Federal Training Mandate in the Works

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Federal regulators and industry lobbyists could soon be clashing over mandatory driver training, but for now trucking’s leaders worry while government officials remain mum.

“A notice of proposed rulemaking has been developed and is under review,” said John MacGowan of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. He would not comment on any of the proposal’s specifics, saying only, “We hope to have something out within a few months.”

Currently, driver training for operators of commercial motor vehicles is not mandated, though some states have set minimum standards for new drivers. In 1991, Congress ordered the Department of Transportation to study whether training of entry-level truck and bus drivers was necessary. That resulted in a 1996 study by Applied Sciences Associates, which concluded that the heavy truck, motor coach and school bus industries did not offer adequate training for beginner operators of such vehicles.

MacGowan, director of the Office of Truck and Bus Safety Programs at FMCSA, spoke March 17 at a joint meeting of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association and the Association of Professional Truck Driver Schools, whose members train about 35,000 would-be drivers a year.

For the full story, see the Mar. 27 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.