Heavy Duty Trucking, September 2019
HDT SEPTEMBER 2019 34 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM rule to set national minimum training standards for entry level applicants seeking to obtain a commercial drivers license or certain endorsements will take effect on Feb 7 2020 The intent of the final rule on entry level driver training which everyone abbreviates as ELDT despite the obvious potential for confusion with the initials ELD for electronic logging devices is to enhance the safety of commercial motor vehicle operations on our nations highways by establishing more extensive ELDT requirements according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration The rulemaking has been in the works since the 1980s before some of todays CDL holders were even born Ultimately completion of the rule was driven by a Congressional mandate imposed under 2012 s Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act MAP 21 highway bill Congress pushed it into being but FMCSA said the rule is based in part on recommendations of the agencys Entry Level Driver Training Advisory Committee a negotiated rulemaking committee made up of agency officials and representatives of 25 stakeholder groups that held a series of meetings in 2015 The final ELDT rule was published on Dec 8 2016 Watch for wrinkles Despite the years of effort poured into making this rule two wrinkles have emerged this year The first is an amendment announced in March that the agency says will make complying with the rule less burdensome for certain driver applicants While that change is welcome news for The entry level driver training rule takes effect in February 2020 some the other wrinkle which appeared in July is a proposal that could have a much wider and potentially negative impact The key elements of the final rule are as follows Applicants seeking a commercial drivers license will have to demonstrate proficiency in theory classroom training and in behind the wheel training given on a driving range and on a public road There are no required minimum number of hours for the knowledge or behind the wheel portions of any of the individual training curricula However training providers must determine that each CDL applicant demonstrates proficiency in all required elements of the training The prescribed program of theory and behind the wheel training must be provided by an entity listed on FMCSAs Training By David Cullen Executive Editor dcullen@ truckinginfo com Driver training rule rolling out wrinkles or not Revisions made or sought this year will make it easier for some to get a CDL but may delay compliance for parts of the rule for training providers and state agencies SAFETY COMPLIANCE A PHOTO GETTYIMAGES COM MICROSTOCKHUB
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