TORONTO, (Dec. 7, 2004) — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has told the Ontario Trucking Association it will give a break to Canadian truckers that can’t comply with a new rule that requires every driver of a Longer Combination Vehicle (LCV) to have successfully completed an LCV driver training program.

The rule, which became effective June 1, 2004, is to ensure drivers have the knowledge and skills necessary to operate an LCV — which is defined by the FMCSA as a vehicle combination that has two or more trailers and has a GVW in excess of 80,000 lbs. This definition would include any B-trains being operated in Michigan and/or New York.

One of the conditions that must be met before any training can be given is that the driver must be the holder of a CDL with a double/triple trailer endorsement. However, Ontario does not issue such an endorsement, making it impossible for a driver and company to comply with this training requirement.

Last spring, Today’s Trucking brought the issue up with the FMCSA. An agency spokesperson told the magazine at the time that the FMCSA was discussing an amendment that would address the Canadian trucker issue, hopefully before the rule became effective this summer.

The OTA says that the FMCSA recently confirmed in discussions that it’s still contemplating an amendment to the rule. While some truckers can’t comply with the rule, the FMCSA told the OTA to advise truckers to use common sense in the meantime.

For example, a carrier should not allow a driver that has had his licence suspended to operate a B-train or has not been in the employ of the carrier for at least 6 months (both of these are conditions for qualifying for training).

Furthermore, OTA has recently been advised that the New York Thruway requires that the employer must have an LCV Certificate on file for every LCV driver. However, following discussions with FMCSA it has been determined that Canadian carriers will still be able to operate on the New York Thruway without the drivers complying with the rule.

OTA says it’s continuing its attempts to have FMCSA issue a publication that formally clarifies its position on LCVs and Canadian drivers.