The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed a rule that would grant states greater flexibility in conducting skills tests for individuals seeking commercial driver’s licenses.
“The Department is committed to reducing unnecessary barriers to employment for men and women interested in obtaining jobs in the trucking industry,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.
She said the proposal would alleviate testing delays and eliminate needless inconvenience and expense for CDL applicants without compromising safety.
“Federal rules currently do not permit a CDL skills instructor who is also authorized by the state to administer the CDL skills test to perform both the instruction and the qualifying testing for the same CDL applicant,” the FMCSA announcement said. “The proposal announced today would eliminate that restriction and permit states the discretion to allow qualified third-party skills trainers to also conduct the skills testing for the same individual.”
A 60-day public comment period will begin after the proposal is published in the Federal Register. A copy of the proposal, which includes information on submitting comments to the Federal Register Docket, is available here.
