Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, May 9, 2024:
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied a petition from Pitt Ohio Express that would allow it to use drivers under the age of 21, who hold a commercial learner’s permit (CLP) to operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce, to participate in the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot (SDAP) program.
Currently, drivers under 21 who hold a CLP are limited to intrastate operations. The SDAP program allows registered motor carriers to use apprentice drivers between 18 and 20 years old with a CDL under certain circumstances.
Pitt Ohio’s request sought to allow CLP holders to participate in the program. Under the requested exemption, the CLP holders would still need to meet all the remaining apprentice requirements, as well as the existing regulatory requirements for CLP holders (such as presence of a valid CDL holder in the passenger seat). Pitt Ohio estimated that 25 CLP holders would operate under the exemption each year. The company said it believes the exemption would relieve them of “difficulty locating and recruiting apprentice drivers into [the] SDAP Program.”
[Related: FMCSA to make Congressionally-required changes to under-21 pilot program]
In denying the request, FMCSA said that it found “there is insufficient basis to conclude that the exemption would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level achieved without the exemption.”
“The SDAP’s purpose is to determine whether there are conditions where safety data indicate younger drivers (18- to 20-year-olds) might be allowed to operate CMVs,” FMCSA said. “Congress authorized SDAP, opening the pilot to those 18- to 20-year-olds who hold a CDL, not a CLP.”
