FMCSA Plan Aims to Ease Transition for Veterans to Obtain Civilian CDLs
This story appears in the March 21 print edition of Transport Topics.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week issued a proposed rule that would make it easier for military personnel to transition into civilian careers in the truck and bus industry.
The proposal, outlined in a March 16 Federal Register posting, would extend the time period for applying for a skills test waiver for a commercial driver license to one year after leaving a military position that requires operating a commercial vehicle. Currently, the time period for applying is 90 days.
The proposal also would allow active duty military personnel to apply for a commercial learner permit and commercial driver license in the state in which they are stationed, rather than just in their home state. Those states would then be required to transmit the CDL or CLP test results electronically to the home state of the military driver, according to the proposed rule.
The proposed regulatory changes were first recommended in a November 2013 report to Congress.
“Simplifying the process for military CMV drivers to obtain a civilian CDL is important because significant numbers of these drivers have the training and experience to transfer directly to civilian CMV jobs,” the report said. “Military CMV drivers can help to meet the driver shortages experienced by civilian employers.”
The agency is accepting public comment on the proposed rule for 60 days.
FMCSA has said more than 60,000 U.S. service members are assigned to occupational specialties that involve operating heavy vehicles. Many of these vehicles are similar to the commercial motor vehicles operated in the civilian sector, and the military utilizes for-hire carriers to supplement its distribution system.
Federal regulations do not require drivers to acquire a civilian CDL during military service, but commercial carriers require new CDL hires to validate a safe-driving history and proof of civilian CMV driving experience, according to FMCSA.
Sean Garney, director of safety policy for American Trucking Associations, said military drivers are in many ways “good, reliable drivers.”
“But one of the challenges with the skills test waiver is that military drivers need to get their commanding officers to sign off that they operated a piece of equipment in the military on a regular basis and that they will use a substantially similar piece of equipment in their civilian pursuits,” Garney said.
However, many military drivers operate vehicles that use different brake systems and automatic transmissions, vehicles that sometimes would qualify them only for a Class B CDL skills test, Garney said.
“The waiver is being used, but its usefulness in solving our driver shortage problem — which lives mostly in the longhaul and regular route sector — could be limited,” Garney added.
