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Monday, November 18, 2019

Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Updates

UPDATE: 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a two-year delay to a rule that establishes nationwide minimum training standards for a new truck driver. These new rule changes will be effective February 2022.

Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Updates that we need to be aware of and they will be come effective in February 2022. Not 2020 like originally designed.
  • Unlike some of the current CDL standards that may be set by State Statutes, there is a change. Standards are now being set at the Federal Level. State can no longer establish their own.
  • Requirements for teacher qualifications: Instructors now must have two years of driving experience, clean driving MVR, and a medical certification for on road and private range instructions.
  • Increases in curriculum mandates:
    • Previous 4 knowledge courses have been replaced with 31 required theory topic courses.
    • These will be joined with 19 behind-the-wheel skills and will be tested with the vehicle inspection skills at a state level DMV.
  • All existing CDL training schools and any new school must be listed on the Training Provider Registry.

Who does this affect, and the Final Rule Establishes new training standards for individuals applying for:
1.  Class A or B Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) for the first time.
2.  An upgrade of their CDL (example Class-B seeking to upgrade to a Class-A)
3.  A Hazardous Materials (H), Passenger (P), or School Bus (S) endorsements for the first time.

What could this mean to you? It could take additional time to find a candidate who needs to get or upgrade their CDL. It could mean additional expenses involved that would need to be budgeted if changes in CDL required operations, and or if you have employee turnover.

We have added a few links to reference some local and federal information related to these updates:

Submitted by: Troy T. Walsh, Loss Control Consultant

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