federal motor carrier safety administration

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, standards have been relaxed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in regards to commercial learner’s permit holders and how they obtain a commercial driver’s license.

The waiver, which will last until June 30th, will allow truckers with learner permits to operate during the coronavirus emergency without needing a commercially-licensed driver in the front seat of the cab–as long as that licensed driver is present in the truck.

With the waiver, the permit-holding driver must also have proof showing that he or she has passed the CDL driving skills test.

The three-month waiver aims to prevent a shortage of commercial truck drivers “from becoming a transportation emergency, and to continue the ability of intrastate and interstate CDL and CLP holders to transport goods in response to the COVID-19 emergency,” said the FMCSA in the waiver, released on March 28th.

“FMCSA has determined that it is in the public interest to issue a waiver, until June 30, 2020, limited in scope in circumstances, that is likely to achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety that would be obtained in the absence of the waiver,” the agency explained.

Not only will the waiver not require a learner’s permit holder to have a licensed commercial driver in the front seat whenever the permit holder is driving on public roads or highways, but the state will not need to administer a driving skills test to any out-of-state commercial license applicant who has taken driver training in that state.

Still, permit-holding drivers must always have on hand their non-commercial driver’s license, their learner’s permit, and a medical certificate. Additionally, to make the commercial driver’s licensing process quicker, states can administer driving tests to any applicant, regardless of the state in which they received their training.

“A state driver licensing agency that elects to administer a CDL driving skills test to a non-domiciled CMV applicant under this waiver must transmit the test results electronically directly from the testing state to the licensing state in an efficient and secure manner,” said the waiver.

Still, some states with increased employee absences and office closures have DMVs that are unable to process and issue commercial driver’s licenses at this time.

“Given the national emergency, there is a public need for immediate transportation of essential supplies, equipment, and persons, which requires adequate and sustained supply of drivers eligible to operate a CMV,” said the FMCSA. “This waiver provides needed relief from specified FMCSRs for states and CLP holders.”

According to Don Lefeve, Commercial Vehicle Training Association President, the waiver is not an overall solution to any commercial driver shortage.

“[While the waiver is] a great first step,” he explained, “it doesn’t solve the problem of somebody who needs to get that commercial learner’s permit from the 22 states whose state driver licensing agencies are closed due to the virus.”

Lefeve also explained that CDL holders would still need to be in a sleeper berth, but not necessarily the jump seat, while a permit-holder is operating a truck. As of now, Lefeve believes those drivers-in-training won’t be able to easily move on to driving on their own.

“Typically, new drivers will be paired with a driver trainer for three to eight weeks. depending on the company and individual’s skill progression,” in a “finishing school,” a company providing additional training for drivers who have recently received their CDL, he said.

Lefeve continued: “I think the problem is that if the states’ DMVs remain closed, once that driver could move on to being a solo driver, they could only do so if they have an actual CDL, which, as of now, is near impossible in 22 states because of the DMVs being closed.”

The 22 states that have closed their DMVS also have driver training schools with much more limited operations. “So, it’s critical that governors understand that they need to keep the state driver license agencies open,” Lefeve said.

According to the FMCSA, the waiver does not apply to CMV operators with these endorsements: T (double/triple trailers), P (passenger), N (tank vehicle), H (hazardous materials), X (combination of tank vehicle and hazardous materials), and S (school bus).

“To put all this in perspective, each year–the statistics vary–anywhere from 200,000 to 480,000 CDL are issued,” said Lefeve. “To use conservative numbers, say, 25,000 a month aren’t going to be licensed to do anything in the response or recovery effort.”

U.S. regulators are hyper-focused on hours-of-service adjustments and the trucking industry’s compliance with the electronic logging devices designed to monitor them–as is the industry itself.

At tech supplier Omnitracs’ Outlook 2020 conference on February 17th in Las Vegas, ELDs and HOS rules took center stage. Industry officials talked extensively about how regulators are finalizing the proposal of driver HOS flexibility, as federal electronic logging device enforcement also progresses.

For truck drivers, motor carriers, and shippers, these new regulations may be the most important federal trucking changes in 2020.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released its intention to revise how much time drivers can spend on-duty hours (both driving and out-of-cab), as well as how they track their hours in their driver logs, in August 2018. The ELD mandate took full effect in December 2019–a regulation calling for truckers to record their HOS with ELDs instead of annual paper logbooks.

Joe DeLorenzo, acting associate administrator for enforcement at the FMCSA, said at the conference’s panel discussion that current ELD enforcement data shows law enforcement is learning to more regularly cooperate with the data transfer process of the new technology.

DeLorenzo said there has been an “interesting curve” in driver log violations, as well as in driver violations for exceeding HOS limits.

“We had a large dip in violations for falsification,” he explained. “But as officers got comfortable with it, that level of violations per inspection for false records is higher than it’s ever been before, which means now law enforcement has figured out what the tricks are, and how easy it is to find the falsifications.”

Back when the ELD mandate was first set in 2017, the FMCSA had “numerous requests from Congress and the public for [the] FMCSA to consider revising certain HOS provisions,” the federal truck safety agency said in its rulemaking notice.

The Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association in particular asked the agency to make significant changes to HOS rules in order to allow drivers to rest for up to three consecutive hours once per 14-hour shift. OOIDA also wanted the FMCSA to loosen the 30-minute rest break requirement after eight driving hours.

