A request by a Florida agency for an exemption from a segment of the CDL skills test regulations has garnered a diverse range of reactions. In December, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published the exemption plea from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, specifically concerning the test sequence.
Standard regulations mandate that the three-part CDL skills test must be conducted and successfully completed in the prescribed order: pre-trip inspection, basic vehicle control skills, and on-road skills. However, the Florida agency is seeking FMCSA approval to allow retesting for applicants who fail either the pre-trip inspection or basic vehicle controls segments, with the option to return on a later date for the reattempt.
Approximately two dozen comments were submitted on the regulations.gov website, displaying a mix of both support and opposition.
The National Tank Truck Carriers advocated for FMCSA to grant the Florida agency’s request.
“By allowing applicants to only retest failed portions, there will be an increase in the efficiency of the CDL credentialing process,” the tanker group wrote. “Therefore, testers will have to devote less time and resources to areas in which drivers have already demonstrated their competency. The exemption request put forward by FLHSMV does not compromise roadway safety. Given the well-documented commercial driver shortage, it is imperative that we reduce barriers to individuals attaining the proper credentials for operating commercial vehicles.”
Nevertheless, concerns have been raised regarding the potential misuse of claims about a driver shortage to justify the exemption. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), a vocal critic of assertions by the American Trucking Associations regarding a driver shortage, emphasizes the need to scrutinize such justifications. In recent years, OOIDA has presented evidence contradicting claims of a driver shortage, supported by studies like the one presented by University of Minnesota Morris Professor Steven V. Burks at a safety summit with FMCSA officials.
“We review the evidence for a shortage and find it unconvincing,” the study states. “We also review empirical evidence that long‐distance truckload has had persistently high turnover since the mid‐1980s.”
Numerous commenters have voiced safety apprehensions related to the Florida agency’s request for exemption.
“So Florida is saying that it’s OK not to know how to properly check and maintain your vehicle first before seeing if you can drive and back,” Sean Haywood wrote.
Truck driver Gary Adler emphasized the importance of FMCSA prioritizing the enhancement of the quality of new CDL holders rather than the opposite approach.
“As a truck driver owner-operator for 50 years, my concern is that new drivers are already being put into service before they are ready,” Adler wrote. “If they cannot pass the pre-trip instruction part of the course, how will they be able to operate a Class 8 vehicle safely? The first step to safely operating this equipment is knowing it is ready for the road … Let’s stick to the basics and not cut corners.”
Source: Land Line
