WASHINGTON — Regulators have approved a new-driver exemption for Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Covenant Logistics despite safety concerns voiced by owner-operators and crash victim advocates.
The exemption allows a holder of a commercial learner’s permit (CLP) who has passed the skills test but not yet received an actual CDL document to drive a Covenant truck while accompanied by a CDL holder who chooses to be off duty in the sleeper berth.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations require that the CDL holder be on duty in the passenger seat monitoring the new driver.
The two-year exemption for Covenant (NASDAQ: CVLG) and its logistics affiliate Landair Transport Inc. will allow the company to streamline the process for employing 2,000 new drivers, the company told FMCSA when it applied for the exemption in January.
“FMCSA has analyzed the exemption application and public comments and determined that the exemption … will maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption,” FMCSA stated in its approval notice published on Monday.
But two major trucking industry lobby groups disagreed with FMCSA’s assessment. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, advocating for small-business truckers, told FMCSA that Covenant’s request “fails to explain how the CLP holder will be adequately mentored if the CDL holder is not in the passenger seat,” wrote OOIDA President Todd Spencer.
“Given the minimum nature of current entry-level driver training standards, inexperienced drivers will face countless conditions, scenarios, and other challenges they had absolutely no training for during their first months and even years on the road. Granting exemptions … ignores the fact that well-trained, more experienced drivers have better safety records and can pass their knowledge along to less seasoned drivers.”
The Truck Safety Coalition, advocating for crash victims and their families, agreed with OOIDA, stating, “somehow, safety will improve with the supervisor in the sleeper berth? Curiously, Landair Transport Inc. fails to explain this phenomenon that defies logic and intuition.”
TSC stated that the National Roadway Safety Strategy, an interagency regulatory and marketing effort unveiled by the Department of Transportation in 2022, “correctly points out that humans make mistakes. Requiring CLP holders to receive physically direct CDL holder supervision and observation reduces the likelihood that mistakes will occur in the first place.”
The American Trucking Associations supported the exemption, noting that FMCSA has granted and extended similar waivers to C.R. England, Werner Enterprises and UPS, among others.
“These exemptions resulted in at least equivalent safety outcomes,” ATA contended, citing data from C.R. England showing that new drivers operating under its exemption had safety records that were equal to or better than those of non-exempt drivers.
“By allowing qualified CLP holders to drive as new CDL holders, inefficiencies such as waiting for the newly trained driver to travel to their home state, using a CDL holder as a second ‘on duty’ employee in the passenger seat, and facing delays associated with obtaining documents may be avoided,” ATA asserted.
“Eliminating barriers that result in unproductive work hours … subsequently lead[s] to bolstered cargo movement and cost-effectiveness. The solution would contribute to improvements in short- and long-term supply chain efficiency and alleviate pressure due to driver shortages.”
OOIDA believes, however, that FMCSA should reject a “false premise of a driver shortage” used by larger carriers to seek regulatory exemptions.
“In reality, evidence from the federal government and industry analysis show that driver turnover is the problem,” Spencer stated. “The nation’s largest truck fleets routinely report annual turnover rates above 90%. Clearly, there is no shortage of drivers entering the industry.”