A coalition of 117 organizations recently sent a letter urging passage of the DRIVE-Safe Act to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The DRIVE-Safe Act would allow drivers younger than 21 to obtain a commercial driver’s license and drive a truck across state lines. Current federal law allows drivers younger than 21 to obtain a commercial driver’s license and operate commercial vehicles in intrastate commerce but prohibited them from driving a truck across state lines and hauling any freight intrastate that originated from out-of-state until they turn 21.
Younger drivers would be required to participate in a two-step apprenticeship program and complete at least 400 hours of additional training.
“Seventy percent of the nation’s freight is carried by commercial trucks, and while demand is projected to increase over the next decade, the threat posed by the driver shortage stands to disrupt the continuity of the supply chain,” the letter said.
The trucking industry needs an additional 60,800 truck drivers immediately, and this deficit is forecasted to grow to more than 160,000 by 2028, the letter said.
When the shortage is combined with drivers retiring in the near future, the trucking industry will need an average of nearly 110,000 per year.