After the initial under-21 commercial driver apprenticeship program drew underwhelming numbers, lawmakers in the House want to make some tweaks.
Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., recently reintroduced the Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE) Safe Act.
HR5563 aims to introduce 18- to 20-year-olds to interstate trucking. Currently, 21 is the minimum age for commercial drivers to cross state lines. Intrastate truckers can start at 18.
Citing a driver shortage, proponents of the bill have said that lowering the age is necessary to attract a new generation of drivers to trucking. However, multiple studies over the years have indicated that there is no driver shortage. For instance, a 2024 study from the National Academies of Sciences said that the idea of a driver shortage goes against the basic economic principles of supply and demand.
Still, the driver-shortage narrative led to the creation of the under-21 apprenticeship program in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
FMCSA’s Apprenticeship Pilot Program for truckers
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced the creation of the pilot program in January 2022. Since then, the numbers have never been good.
In April 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. According to the report, 36 applications were rejected for failing to complete registration. 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.
The American Trucking Associations has blamed the lack of participation on certain requirements in the program, such as driver-facing cameras.
(H2) DRIVE Safe Act
Crawford said that HR5563 “simplifies” the under-21 apprenticeship program. The proposed program would have probationary periods of 120 hours and 280 hours. The updated version would not have driver-facing cameras but would require forward-facing cameras, automatic emergency braking systems, automatic transmissions and a CDL holder – who is at least 26 years old and has two years of experience – on board.
The DRIVE Safe Act currently has six co-sponsors.
Opposition
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which promotes increasing entry-level driver training standards, is against allowing 18-year-olds straight out of high school to start operating as long-haul truckers. Instead, OOIDA believes lawmakers should consider establishing a 150-mile radius for younger drivers that would allow them to cross state lines.
“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,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lew Pugh told lawmakers at a Senate hearing in July.
He also noted that truck drivers of all ages oppose inward-facing cameras.
Bryce Mongeon, OOIDA’s director of legislative affairs, said that large carriers need to address driver pay and working conditions to reduce turnover rates instead of risking safety by allowing 18-year-olds to haul freight across the country.
“With the current under-21 pilot program floundering miserably, Congress should not double-down on this failed policy,” Mongeon said. “In fact, one of the most pressing issues facing truckers is rock-bottom freight rates due to driver overcapacity. There is simply no reason for Congress to expand the pool of available drivers for long-haul, interstate trucking, especially given the lack of clear safety performance data from the ongoing pilot program. If Congress wants to address interstate trucking challenges, we have advocated for a limited short-haul exemption that would allow younger drivers to gain experience in familiar conditions while being able to cross state lines.” LL
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