The American Trucking Associations wants another crack at a pilot program for under-21 truck drivers.
And now, the general public has an opportunity to weigh in.
Back in December, ATA petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption that would allow the under-21 driver pilot program to be relaunched.
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, FMCSA announced that it is opening ATA’s request to public comment for 30 days.
Specifically, ATA requested a five-year exemption that would allow motor carriers who had been approved for FMCSA’s pilot program to continue training 18- to 20-year-old truck drivers.
Current regulations allow 18- to 20-year-old truck drivers to operate intrastate, but CDL holders must be at least 21 years old to cross state lines.
“ATA states that FMCSA’s Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program quarterly reports demonstrate positive safety outcomes, including millions of miles driven by program participants without reportable crashes,” the agency wrote in its notice. “ATA believes that continuing the regulatory relief under an exemption would create minimal administrative burdens for FMCSA or participating motor carriers.”
Although ATA noted that the original pilot program drivers logged more than 2 million safe miles, participation numbers were lacking.
In early 2024, it was reported that FMCSA had received only 113 applications from motor carriers. Only 34 of those carriers had been fully approved to participate in the program. Those numbers are particularly dismal when you realize the program was set up to accommodate 1,000 motor carriers and 3,000 under-21 drivers.
As of the end of 2025’s second quarter, FMCSA reported that it had received 211 motor carrier applications and that 62 had been approved. Meanwhile, only 80 applications had been received from apprentice drivers. Out of those, only 42 completed both probationary periods of the program.
ATA has previously blamed the lack of participation on certain requirements in the program, including driver-facing cameras.
A ‘failure’
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has called the program a “failure” and told FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs that ATA’s exemption request should be denied.
“Large motor carriers have long peddled the thoroughly debunked myth of a driver shortage to promote policies allowing them to hire the cheapest labor possible in order to maximize their profits,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote in the Dec. 17 letter to Barrs. “This includes efforts to lower the minimum age for driving interstate to 18 years old.”
As part of the congressional mandate of the pilot program, the Transportation Secretary is required to submit a report detailing the findings from the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program.
OOIDA told FMCSA that it should not take any action on ATA’s exemption request until the report is completed.
ROUTE Act
OOIDA contends that teenagers should not be made into long-haul truck drivers.
With that said, one of the arguments against the current rules is that 18-year-olds can drive hundreds of miles across a large state like Texas but aren’t allowed to take a short trip across state lines.
That’s why Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., introduced the ROUTE Act, which would allow under-21 drivers to operate interstate within a 150-air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location.
OOIDA supports HR6642 as it would provide young drivers with trucking experience in familiar environments without potentially placing them into dangerous situations thousands of miles from their home.
How to comment
ATA’s exemption request is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Jan. 28. Once that happens, the public will have 30 days to comment. To participate, go to Regulations.gov and enter FMCSA-2025-1117. LL
Credit: Source link
