The DRIVE Safe Coalition leaders are expressing their approval for the successful passage of the fiscal year 2024 transportation funding bill by both the House and Senate. Notably, this bill includes a provision strongly advocated by coalition co-chairs, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA). The provision aims to revitalize the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program.
“Building a 21st century supply chain requires a strong, vibrant and growing trucking workforce,” Chris Spear, ATA President and CEO. “The Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program was intended to bolster new career pathways into interstate trucking while promoting safety and training standards that far exceed the bar set by states today. Unfortunately, burdensome and unnecessary requirements imposed by FMCSA sharply limited enrollment. By directing FMCSA to steer the program back to the course Congress originally intended, the appropriations provision ATA secured will provide a path for young drivers to safely enter the workforce and help ensure our industry has the talent it needs to meet the economy’s freight demands in the years to come.”
In almost all states, as well as the District of Columbia, individuals aged 18 to 20 can acquire a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and operate heavy-duty commercial vehicles within state borders. However, federal regulations have traditionally restricted these drivers from engaging in interstate commerce.
“Attracting and retaining the next generation of talent is one of the foodservice distribution industry’s top priorities,” said Mark S. Allen, President and CEO of the IFDA. “We thank House and Senate appropriators for their bipartisan work to restore the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot program to its original intent and increase opportunities for qualified younger drivers to receive rigorous training and safely enter the foodservice distribution workforce.”
The bipartisan infrastructure law, instituted in 2021, introduced a nationwide pilot initiative to establish a pathway for these younger drivers to participate in interstate commerce, incorporating stringent safety and training measures. Despite the program’s initial cap of 3,000 participating drivers, only a modest three dozen have enrolled thus far. The recent passage of the transportation funding bill is seen as a positive step toward overcoming these challenges and revitalizing the apprenticeship program.
“This lack of participation is partly due to extraneous program requirements that go beyond those prescribed in statute,” stated an ATA news release. “The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration required participating motor carriers to register their apprenticeship programs with the U.S. Department of Labor and equip their trucks with inward-facing cameras. In an effort to bolster participation, the appropriations provision championed by ATA and IFDA — and supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders — takes necessary corrective action to improve the pilot program in line with Congressional intent.”
Source: The Trucker
