FMCSA Establishes Entry-Level Driver-Training Standards

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Heavy Duty Trucking  /  November 7, 2016

A very long-awaited final rule on national minimum training standards for entry-level applicants seeking to obtain a commercial driver’s license or certain endorsements was announced on Dec. 7 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The agency had been working on this rulemaking since 2007, but efforts to advance such a rule date back to the 1980s. The effective date of the new rule is February 6, 2017 and the compliance date is listed as February of 2020. 

The final rule does not include a requirement for 30 hours of behind-the-wheel training for new drivers, which had been included in the notice of proposed rulemaking that FMCSA issued in March of this year. That NPRM also called for a minimum of 10 hours of training on a “driving range” as well as an unspecified amount of time driving on a public road.

FMCSA noted that the final rule retains “many” of the recommendations of a negotiated rulemaking committee that was comprised of 25 industry stakeholders and agency representatives.

Per the final rule, applicants seeking a CDL will have to demonstrate proficiency in knowledge training and behind-the-wheel training on a driving range and on a public road. But there are no required minimum number of hours for the knowledge or behind-the-wheel portions of any of the individual training curricula. However, training providers must determine that each CDL applicant demonstrates proficiency in all required elements of the training to successfully complete the program. 

In addition, the driver training must be obtained from an instructional program that meets qualification standards set forth in the final rule. FMCSA said it expects that “many entities currently providing entry-level driver training, including motor carriers, school districts, independent training schools, and individuals will be eligible to provide training that complies with the new requirements.” 

Mandatory, comprehensive training in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories would apply to the following individuals under the Final Rule:

• First-time CDL applicants, including for Class A and Class B CDLs

• Current CDL holders seeking a license upgrade (e.g., a Class B holder seeking a Class A) or an additional endorsement to transport hazardous materials, or to operate a motor coach or school bus

The rulemaking was mandated by Congress under the MAP-21 highway bill, passed in 2012. FMSCA said the rule is based, in part, on recommendations of the agency’s Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee, a negotiated rulemaking committee that held a series of meetings in 2015. 

“This new rule represents the culmination of a sustained and coordinated effort to identify appropriate pre-licensing CDL standards that will enhance safety on our Nation’s roads,” said FMCSA Administrator T.F. Scott Darling, III. “Without the collective efforts of our stakeholders working closely with us, we could not have completed this important lifesaving rule. We especially appreciate the Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee for its tireless efforts and expertise to enhance roadway safety through the negotiated rulemaking process.” 

The American Trucking Associations praised the rule for its “common sense” approach to safety. “ATA has consistently advocated that skills, not simply time spent in a classroom or behind the wheel, should be the deciding factor if a student should be allowed to take a commercial driver’s license test,” said ATA Executive Vice President of Advocacy Bill Sullivan. “Today’s rule is a victory for common sense and for safety.”

ATA Director of Safety Policy P. Sean Garney noted that the association participated in FMCSA’s negotiated rulemaking process and is “pleased with how the agency outlined the skills and knowledge students must have. “At the conclusion of the negotiation, ATA expressed our disappointment the agency appeared poised to go with an hours-based training regimen, but we were pleased and surprised to see they eschewed an arbitrary hours threshold in favor of a skills-based standard.”

Also welcoming the rule’s release and its specifics was the Commercial Vehicle Training Association, which represents nearly 200 training providers in 41 states, a member of the ELDTAC that helped FMCSA formulate the rule’s minimum training requirements.

“FMCSA has put forth a common-sense rule, which recognizes the value and importance of effectively training commercial drivers based on their actual performance,” said Don Lefeve, CVTA president & CEO, CVTA. “This rule ensures that students can only sit for their CDL exam after demonstrating driving and knowledge proficiency. This is a major step in advancing highway safety by requiring driver training and ends nearly 25 years of effort to get this rule in place.”  

