SDAP

The favorite argument from those supporting the ATA’s teen trucker push is “if they can go to war at 18, they can drive a truck at 18.” Military service transforms young people into disciplined, responsible adults who understand that their decisions affect others. That’s why military-trained drivers have 42% fewer accidents. The solution isn’t younger drivers; it’s requiring the standards that make military drivers safer. We’ve lost something fundamental in how we raise our young people, and the highway data proves it.

The ATA wants FMCSA to extend a failed pilot program that produced 42 graduates out of a planned 3,000. Meanwhile, we’re handing CDLs to drivers who can’t pass basic safety screenings, and carriers who kill people on our highways are walking away with slaps on the wrist. Lowering the age requirement doesn’t solve a labor problem; it creates a safety catastrophe.

The Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot (SDAP) Program helps drivers under 21 gain experience in trucking, helps carriers fill seats and helps the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration gather safety and feasibility data on lowering the age requirements for truck drivers in interstate commerce.

FMCSA’s Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program will analyze the safety benefits or hazards that young drivers pose to interstate commerce.