Regulators received heavy opposition from truck owner-operators and safety advocates on a proposal aimed at making it easier to test and employ new drivers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed rule, “Increased Flexibility for Testing and for Drivers after Passing the Skills Test,” would loosen current CDL testing regulations by allowing commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders who have passed the CDL skills test to operate a truck without having a CDL holder in the passenger seat, expanding CDL applicants’ ability to take a skills test in a state other than the state in which they live and eliminating the requirement that an applicant wait at least 14 days after being issued a CLP to take the CDL skills test.
