A cosmetology license in Missouri requires 1,500 training hours. Meanwhile, there are truck driving schools in the Show Me State that advertise commercial driver’s licenses earned in 24 hours.
During a recent House subcommittee hearing, OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh told lawmakers that more should be done to ensure that a truck driver is properly trained.
“In trucking, it’s just a matter if you pass a test and you get a CDL and then you can go anywhere in this country,” Pugh said. “You take a kid who’s 21 years old. He’s never been out of Florida, and, all of a sudden, he’s heading to the Rocky Mountains in January. We’re probably setting ourselves up for disaster.”
Up until 2022, there were no entry-level driver training requirements at all. Although the rule was a first step, it still does not require a minimum number of behind-the-wheel training hours.
Noting that a well-trained driver is the fastest route to improved highway safety, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has lobbied Congress to beef up the entry-level driver training rule to be included in the next highway bill. OOIDA suggested requiring new truck drivers to complete a minimum of 30 hours of behind-the-wheel training.
“We need to make the entry-level driver training program much more aggressive with real hours and real time behind the wheel so that these people are trained and trained correctly to be professional,” Pugh said at the hearing. “Until we take the time to invest in our drivers and do all of these things, we are going to continue to lose people from this industry.”
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said that with the next highway bill, Congress has the opportunity to improve safety in the trucking industry.
“I have long supported strong entry-level truck driver training standards to ensure that truckers are fully prepared to safely operate their vehicles and deliver their freight,” she said. “Providing robust training empowers drivers to be safe and confident on the road.”
Cole Scandaglia, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ transportation policy advisor, told lawmakers that increased driver training standards will help the occupation of truck driver be viewed as a career instead of a job.
Congress must make sure “that when drivers enter the industry, they’re entering the industry in a way that is going to ensure that this is a career for them,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are people who go to fly-by-night CDL schools, and they get their CDL in six weeks. They show up to work, and it turns out they can’t back into a dock. That’s a problem, and that person is not likely to stay in the industry. So, from Congress’ perspective, I think there are things that can be done in the training sense. Unfortunately, a piece of what we need here is private-sector response. We need trucking companies to not look at employees as folks you just churn through the meat grinder and then replace them again when they quit.” LL
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