Under-21 Driver Proposal Draws More Critics Than Supporters

An industry petition to put 19- and 20-year-olds behind the steering wheels of heavy trucks at the end of a 48-week training period has drawn about 550 comments, mostly in opposition, said a spokesman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The petition was filed with FMCSA by the Truckload Carriers Association in an attempt to help satisfy trucking’s need for an estimated 100,000 new drivers each year. American Trucking Associations has endorsed the idea.

The public comment period closed May 21. A decision on the pilot program will be made within the next several months, said David Longo of FMCSA.

"It would appear, without studying each of the comments individually, that the majority are opposed to it,” Longo told Transport Topics May 22. “With any type of rulemaking, the most helpful comments are those supported by some factual material. But that is not to downgrade the documents that we have received which are unsupported. We do like facts to back it up."

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