FMCSA Pitches Under-21 Pilot Program for Drivers
In response to the nationwide shortage of truck drivers, the Transportation Department is relaxing its ban on under-21 interstate trucking as part of a pilot program.
The Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program, which was announced in the Jan. 14 edition of the Federal Register, opens the door to drivers as young as 18 operating commercial vehicles across state lines, albeit with significant restrictions. The three-year pilot project is being spearheaded by the Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
Under the program — which still lacks an implementation date — drivers between the ages of 18 and 20 with good records can apply for an apprenticeship with participating carriers. While federal law normally prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from driving a commercial truck, FMCSA will waive the requirement for up to 3,000 apprentice drivers participating in the program.
The program includes a 400-hour probationary period during which the apprentice must be accompanied by an experienced driver when behind the wheel and demonstrate basic competence in a variety of driving scenarios. After the probationary period, apprentice drivers can travel solo, but are still considered apprentices for regulatory purposes.
Vehicle Requirements
Additionally, all commercial vehicles driven by apprentices must have either an automatic manual or transmission; an active braking collision mitigation system; a camera system that faces the road; and a governed speed of 65 mph. Similarly, the FMCSA forbids apprentices from hauling passengers, hazardous materials or multi-trailer loads. To be considered for the program, drivers will have to possess a near-spotless driving record.
Trucking firms looking to participate in the program will have their own hurdles to clear. First, they’ll need to register an apprenticeship program with the Labor Department. Participants will also need a decent safety rating, a crash rate below the national average, and out-of-service rates below the national average. Finally, companies that have faced enforcement action in the past six years are ineligible.
This pilot program was mandated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year, but actually has its roots in a FMCSA proposal made in September 2020 that never got off the ground.