Current commercial driver’s license regulations include an exception for military drivers. However, that exception doesn’t apply to U.S. Reserve technicians. A technician for the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command wants to change that.
A notice that is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Monday, Jan. 13 announces that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has received an exemption request from James D. Welch, a weapons safety division chief for the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command.
Welch requests that the exemption from having to obtain a CDL be applied to all Air Reserve technicians. FMCSA seeks comments on the exemption request. Additionally, if granted, the agency wants the public to weigh in on whether an exemption should apply to all U.S. Reserve technicians.
CDL regulation 49 CFR part 383 requires every person who operates a commercial motor vehicle to obtain a CDL. States are required to exempt drivers who are doing so for military purposes.
Currently, the exception covers active-duty military personnel, members of the military reserves, members of the National Guard on active duty, National Guard military technicians and active-duty U.S. Coast Guard personnel. The regulation states that the exception “is not applicable to U.S. Reserve technicians.”
Welch, who also has petitioned FMCSA to propose a rule that will cover Air Reserve technicians, said that the current regulations create a hardship.
Without the exception, the Air Force Reserve Command is required to pay for the CDL training.
“The Air Reserve technician program is currently experiencing difficulties in hiring and retaining employees, and this current federal regulation further exacerbates the problem,” Welch wrote in the petition.
He said that the exemption will not hinder safety.
“First- and second-line supervisors are present for daily operations,” Welch wrote. “Quality assurance conducts random inspections daily. The base safety office also has oversight and increased training requirements that must be completed. Placarding is always required.”
Welch requested a five-year exemption for Air Reserve technicians.
Once the notice is published in the Federal Register, a 30-day public comment period will begin. To submit a comment, go to Regulations.gov and enter Docket No. FMCSA-2024-0288. LL
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