Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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commercial carrier journal | january 2018 13 JOURNAL NEWS Bill would expand pilot program, allow 18-21-year-old truckers to drive interstate A New York congresswoman has introduced legislation that would expand a pilot program that allows some 18- to 21-year-olds to drive trucks across state lines. U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) introduced the Waiving Hindrances to Economic Enterprise and Labor (WHEEL) Act, which would expand a pilot program approved under the FAST Act. As it stands now, this program requires partic- ipants to be veterans or active-duty military service members and between the ages of 18 and 21. Tenney said the 18-21 military is a demographic that has been "challenging to recruit in statistically significant num- bers for the purposes of this study." The legislation would broaden the criteria for participation in the pilot program. Individuals in this age group may obtain a commercial driver's license in each of the 48 contiguous states; however, they are prohibited from operating trucks across state lines. "We already allow qualified drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 to drive from Long Island to Buffalo without a problem, but prohibit them from crossing the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee, New Jersey into New York City," said Tenney. "The WHEEL Act is a common-sense measure that would ease the burden on these truck operators by expanding the interstate truck driving pilot program authorized by the FAST Act." Chris Spear, president and chief executive officer of the American Trucking Associations, said Tenney's bill "is a critical step toward addressing the trucking industry's grow- ing driver shortage. ATA supports this proposed change." To date, Tenney's bill has seven cosponsors: Reps. Clay Higgins (R-Louisiana), Garret Graves (E-Iowa), Robert Latta (R-Ohio), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), David Young (R-Iowa), Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine) and Rick Allen (R-Georgia). The bill was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. – David Hollis Zonar IDs top 10 most dangerous highways for truck drivers F leet management company Zonar analyzed 2013-16 trucking acci- dent data from the U.S. Department of Transportation to determine the 10 most dangerous roads for truck drivers: • Interstate 10 in Alabama • I-95 in Florida • State Route 75 in Idaho • I-40 in Arkansas • U.S. 1 in Florida • State Route 20 in Michigan • I-80 in Colorado • State Route 5 in Colorado • I-70 in Maryland • State Route 35 in South Carolina Although I-80 doesn't go through Colorado, Zonar says the accidents were reported on an offramp at the Colorado- Nebraska state line. – CCJ Staff NTSB: Truck-involved highway fatalities rose in 2016 T he number of people killed in crashes involving medium- and heavy-duty trucks in 2016 increased by 57 over the previous year, according to data from the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB determined total year-over-year U.S. highway deaths increased by 1,976, which included 722 fatalities from crashes involving medium- and heavy-duty trucks compared to 665 in 2015. "Unfortunately, we continue to see increases in transportation fatalities," said NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt. "We can do more, we must do more, to eliminate the com- pletely preventable accidents that claim so many lives each year." The highest increase in fatalities was seen with passenger cars, which increased from 12,761 fatalities in 2015 to 13,412 fatalities in 2016. In addition to highway fatalities, which accounted for 95 percent of all transportation deaths in 2016, increases also were seen in the rail- road and marine sectors. Aviation fatalities saw a slight year-over- year decrease. – Matt Cole Drivers ages 18-21 current- ly may obtain a CDL in each of the 48 con- tiguous states, but they are prohibited from operating trucks across state lines. Highway deaths accounted for 95 percent of all transpor- tation-related fatalities in 2016. Year over year, highway fatalities increased by 1,976.