Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/791967
Voices 4 | Overdrive | March 2017 In the waning days of the Obama administration, the Federal Mo- tor Carrier Safety Administration shocked the owner-operator commu- nity when it released its final rule for entry-level driver training. The proposed rule's minimum of 30 required hours behind the wheel before CDL applicants could take the skills test was scuttled. Put in its place was a performance-based ap- proach, in which individual trainers hold wide latitude in determining how much required BTW training is appropriate. The 30 hours minimum was agreed upon as a compromise be- tween the parties convened in 2015 to develop the rule in a negotiated rulemaking. By leaving the BTW minimum out, FMCSA garnered significant criticism, most notably a petition for reconsideration of the rule from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and safety advocacy groups. In a letter to the agency, the Professional Truck Driver Institute, representing a network of CDL schools using its training program, also called a BTW minimum critical for an effective rule. "The purpose of establishing entry-level training standards for commercial drivers is to reduce programs that are turning out inade- quately trained and prepared drivers who pose a risk to public safety," the institute said. "PTDI firmly believes that BTW time is critical to achieving that goal." PTDI-affiliated courses include at least 44 hours of BTW time. As Overdrive polling makes clear, most owner-operators believe 30 hours is insufficient. Eight out of 10 respondents believe a minimum of 30 hours or more is appropriate. "I've been driving for 39 years, and I'm still learning," wrote Thomas Monfort, commenting under the poll at OverdriveOnline.com. "My opinion is if FMCSA thinks some- one with [little to no] BTW training can get in an 80,000-pound truck and drive in traffic where moms and dads, wives, husbands and kids are, they're clueless and should be held responsible for the problems and accidents that may result." D.W. Adams, meanwhile, concurred on Overdrive's Facebook page, noting that in his past training work, "about 70 hours worked for my students." Reasons for excluding the BTW minimum included a paucity of data showing a clear correlation between training times and crash rates. Previ- ous attempts to develop an entry-lev- el training rule were unsuccessful in part for some of the same reasons, the agency said in the text accompa- nying the final rule. According to the final rule, op- position to a BTW minimum came from the American Trucking Asso- ciations, as well as a range of other businesses and organizations (many of them ATA members) that argued setting a minimum at 30 hours was arbitrary. Among Overdrive's audi- ence, 13 percent view the rule itself as unnecessary. "Thirty, 60, 120 – doesn't matter!" noted Dan Ashby on Overdrive's Face- book page. "If the person doesn't want to work hard and learn to op- erate the system by themselves, they won't cut it out on the road anyways. So many people think truck driving is easy. A driver has to be self-mo- Readers: Training time is crucial The effective date for the final rule on entry-level driver training, after President Trump's brief regula- tory freeze, has been delayed to March 21. Compliance with the rule for CDL applicants, however, will remain a few years out. Jim Allen/365 Trucking Should FMCSA's entry- level driver training rule include a behind-the-wheel minimum hours? Yes, more than 30 hours 62% Yes, with 30 hours as in proposed rule 19% I'm not sure 2% The entire rule is unnecessary 13% No 3% Yes, fewer than 30 hours 1%