A final rule meant to streamline the ability of new truck driver candidates to get their commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) during COVID-19 — and cut down on so-called CDL mills — could also benefit the school bus industry by eliminating further obstacles to filling vacant driver seats.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration now allows states to permit third-party skills examiners to administer the CDL skills test as well as provide the skills training to new applicants. The previous federal rule implemented about five years ago prohibited CDL skills instructors who were also certified by the state to administer the skills test from performing both functions for the same applicant.
Prior to the old federal rule going into effect, it was common for a new school bus driver applicant’s strainer to also be the CDL tester, said Charlie Hood, the executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS).
States do not have to comply with the new rule, which goes into effect in 60 days.
FMCSA said it seeks to reduce the costs associated with training new driver candidates by $18 million annually.
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In related news, FMCSA Associate Administrator Larry Minor said last month during the Federal Forums Plus conference hosted by NASDPTS that the agency continues to discuss internally the merits of and costs associated with creating an independent school bus CDL.
FMCSA spokesman Duane DeBruyne added on Wednesday that the petition for rulemaking remains under review. He declined to comment further.
The National School Transportation Association made the request to separate school bus drivers from the same “under the hood” requirements that truck drivers must meet when diagnosing the causes of a vehicle breakdown. Curt Macysyn, NSTA’s executive director, explained that school bus drivers are rarely if ever required to identify engine components or the cause of breakdowns while on routes.
He noted that school bus drivers also tend to be an older demographic than most over-the-road truckers, school bus drivers shouldn’t leave students on the bus unattended, and they are generally in close proximity to a bus facility that can dispatch a mechanic to the scene.
