WASHINGTON — If public comments are an indicator, then the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has made what will likely be a controversial decision regarding a request from Covenant Transport.
That request was to allow commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders who have passed a commercial driver’s license (CDL) skills test but have not yet received a CDL document to drive a Covenant Logistics’ commercial motor vehicle (CMV), without being accompanied by a CDL holder in the passenger seat.
After public comments, which were overwhelmingly against, the FMCSA ruled to grant the request.
In its published statement, the FMCSA stated that it “has evaluated Covenant Logistics’ application for an exemption and the public comments and believes Covenant Logistics will maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption.”
The statement further read that the premise of comments opposing the exemption is that commercial license holders (CLP) holders “lack experience and are safer drivers when directly observed by a commercial drivers’ license (CDL) holder who is on duty and in the front seat of the vehicle. However, CLP holders who have passed the CDL skills test are eligible to obtain a CDL without further training. If these CLP holders had obtained their training and CLPs in their State of domicile, they could immediately obtain their CDL at the in-State SDLA and begin driving a CMV without any on-board supervision. Because these drivers have passed the CDL skills test, the only necessary step to obtain the CDL is to visit the SDLA in their State of domicile. Furthermore, the CDL holder will be in the CMV while the CLP holder is operating the CMV.”
In addition, FMCSA reminded that it had approved “this same request” dating as recently as December 2022 to Stevens Transport, Inc. (87 FR 79931), and has granted five-year renewals for the following five motor carriers: CRST The Transportation Solution, C.R. England, Inc.; New Prime, Inc.; Werner Enterprises; and Wilson
FMCSA announced in May that it had received an application from Covenant Transport Inc. and Landair Transport Inc., jointly doing business as Covenant Logistics, requesting the exemption.
FMCSA requested public comment on the applicant’s request at that time as well regarding the request for exemption.
The public comment window closed on June 24 of this year.
The tone of the 27 comments on the request was overwhelmingly negative.
“To allow a student driver to drive such a large and heavy vehicle without an instructor onboard is absurd, it is asking for more accidents, needless deaths, and cost to taxpayers for damages. Please do not allow this,” wrote one commenter.
The Truck Safety Coalition’s executive director, Zach Cahalan, wrote a formal letter in opposition to the request.
“This exemption request should be denied,” he wrote. “It has been well-documented that inexperienced drivers are at an elevated crash risk.
Cahalan cited report from the National Surface Transportation Safety Center for Excellence (NSTSCE).
“Generally speaking, the first year of driving a CMV is riskier in terms of crash rates, crash involvement, and moving violations…Thus, motor carriers may want to focus on driver training, including engaging older, experienced drivers in driver mentoring programs to share their knowledge with inexperienced CMV drivers,” Cahalan cited.
“These are the very drivers that Landair Transport Inc. claims, without substantiation, will be safer if they do not receive in-cab supervision from a CDL. Somehow, safety will improve with the supervisor in the sleeper berth? Curiously, Landair Transport Inc. fails to explain this phenomenon that defies logic and intuition.
Cahalan cited that Landair Transport Inc. has experienced four fatal crashes and thirty-eight crashes causing injuries in the past two years alone.
“Any freight company killing roadways users must be expected to adhere to the highest levels of safety requirements, not be rewarded with meritless exemptions,” he stated.
“The second reason this request should be denied is that it undermines the safety benefits that direct CDL holder supervision requirement provides in the first place, he added. “One could argue that the CDL CLP supervision requirement provides de facto best practice observation of Entry Level Driver Training Advisory Committee (ELDTAC) recommendations. The EDLTAC overwhelmingly agreed that prospective drivers must meet a minimum BTW training requirement. This committee comprised of stakeholder experts worked rigorously to establish the minimum requirements set forth in the ELDT Final Rule. Despite this, FMCSA inexplicably dropped the BTW requirement for ELDT Training with very little in the way of documentation justifying how this decision supported safety outcomes.”
Finally Cahalan stated, “It is abundantly clear that new truck drivers need additional interventions to decrease their crash risk and the existing statutory requirement that CLP holders be directly supervised at all times provides one such intervention. Petitioners who request exemption applications must prove that the exemption does not have an adverse impact on safety.”
According to the FMCSA ruling, when operating under the exemption, Covenant must abide by certain terms and conditions:
- Covenant Logistics and its drivers must comply with all other applicable Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (49 CFR parts 350–399);
- The drivers must be in possession of a valid State driver’s license, a CLP with the required endorsements, and documentation from the testing State that they have passed the CDL skills test;
- A CDL holder with the proper CDL class and endorsements must be in the operated CMV;
- The drivers must not be subject to any out-of-service order or suspension of driving privileges;
- The drivers must be able to provide this exemption document to enforcement officials
FMCSA stated in its ruling that it does not believe the drivers covered by this exemption will experience any deterioration of their safety records.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
