I want to call your attention to an issue that will be of interest to your members if they are dealing with the driver shortage that we are hearing abut from many NAW members. Under current Federal regulations, drivers have to be at least 21 years of age to obtain commercial drivers’ licenses for interstate commerce. However, most states allow drivers from 18 to 21 years of age to obtain commercial licenses for intrastate commerce. The obvious result of these conflicting rules is that a licensed commercial driver under the age of 21 has to stop his truck at the state line.California Congressman Duncan Hunter has introduced a piece of legislation that would address this problem by removing the Federal regulation and permitting drivers from 18 to 21 years of age to obtain commercial licenses for interstate commerce. His bill is titled The Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE Safe) Act.Our colleagues at IFDA brought this bill to our attention last week, and asked if we would join them and send a letter of support to Rep. Hunter, which we have done. And I am now following IFDA’s lead and bringing the issue to your attention.If you want to learn more about the regulation or Rep. Hunter’s legislation, and send a letter of support if the issue is of interest to your members, the following links will take you to relevant documents.And, if you do send a letter to the Hill, please send a copy to Jon Eisen at IFDA (cc’d on this message) and me.
IFDA letter in support of the DRIVE Safe Act:
http://www.ifdaonline.org/Government-Relations/Issues-Watch/Transportation/DRIVE-Safe-Act-support-ltr-031418
NAW letter in support of the bill:
https://www.naw.org/hunter/
One-pager describing the issue:
https://www.naw.org/drive-safe-act-1-pager/
Text of the Hunter bill:
https://www.naw.org/drive-safe-act-bill/
Article on the issue in today’s Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/27/lawmakers-let-teens-drive-18-wheelers-across-the-country/?utm_term=.95e8176880d
Many thanks.
