GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. (May 28, 2001) — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has come out strongly opposed to lowering the age requirement for interstate driving below the age of 21.

OOIDA’s statements came as it submitted its official response to the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on a proposal from the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) to initiate a pilot program allowing persons younger than 21 years old to get a commercial driver’s license.

OOIDA maintained that the suggestion to bring in 18-year-old drivers is an attempt by carriers to survive in a highly competitive industry by recruiting cheaper labor. OOIDA disputes claims of a serious shortage of drivers and says there is, instead, a lack of human resource strategies to take advantage of the current pool.

“With few exceptions, trucking rates and, therefore driver compensation, have remained stagnant over the last 20 years. This is not a new problem,” says OOIDA president Jim Johnston. “At the same time, the amount of uncompensated time that drivers are required to donate to the job, like wasted time at the shipping and receiving facilities, has reached unconscionable levels.”

The OOIDA response cited the long hours and rigorous working conditions of the trucking industry. According to the Department of Labor, truckdrivers are 6.5 times more likely to be killed on the job than the average worker. Severe traffic congestion, bad weather conditions, unsafe truckstops and warehouse locations all put truck drivers at great personal safety risks and can have perilous consequences for drivers who lack maturity or experience behind the wheel.

OOIDA believes a number of critical factors must be considered by FMCSA in approving or rejecting the proposal and points to the safety record of younger drivers.

“Statistics demonstrate higher accident rates among this group as compared to other age groups and cast serious doubt on the ability of younger persons to safely drive a truck,” says Johnston. “OOIDA does not believe that highway safety or driver recruitment will be improved by lowering the age limit and is convinced that teenagers driving heavy trucks would result in a lower standard of safety on our nation’s highways.”