVE Safe Coalition are applauding House and Senate passage of the fiscal year 2024 transportation funding bill, which included a provision championed by coalition co-chairs American Trucking Associations (ATA) and International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA) to help get the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program back on track.
“Building a 21st century supply chain requires a strong, vibrant and growing trucking workforce,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “The Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program was intended to bolster new career pathways into interstate trucking while promoting safety and training standards that far exceed the bar set by states today. Unfortunately, burdensome and unnecessary requirements imposed by FMCSA sharply limited enrollment. By directing FMCSA to steer the program back to the course Congress originally intended, the appropriations provision ATA secured will provide a path for young drivers to safely enter the workforce and help ensure our industry has the talent it needs to meet the economy’s freight demands in the years to come.”
In 49 states plus the District of Columbia, individuals between the ages of 18 and 20 are permitted to obtain a CDL and drive heavy-duty commercial vehicles in intrastate commerce, but federal rules have long prohibited those same drivers from driving in interstate commerce.
“Attracting and retaining the next generation of talent is one of the foodservice distribution industry’s top priorities,” said Mark S. Allen, President and CEO of the IFDA. “We thank House and Senate appropriators for their bipartisan work to restore the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot program to its original intent and increase opportunities for qualified younger drivers to receive rigorous training and safely enter the foodservice distribution workforce.”
The bipartisan infrastructure law enacted in 2021 included a nationwide pilot program to create a pathway for these younger drivers to operate in interstate commerce with rigorous safety and training guardrails. The apprenticeship program was capped at 3,000 participating drivers at any one time; however, to date, three dozen have enrolled.
“This lack of participation is partly due to extraneous program requirements that go beyond those prescribed in statute,” an ATA news release noted. “The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration required participating motor carriers to register their apprenticeship programs with the U.S. Department of Labor and equip their trucks with inward-facing cameras. In an effort to bolster participation, the appropriations provision championed by ATA and IFDA — and supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders — takes necessary corrective action to improve the pilot program in line with Congressional intent.”
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
