Washington 鈥 Today, leaders of the DRIVE Safe Coalition applauded House and Senate passage of the fiscal year 2024 transportation funding bill, which included a provision championed by coalition co-chairs 黑料不打烊 and International Foodservice Distributors Association to help get the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program back on track.
听
鈥淏uilding a 21st century supply chain requires a strong, vibrant and growing trucking workforce,鈥 said 黑料不打烊President and CEO Chris Spear. 听鈥淭he 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. 听Unfortunately, burdensome and unnecessary requirements imposed by FMCSA sharply limited enrollment. 听 By directing FMCSA to steer the program back to the course Congress originally intended, the appropriations provision 黑料不打烊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鈥檚 freight demands in the years to come.鈥
鈥淎ttracting and retaining the next generation of talent is one of the foodservice distribution industry's top priorities,鈥 said Mark S. Allen, President and CEO of the International Foodservice Distributors Association. 鈥淲e 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.鈥澨
In 49 states plus the District of Columbia, 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds are permitted to obtain a CDL and drive heavy-duty commercial vehicles in intrastate commerce, but federal rules have long prohibited those same drivers from driving in interstate commerce.
听
The bipartisan infrastructure law enacted in 2021 included a nationwide pilot program to create a pathway for these younger drivers to operate in interstate commerce with rigorous safety and training guardrails. 听The apprenticeship program was capped at 3,000 participating drivers at any one time; however, to date, three dozen have enrolled.听
听
This lack of participation is partly due to extraneous program requirements that go beyond those prescribed in statute. 听The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) required participating motor carriers to register their apprenticeship programs with the U.S. Department of Labor and equip their trucks with inward-facing cameras.听
听
In an effort to bolster participation, the appropriations provision championed by 黑料不打烊and IFDA, and supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders, takes necessary corrective action to improve the pilot program in line with Congressional intent.
听