Drivers Face Delays in CDL Skills Test; Training Schools Ask Congress to Help

This article appears in the March 24 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

Delays and inconsistencies with the way states test applicants for commercial driver licenses are undermining efforts to place truck driver training school graduates in jobs, according to officials who have asked Congress to act.

Don Lefeve, president of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association in Springfield, Va., said it takes up to 45 days for CDL applicants in some states to arrange a skills test due to inadequate staffing and a limited number of testing facilities.

As a consequence of delays in issuing licenses, Lefeve said, many qualified applicants give up or find other jobs, hurting the ability of motor carriers to fill jobs and tying up equipment at state testing sites that could be used for ongoing instruction.

To speed up the process, Lefeve said, states need to expand the number of third-party testing sites.

“Our data show that 29 states offer third-party testing,” Lefeve said. “Of these states, 12 offer it through a very restricted program; meaning through a community college only. An additional 12 states only conduct testing through state-funded officials or sites.”

The average testing time delay in states that use only state-funded sites is 14 to 45 days, according to research conducted by CVTA. In states that use third-party testing on a limited basis, the time from scheduling to actual testing ranges from six to 30 days.

In some states, trucking schools are allowed to conduct skills tests and, in those cases, there is no delay in testing since the exams “are performed as needed,” Lefeve said.

CVTA officials say they want Congress to require at least a study of the benefits of third-party testing as part of the new highway funding bill.

“We would like to know the economic impact resulting from delays and suggested ways in which states could reduce their testing delay times,” Lefeve said.

Lefeve led a group of CVTA member firms that met with congressional representatives in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

“By all accounts,” Lefeve said, “not only was our message well received, but it provided an opportunity to share the important work our members are doing to educate and train truck drivers for good-paying jobs.”

School officials also want Congress to require states to provide greater oversight of examiners and testing procedures to address disparities in methodology and “arbitrary” rules that result in many qualified applicants failing the test.

“While most states are supposed to test the same knowledge and skills set forth by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the consistency of skills testing varies from state to state and even from region to region within a state,” Lefeve said.

Asked to comment on the CDL issues, Tony Dorsey, manager of media relations for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said, “No one is tracking the issue closely enough to be able to comment.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration did not return calls to Transport Topics seeking comment for this story.

Another issue for driver training schools is CDL reciprocity.

Under a rule slated to go into effect in July 2015, CDL applicants can take the skills test in another state and have the results accepted by the state where the applicant is domiciled.

However, CVTA officials say the rule needs to be strengthened by making it clear that states must issue a CDL when an applicant passes a test from another state.

Funding remains a major issue for schools, and CVTA members urged congressional representatives to tweak some rules under the Workforce Investment Act to help funnel more assistance to individuals interested in truck driving.

“Employers are expected to announce their job openings to each one-stop center each month,” Lefeve said. “For these employers seeking employees from throughout the nation, this administrative burden requires them to place ads in hundreds or thousands of one-stop centers. This needs to change for employers like trucking companies.”

CVTA recommends that trucking be added to a Department of Labor list of “nationally in demand” occupations so that information about job openings can be considered by every local agency that receives federal training funds.

CVTA schools train about 50,000 drivers a year at 180 locations in 40 states, but school officials say they could do more if more financial aid was available to prospective students.

Over the next 10 years, American Trucking Associations estimates the trucking industry will have a shortfall of 239,000 drivers.