The Department of Transportation will begin a pilot program in the coming months to permit young military veterans, reservists and National Guardsmen to operate trucks across state lines, amid pushback from safety groups who warn that younger drivers are not as safe as older ones.
Although the majority of states permit 18-year-olds to obtain a commercial driver’s license, federal law bars them from driving outside state borders until they are 21.
But Congress instructed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to launch a program for veterans, reservists and National Guardsmen under 21 who have the military equivalent of a commercial drivers license. The program is being created under the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act to evaluate if drivers under 21 can safely participate in interstate commerce.
Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, along with Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., announced this month the plans for the pilot program, claiming it would also provide an avenue for veterans and reservists to receive “good paying jobs” and tackle the nationwide driver shortage, which has led to a spike in shipping costs.
“Senator Fischer anticipates the study will help Congress evaluate how drivers ages 18-21 operate in interstate commerce,” Brianna Puccini, Fischer’s communications director, told the Washington Examiner.
“The pilot program and results of the study should give members a better understanding of whether this solution can safely address the truck driver shortage and help create jobs for veterans and reservists,” she added.
American Trucking Associations anticipated in October that the industry would be short by roughly 50,000 truck drivers at the end of last year and 174,000 drivers by 2026 if trends continue. The group also claims that 890,000 new truck drivers must be recruited over the next 10 years to account for factors such as retirement, retention and demand.
But the pilot program is expected to recruit only about 600 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The safety records of the younger drivers will be compared to those of older drivers, in addition to intrastate drivers under 21.
FMCSA spokesperson Duane DeBruyne told the Washington Examiner the pilot program is expected to begin later in 2018 or early 2019.
Not everyone is in favor of the program, or of lowering the age for interstate truck drivers — the critics include safety groups and other organizations.
Peter Kurdock, deputy general counsel for Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety, said the group remains opposed to the pilot program but will monitor it as it progresses. However, he doubts the study will correctly depict the safety of younger drivers due to concerns that the data will be limited.
“I’m very skeptical if we’re really going to get an accurate picture of what younger drivers’ performance is in interstate commerce,” Kurdock said.
He said the data must be thoroughly collected and use technology such as electronic logging devices and on-board monitoring systems to effectively gauge younger drivers’ safety records.
“If it does go forward, we certainly want the FMCSA to collect a lot of relevant data about the performance of these drivers, including having an ELD installed on the car to make sure we get a really accurate picture of their on-road performance because the data in the past indicates that their performance is not as good as older drivers,” Kurdock said.
Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety will register their concern to the FMCSA as part of a public comment period, he said.
The group has also pointed out drivers of large trucks between the ages of 19 to 21 were six times more likely to be involved in fatal accidents compared to the overall rate for all truck drivers, according to a 1991 study that was published in the public health journal Accident Analysis & Prevention. Those under the age of 19 were four times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than the overall rate.
“What we would like Congress to do is look at the data that’s already out there,” Kurdock said.
But Jay Lim, vice president of workforce development policy at American Trucking Associations, pointed to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that show 16- to 20-year-old male drivers were slightly less likely than 21- to 24-year-old males to be involved in fatal vehicle crashes from 2012 to 2016. The numbers are not exclusive to just commercial vehicles, however.
Although Lim acknowledged distinct differences between the pilot program and the NHTSA’s data, he said he wouldn’t be surprised if it was revealed truck drivers between the ages of 18 to 20 were safer than those older than 21.
American Trucking Associations has also backed the Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act, a piece of legislation introduced this spring to the House that would allow teens — not just those with military experience — to drive between states after completing a 400-hour training program.
Lim said he is “reasonably certain” that the Senate will introduce a companion piece of legislation for the House’s version of the DRIVE Safe Act this summer and American Trucking Associations will follow up with their support.
Ultimately, the pilot program for veterans and reservists serves as a stepping stone for groups such as American Trucking Associations that seek to allow teenage truck drivers to participate in interstate commerce.
“It’s a movement toward where we eventually want to get to, which is 18-20-year-old drivers being able to actually train and get family supporting income from truck driving jobs straight out of high school,” Lim said.
