ATA Thanks FMCSA for Driver Training Rule and Congress for Permanent HOS Fix

If you’re in the truck lobbying business, Christmas came early.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has praised the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for issuing a skills-based entry-level driver training rule.

At the same time, the ATA is thanking Congress for including what it says “should be a permanent fix to the hours-of-service (HOS) restart.”

Now for the specifics:

“ATA has consistently advocated that skills, not simply time spent in a classroom or behind the wheel, should be the deciding factor if a student should be allowed to take a commercial driver’s license test,” said ATA Executive Vice President of Advocacy Bill Sullivan.

FMCSA’s final rule requires that student drivers spend time both in the classroom and behind the wheel on a driving course and on public roads, and that they must demonstrate proficiency in both portions of their training before advancing to take the CDL test.

On the topic of HOS, ATA President and CEO Chris Spear issued the following statement about the inclusion of a permanent hours-of-service restart fix in Congress’ bipartisan Continuing Resolution:

“ATA thanks Congress for including what should be a permanent fix to the hours-of-service restart in this Continuing Resolution, and we look forward to its final passage into law to resolve this issue. Reverting back to the pre-July 2013 restart shifts the emphasis back to safety by removing flawed data from the rulemaking process. The entire industry will now be able to comply with this rule thanks to a common sense approach championed by a bipartisan group of legislators.

Tags: American Trucking Associations, ATA, Bill Sullivan, Chris Spear

Category: General Update