Does it seem like truck drivers are getting younger and younger? That’s because they are … at least some of them!
Qualified teenage drivers are now legally allowed to operate semi-tractor trailers and other commercial trucks nationwide as part of a three-year pilot program that reduces the current age restrictions on truck drivers.
The program, which was part of the surface transportation infrastructure funding bill signed into law by President Barack Obama last year, was proposed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Up until now, it was illegal for drivers younger than 21 to drive commercial trucks across state lines, although some states do allow teenage truck drivers within their state’s boundaries.
Three-Year Pilot Program
The program, which the FMCSA included in the $305 billion Fixing America’s Surface Transporation Act, allows drivers aged 18 to 21 who have received special heavy-vehicle driver training while in the military service to operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. The young drivers also must be sponsored by a participating motor carrier, under the terms of the program.
The federal agency currently is seeking public input about the program, as well as its proposed criteria for a working group to consult on how the program is conducted, monitored and evaluated. Public comment will be accepted through the end of September at the Federal Register website.
Truck Driver Shortage
Bill Graves, president of the American Trucking Association, said his industry group supported a similar measure proposed last summer by US Senator Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) that would allow trained teenager drivers to operate commercial trucks.
“It is illogical that a 20-year-old can drive the 500 miles from San Francisco to San Diego but not the 8 miles from Memphis, Tennessee, to West Memphis, Arkansas — or simply across the street in Texarkana,” Graves said in a prepared statement. “Even more illogical is that a 20-year-old may not drive a truck in any state if the cargo in it originated outside the state or will eventually leave the state by some other means.”
A Growing Problem
The current driver shortage stands at 35,000 to 40,000. But because of retirements and drivers leaving the industry, about 100,000 new drivers per year will need to be recruited just to keep up with demand.
Recruiting and retaining truck drivers has become a real problem, partially due to new federal regulations that limit the number of hours a driver can spend behind the wheel without taking a rest break. Other contributing factors include social issues such as a number of time drivers must spend away from their families, the wear and tear that sitting for days behind the wheel of a truck takes on drivers’ bodies.
Allowing younger drivers would offer a solution to some of these problems. People younger than 21 are less likely to have families with young children at home. And their healthier, younger bodies would be better prepared to withstand the strain of long hours behind the wheel.