FMCSA Delays Compliance with the Entry Level Driver Training Requirements for Two Years

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is extending the compliance deadline for its problem plagued Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) rule for two years the agency announced this week. The ELDT rule establishes new knowledge and behind the wheel testing for new applicants who wish to obtain a CDL license for the first time or upgrade their current CDL from Class A to Class B or obtain a hazardous material endorsement. Only trainers certified by the FMCSA may provide the new training.

The original compliance date for the ELDT rule was set for February 7, 2020 but is now pushed back to February 7, 2022. The delay is due to ongoing technical problems with the ELDT electronic database designed to contain driver-specific training information. The FMCSA Training Provider Registry (TPR) is a centralized database that receives and stores entry level driver training certification information. State licensing agencies are required to access the database to confirm completion of training before allowing driver/ applicants to take their skills test necessary to obtain a CDL. The ELDT rule requires states to update their own electronic databases in order to accommodate the receipt of driver-specific information from the TPR. However, most states have yet to complete interface capabilities.

The delay is important to petroleum marketers because the ELDT establishes new training requirements that make it more difficult for entry level drivers to obtain their CDL. The FMCSA is mandating the new requirements at a time when the industry is experiencing a long-term shortage of qualified drivers. The delay is welcome news because launching ELDT with ongoing technical problems would create confusion and only further delay the CDL licensing procedure.

Last July, FMCSA proposed to only delay the part of the rule requiring state motor vehicle registration agencies to implement their own electronic interfaces capable of communicating with the ELDT database by February 7, 2020. PMAA has been pursuing a delay of the ELDT rule until the technical problems can be fully worked out. The ELDT training was mandated by Congress in 2012 under the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.”

From PMAA