GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which represents small-business truckers, is opposed to allowing drivers younger than 21 to operate interstate commercial motor vehicles.
OOIDA, along with Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and 12 other organizations, sent a letter to federal lawmakers urging them to oppose two House bills that would allow younger drivers to operate interstate CMVs.
The letter states that the impetus for the bills – a shortage of drivers – does not exist and points to statistics to support the fact there are plenty of drivers for any future supply needed.
Most in the bus and trucking industries say they are facing an extreme driver shortage.
The letter also brings up a previous failed attempt to lower the age to 18 in 2001.
“This has been tried before and no one with any common sense thought it was a good idea,” said Todd Spencer, acting president of OOIDA.
The letter was sent to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and was signed by a long list of diverse groups.
The groups are opposed to two specific legislative proposals that would allow teenagers to drive large trucks and buses: H.R. 5358, the Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE-Safe) Act, and H.R. 3889, the Waiving Hindrances to Economic Enterprise and Labor (WHEEL) Act.
The DRIVE-Safe Act would establish an apprenticeship program for anyone younger than 21 who has a commercial driver’s license. The act would require a driver 21 or older to accompany the apprentice for two probationary periods totaling 400 hours, including 240-plus hours of operating a CMV.
The WHEEL Act would alter eligibility requirements for the federal government’s commercial driver pilot program, which is open only to workers 18 to 21 years old who are military or former military personnel, received specified heavy-vehicle driver training in the armed forces and are sponsored by a participating motor carrier.
The act would change those requirements to 18- to 21-year-olds who have a valid CDL and a clean driving record and who have completed a training program or similar qualification.
The letter points out that intrastate CMV drivers under the age of 19 are four times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes, and CMV drivers who are 19 to 20 years old are six times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes.
“We think it’s irresponsible to put young kids behind the wheel of a truck in order to avoid addressing the real problems of high turnover,” Spencer said. “The focus should instead be on fixing the staggering turnover rate with better pay and working conditions.”
