The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted an exemption to Utah-based reefer giant C.R. England (No. 17 on the CCJ Top 250) from federal rules that require a commercial learner’s permit holder to always be accompanied by a commercial driver’s license holder in the front seat of the vehicle.
C.R. England applied for the exemption in December, citing it as a way to mitigate the effects of trucking’s driver shortage by more easily getting new entrant drivers into the industry.
Under the terms of the exemption, a learner’s permit holder who has passed a CDL skills test may drive a truck and trailer for C.R. England without a CDL holder in the front seat. The exemption is good for two years.
The exemption will enable learner’s permit holders to drive in team operations with a driver-trainer. Though a fully licensed driver will be in the vehicle, he or she won’t be required to sit in the front seat, as federal law requires.
