The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has renewed an exemption that allows some areas of Alaska to forgo a portion of the entry-level driver training rules.
In a notice that was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, Oct. 1, FMCSA announced its decision to extend the exemption for five years.
“The exemption renewal allows the state to waive specified portions of the CDL skills test for drivers who reside and operate in 14 defined geographic areas that lack the infrastructure to allow completion of the full skills test,” FMCSA wrote in the notice. “Drivers who receive a restricted CDL under the provisions of the renewed exemption are also exempt from the entry-level driver training regulations.”
In 2022, Alaska asked FMCSA for relief from the requirement that CDL applicants demonstrate proficiency in proper techniques for initiating vehicle movement, executing left and right turns, changing lanes, navigating curves at speed, entering and exiting an interstate or controlled-access highway and stopping the vehicle in a controlled manner.
That same year, FMCSA granted Alaska a two-year exemption but limited it to 14 areas that lack the infrastructure needed to complete the full skills test. Alaska’s original exemption request in 2022 would have opened the door for someone to receive a CDL in Alaska and then use that license in another state. The 14 areas are Bethel, Prince of Wales Island, Haines, Ketchikan, King Salmon, Kodiak Island, Kotzebue, Nome, Mitkof Island, Sitka, Skagway, Unalaska Island, Utqiavik and Wrangell Island.
The original exemption was scheduled to end this December. With the renewal, the exemption will now run through Dec. 30, 2029.
FMCSA received no public comments regarding Alaska’s request for its exemption to be renewed.
“The agency has monitored the records of drivers who were issued CDLs under the exemption and has found no deterioration of their safety records,” FMCSA wrote in the notice. LL
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