A committee was named earlier this week to help create new federal minimum training requirements for people seeking licenses to drive commercial vehicles, including trucks and buses.
The committee is expected to discuss and negotiate issues in a proposed training rule, which the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration intends to issue by this fall.
They are expected to consider length of classroom instruction and behind-the-wheel experience; accreditation versus certification of CDL training programs and schools; potential distinct curricula for property, hazmat and/or passenger carriers and other areas.
A final rule is expected in 2016.
The first meeting of the advisory committee is scheduled for Feb. 26 and 27 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va. and is open to the public.
Members of the committee are:
- LaMont Byrd, Director, Health and Safety, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- Jim Edwards, Washington Representative, National Association of Small Trucking Companies
- Martin Garsee, Immediate Past President, National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools
- Scott Grenerth, Director, Regulatory Affairs, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
- Clyde Hart, Vice President, Government Affairs, American Bus Association
- David Heller, Director, Safety and Policy, Truckload Carriers Association
- Charlie Hood, President, National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services
- Peter Kurdock, Director, Regulatory Affairs, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
- John Lannen, Executive Director, Truck Safety Coalition
- Kevin Lewis, Director, Driver Programs, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators
- Larry W. Minor, Associate Administrator for Policy, FMCSA
- David Money, Chairman, Board of Directors, Professional Truck Drivers Institute
- David R. Parker, Senior Legal Counsel, Great West Casualty Company
- Ken Presley, Vice President, Industry Operations, and Chief Operating Officer, United Motorcoach Association
- Bob Ramsdell, Chief Operating Officer, West, Durham School Services, National School Transportation Association
- Margaret Rohanna, School Bus Program Manager, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle Division, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
- Lauren Samet, Assistant Director, Paraprofessional and School-Related Personnel, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
- Al Smith, Director, Safety and Security, Greyhound Lines, Inc.
- Carl Spatocco, Regional Vice President, Educational Affiliates, Commercial Vehicle Training Association
- Bryan Spoon, Owner-Operator, Spoon Trucking
- Louis Spoonhour, Senior Advisor for CDL Programs, Stevens Transport
- Boyd Stephenson, Director, Hazardous Materials and Commercial Licensing Policy, American Trucking Associations
- Bob Tershak, Master Trooper, Virginia State Police, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
- Ellen Voie, President and CEO, Women in Trucking
- Ed Watt, Director, Special Projects, Amalgamated Transit Union, AFL-CIO
- Ron Wood, Washington, DC, Volunteer Coordinator, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways
Last fall the FMCSA was sued in federal court by a coalition of highway safety and labor advocates for not heeding Congressional requirements to produce an entry-level driver training rule. The suit claimed said the agency is more than 20 years late in producing the rule, which Congress mandated in 1991.