As described by CVTA, here’s what the rule requires of the providers of entry-level driver training:

• Register with FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry (TPR) and certify that their program meets the standards for classroom and behind-the-wheel (BTW) training 

• Certify students have completed BTW training to a proficiency standard 

• Certify their program teaches the required classroom subjects (outlined in the final rule), and that students have completed a written assessment covering all subjects with a passing score of 80% or higher 

• Certify students have demonstrated proficiency in operating a vehicle before sitting for the CDL exam

Click here to view the final ELDT rule.

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FMCSA ditches minimum hours requirement in final driver training rule

Fleet Owner  /  December 7, 2016

New drivers to the trucking industry seeking to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) will be required to show proficiency in both knowledge training and behind-the-wheel training on public roads under the new entry-level driver training final rule to be published tomorrow by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

That instructional program, says FMCSA, will have to meet an agency standard. The agency said it anticipates that “many entities currently providing entry-level driver training, including motor carriers, school districts, independent training schools, and individuals will be eligible to provide training that complies with the new requirements.”

“Ensuring that drivers are properly trained is a critical element in improving road safety for everyone,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “The entry-level training standards for large truck and bus operators put forth today exemplify a commitment to safety from a broad coalition of commercial motor vehicle stakeholders.”

On March 4, FMCSA announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) following months of a “negotiated rulemaking.” Following years of being unable to create a rule that would govern entry-level driver standards, the agency convened a committee in 2014 to try and craft a rule. That panel provided the recommendations that would make up the NPRM, which initially included 30 hours of behind-the-wheel (BTW) training.

According to FMCSA, the final rule incorporates many of the recommendations issued by the committee, made up of 25 stakeholders and FMCSA representatives.

The NPRM proposed no minimum number of hours that driver-trainees must spend on the theory portions of any of the individual curricula, but it did propose that Class A CDL driver-trainees must receive a minimum of 30 hours of BTW training, with a minimum of 10 hours on a driving range. Driving on a public road would also be required, and Class A CDL driver-trainees may fulfill this requirement by either driving 10 hours on a public road, or by driving 10 public road trips (each no less than 50 minutes in duration).

However, in the final rule, those minimum number of hours for either the knowledge or BTW training have been eliminated. Instead, FMCSA said that “training providers must determine that each CDL applicant demonstrates proficiency in all required elements of the training in order to successfully complete the program.”

However, driver-trainees must achieve at least an 80% score on the theory assessment.

The American Trucking Assns., which opposed the proposed minimum hours requirement, was pleased with final rule.

 “At the conclusion of the negotiation, ATA expressed our disappointment the agency appeared poised to go with an hours-based training regimen, but we were pleased and surprised to see they eschewed an arbitrary hours threshold in favor of a skills-based standard,” ATA Director of Safety Policy P. Sean Garney.

 “ATA has consistently advocated that skills, not simply time spent in a classroom or behind the wheel, should be the deciding factor if a student should be allowed to take a commercial driver’s license test,” added ATA Executive Vice President of Advocacy Bill Sullivan. “Today’s rule is a victory for common sense and for safety.”

Conversely, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA) had a different take, specifically with the approach FMCSA took with behind-the-wheel training.

"While it's a great first step, we are disappointed the rule doesn't address behind the wheel training as instructed by Congress. We will continue to work with the agency to see the follow-up and evaluation of training provided as promised in the rule and push to require BTW education,” OOIDA spokesperson Norita Taylor told Fleet Owner.

Mandatory training is required for first-time Class A and Class B CDL applicants as well as current CDL holders seeking a license upgrade, such as a Class B CDL holder wishing to upgrade to a Class A CDL. Also, anyone seeking additional endorsements necessary to transport hazardous materials or to operate a motorcoach or school bus.

“This new rule represents the culmination of a sustained and coordinated effort to identify appropriate pre-licensing CDL standards that will enhance safety on our Nation’s roads,” said FMCSA Administrator T.F. Scott Darling, III. “Without the collective efforts of our stakeholders working closely with us, we could not have completed this important lifesaving rule.”

Drivers who are not subject to or are excepted or exempted from federal CDL requirements are not subject to this Final Rule, FMCSA said. These include military drivers, farmers, and firefighters.

The entry-level driver training Final Rule goes into effect on Feb. 6, 2017, with a compliance date of February 2020.