WASHINGTON — Truckload carrier Covenant Logistics is seeking a two-year federal exemption to streamline the process for employing 2,000 new drivers, the company told regulators.
Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Covenant (NASDAQ: CVLG), along with its logistics affiliate Landair Transport Inc., has petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to allow commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders who have passed a CDL skills test to drive a truck without an on-duty CDL holder present in the front passenger seat, as is currently required.
According to an FMCSA notice published Wednesday, Covenant currently cannot employ a new driver until the driver’s home state issues a CDL. The company must therefore either wait for the driver to obtain the physical CDL credential from the state or send the driver home.
“Covenant Logistics states this results in supply chain inefficiency and a lost employment opportunity for the new driver,” according to the notice.
“States may take weeks to properly document and update the status of a new driver’s CDL after they have passed the CDL skills test, and Covenant Logistics is not able to employ the driver during this time without having a second driver in the front seat of the [truck]. This administrative waiting period has caused a significant burden on Covenant Logistics’ operations.”
Covenant explained that prior to the implementation of the front-seat requirement for experienced drivers who oversee new permit holders, states routinely issued temporary CDLs, valid only in drivers’ home states, to drivers who had successfully passed a CDL skills test.
“This process made it possible for the company to immediately designate a new driver as on duty, and direct that driver to their home state without entering a second driver into an on-duty status,” the company states in the notice.
If granted the exemption, Covenant would join several other large trucking companies, including CRST and Wilson Logistics, in securing licensing flexibility from regulators.
CRST, which was originally given an exemption in 2016, has successfully renewed it by showing that safety has not been compromised with the eased restrictions.
Such exemptions may not be necessary in the future if FMCSA moves forward with a pending rulemaking.
The proposed rule, “Increased Flexibility for Testing and for Drivers after Passing the Skills Test,” would loosen current CDL testing regulations by:
- Allowing 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.
- Eliminating the requirement that an applicant wait at least 14 days after being issued a CLP to take the CDL skills test.
The changes are opposed, however, by some owner-operators and by truck safety advocates who warn that rolling back driver testing regulations will lead to more crashes.
Norman Manning
I am truck driver with 30 years experience and currently working at a truck driving school. I tell students that we aren’t teaching them to drive a big rig but preparing them to pass a CDL test to get a license. I have told several students l will give them my phone number to let me know when you are in my area, so l can stay home. CRST have been some of the sorriest drivers l have seen. Please do not let this happen
Paul Alexander Jr.
In School You Learn From A Text Book Or Lab To Find Out It Is Different In The Real World. When Dealing With Life Or Property They Should Choose The Safest Road.
Des
Very bad idea
Joseph Fitzpatrick
You know what when I got my license I had to earn it the right way and did it the right way this is a problem with all use big companies you want to keep putting people behind wheels of trucks that don’t belong behind the wheels of truck it’s been proven over and over the people that you put behind the wheels of these trucks today and these big companies are nothing but failures and a disgrace IT industry they can’t drive just look at the Facebook and you to all the time you’ll see all the stupid s*** that happens day after day night after night this s*** didn’t happen years ago like it’s happening now it’s disgusting and needs to be tougher for somebody to get a CDL
Bill
This is a CRUCIAL MISTAKE THAT WILL LEAD TO INOCENTE PEOPLE BEING CRUSHED IN THEIR AUTO’S.
THE BIG CARRIERS DON’T CARE ABOUT SAFETY !!
THE BIG CARRIERS ONLY CARE ABOUT EXTRA MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS via HIRING NON CITIZENS !!
THEY ARE TRYING TO PUT MIDDLE CLASS OWNER OPERATORS OUT OF BUSINESS !
DON’T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN.
I noticed
Dead people are suing trucking companies when they try to hire driver’s. An Automated law firm uses the dead person’s voice recording like a chat bot but it’s the dead person’s voice chatting to you.
Bertie William Brinegar
that is a big mistake u have drivers that can’t even operate a car correctly why would the government allow this be g mistake
Stephen Webster
I sat in the passenger seat when I had a new driver for the first 8 weeks after they got their full driver permit I only allowed them to drive from 600 hrs to 20 00 hrs any night time was done by me I also made sure the teuck was parked at least 6 hrs a night while we both slept. We need better standards not a race to the bottom with cheaper new drivers. The whole trucking industry needs to stop this poor trading model.