The FMCSA released its guidance in May of 2018 depicting how drivers should use the personal conveyance provision of the HOS rules, as well as how certain exemptions work in the era of the ELD mandate. Still, regulators thought they should address the ELD trucking aftershock further.

According to DeLorenzo, the overall learning curve is likely to continue throughout 2020.

“We need this next six or 12 months to really solidify that learning, get everybody used to it, and the more we can get data transfer done, that’s better for everybody,” he said.

Kerri Wirachowsky, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance roadside inspection program director, said to make ELD inspections work easily, driver knowledge is most important.

“Ensure your drivers are trained on how to use the device,” she asserted.

FMCSA is still reviewing public comments regarding its HOS regulation flexibility proposal. When the comment period on the rulemaking notice was extended, thousands of comments flooded the agency. The four HOS areas being considered for changes include:

-Expanding the current short-haul exemption from 12 to 14 hours-on duty

-Extending the 14-hour on-duty limitation by up to two hours when adverse driving conditions are present

-Revising the mandatory 30-minute break for drivers after eight hours of driving

-Reinstating the option to split 10-hour off-duty breaks for drivers operating trucks with sleeper-berths

DeLorenzo said as HOS changes are complex, it will continue to take time. The changes also continue to receive strong backlash from those arguing that relaxing break times will bring more fatigued drivers, and thus, more accidents.

For FMCSA, the main concern seems to be changing trucking environments with higher–and faster–demands.

“An awful lot has changed in the industry since 2003,” DeLorenzo said. “Just-in-time delivery wasn’t a thing. Amazon wasn’t a thing. Traffic certainly was not what it is now. Infrastructure was not what it is now.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is currently reviewing a petition from the National Association of the Deaf to relax certain requirements for deaf truck drivers.

NAD is arguing that the present requirements stating deaf truckers must pass a medical exam proving their ability to hear and prohibiting them from using interpreters during tests were implemented during a “time of misguided stereotypes about the abilities and inabilities of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.”

NAD has been pushing for updates to these requirements since 2017.

“NAD also contends that both the hearing requirement for physical qualification to operate a commercial vehicle and the speaking requirement are violations of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,” said FMCSA’s announcement inviting public comment on the petition. This comment period ended on February 14th.

As of now, drivers have to “perceive a forced whispered voice in the better ear at no less than 5 feet, with or without the use of a hearing aid,” to pass hearing exams.

Additionally, to pass an audiometric device test, a driver must not have an average loss of hearing in his or her better ear, with or without a hearing aid, of any greater than 40 decibels at 500 Hertz, 1,000 Hertz, and 2,000 Hertz.

Any deaf drivers who cannot successfully pass these hearing tests are currently able to seek an exemption from the FMCSA, and at least 450 deaf drivers who have good driving records have been given 5-year exemptions.

Regardless, many prominent groups in the trucking industry have filed comments opposing any relaxation of present regulations. These groups include: American Trucking Associations, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Commercial Vehicle Training Association, American Bus Association, and American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

“While ATA believes the National Association of Deaf petition has merit, there are several concerns that FMCSA must address before any consideration to eliminate the hearing requirement for commercial motor vehicle operators,” ATA said in its comments. “These concerns involve a commercial driver license training, regulatory compliance, workplace safety, advisory board opposition, the lack of data currently available to assess crash risk, and employers’ ability to make an individual assessment of driver applicants.”

ATA also explained that proof of safety improvements in this circumstance is most important. “Before FMCSA revises any safety standard, both the petitioner and FMCA must provide the public with data-driven evidence that reflects real-world situations and adequately ensures safe CMV operations on our nation’s roadways.”

According to the FMCSA Federal Register Post, the proposal must undergo an environmental analysis in accordance with the FAA Order titled: “Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures” before any final regulatory changes.

OOIDA did note that FMCSA’s 2017 analysis of 218 CDL holders who had hearing exemptions showed that those drivers did in fact have a lower crash rate than the national average, as well as fewer out-of-service violations. Still, OOIDA remains in opposition to any regulation updates for deaf truck drivers.

“Driving a commercial [motor vehicle] requires constant attention,” said Education for Apex CDL Institute owner, Jeffrey Steinberg. “It requires the ability to always perceive changing circumstances around you. It requires the ability to not only see what is going on, but to also hear what is going on. Screeching tires, horns and train bells, emergency vehicle sirens.” 

He also explained that hearing ability can be imperative in the case of mechanical issues on trucks. “Drivers need to be able to detect mechanical problems to be able to act before a serious problem occurs. Blown and failed tires, air leaks, wheel bearing failures, screeching brakes, engine knocks, and pre-ignition, just to name a few.”

Many deaf truck drivers don’t see these safety concerns as valid, though. 

“I’m a deaf trucker of 29 years with no accident of any sort of record,” said driver David Helgerson. “Technology today has vastly improved [from where] it was years and years ago. This barrier needs to be removed.”

CTVA stands firm. “The government’s extensive 1997 study found a ‘consensus’ among subject matter experts ‘that there are many tasks for which truck drivers are required to use their hearing.’ CVTA strongly opposes NAD’s request to remove the hearing and speech requirements for the operation of commercial motor vehicles.”

Whether or not FMCSA will consider the technology improvements that have simplified so many manual trucking tasks since then in regards to how truck drivers perform their duties has yet to be determined.