The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has turned down a request from Pitt Ohio Express that aimed to allow drivers under 21, holding a commercial learner’s permit (CLP), to both engage in interstate commerce and participate in the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot (SDAP) program.
Currently, drivers under 21 with a CLP are restricted to operating within state borders. The SDAP initiative allows registered motor carriers to use apprentice drivers aged between 18 and 20 with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) under specific conditions.
Pitt Ohio’s appeal tried to extend participation to CLP holders. Under the requested exemption, CLP holders would still be required to fulfill all other apprentice prerequisites, along with existing regulatory mandates for CLP holders (including having a valid CDL holder in the passenger seat). Pitt Ohio estimated that 25 CLP holders would annually benefit from the exemption. The company argued that the exemption would alleviate challenges in locating and recruiting apprentice drivers for the SDAP Program.
FMCSA denied the request, citing that it found “there is insufficient basis to conclude that the exemption would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level achieved without the exemption.”
“The SDAP’s purpose is to determine whether there are conditions where safety data indicate younger drivers (18- to 20-year-olds) might be allowed to operate CMVs,” FMCSA said. “Congress authorized SDAP, opening the pilot to those 18- to 20-year-olds who hold a CDL, not a CLP.”
If they were to grant the request, FMCSA said it “could potentially put young and inexperienced drivers in a position of high responsibility, potentially exposing them and surrounding drivers to crashes and incidents involving CMVs. The agency therefore believes that Pitt Ohio’s prospective apprentice CLP drivers should not be legally permitted to operate CMVs in interstate commerce if less than 21 years of age.”
Source: Commercial Carrier Journal
