A longstanding criticism of a reg that prevents under-21 truck drivers from crossing state lines is that an 18-year-old can haul a load 800 miles across Texas but can’t make a quick delivery from Kansas City, Mo., to Kansas City, Kan.
A new bill aims to address that criticism while still preventing teenagers from working as long-haul truck drivers.
The Responsible Opportunity for Under-21 Trucking Engagement (ROUTE) Act was introduced by Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., on Thursday, Dec. 11. The bill would allow under-21 drivers to operate interstate within a 150 air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location.
Current regulations allow CDL holders ages 18-20 to operate intrastate, but they can’t drive across state lines.
“Federal barriers prevent capable young Americans from entering the trucking industry,” Hageman said in a news release. “At the same time, we are removing illegal aliens who unlawfully obtained CDLs. That makes it even more important to open doors for American workers to fill these jobs and strengthen our economy. Wyoming and other rural states face needless challenges because federal regulation blocks young CDL holders from making short interstate trips. It makes no sense that a driver can go from Gillette to Evanston but not across the state line to Spearfish, S.D. America should never rely on illegal labor to move our goods.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is supportive of the bill, saying it is a common-sense way to allow young drivers to gain experience without having a teenager from Florida operate a commercial motor vehicle in the mountains of Colorado during winter.
“OOIDA supports Representative Hageman’s common-sense proposal to allow truck drivers to operate within a 150 air-mile radius across state lines,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “The current system creates situations that simply do not make sense, like allowing a driver in Kansas City, Kan., to haul clear across the state to its border with Colorado, but not deliver a few miles away in Kansas City, Mo. The ROUTE Act fixes this problem in a safe and practical way. A 150 air-mile operating radius gives drivers the chance to build skills in familiar conditions, receive the training they need, and stay closer to home while gaining experience. OOIDA appreciates Representative Hageman’s leadership in advancing a common-sense solution without opening the door to unsafe long-haul operations for inexperienced teenagers.”
During a Senate hearing in July, OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh advocated establishing a 150-mile air radius for under-21 drivers to operate interstate.
“The solution to this problem is not suddenly permitting that inexperienced driver to cross the country without limitations, entering terrain and experiencing elements they find unfamiliar and have not been trained to handle safely,” Pugh wrote in his submitted testimony. LL
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