Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/782964
18 commercial carrier journal | february 2017 JOURNAL NEWS New Prime requests exemption for pre-CDL holders to drive team N ew Prime, part of Prime Inc. (CCJ Top 250, No. 15), is requesting an exemption to allow drivers with a commercial learner's permit who have passed the CDL skills test to drive with a CDL holder in the truck, but not neces- sarily in the front seat, as current regulations require. Prime says that under cur- rent Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, it can either send the learner's permit holder back to his or her home state through public transportation, or route the driver back to his or her home state, "often against the natu- ral flow of the freight network." Prime also argues that if a learn- er's permit holder is forced to wait for their CDL without driving, the drivers "will experience a mate- rial diminishment in their driving skills," adding that continued expe- rience is necessary for new drivers. The company says if the drivers had taken the CDL skills test in or near their home state, they could go to a licensing agency and get their CDL to begin driving without super- vision immediately. Under terms of the exemption request, a CDL holder always would be in the truck with the learner's permit holder – just not in the front seat at all times. "Allowing CLP holders who have passed the skills test to function as a team driver on the trip home enables these new operators to con- tinue to sharpen their driving skills under the mentoring observation of a more experienced driver, and they immediately earn income," Prime says in its exemption request. Other carriers, including C.R. England (No. 19) and CRST Expedited (No. 23), have been granted similar exemptions in the last two years. – Matt Cole Radiator Works_CCJ0416_PG.indd 1 3/18/16 2:12 PM New Prime is requesting an exemption to allow drivers with a CLP who have passed the CDL skills test to drive with a CDL holder in the truck.