Truckers Discuss New-Entrant Testing

David Owen with the National Association of Small Trucking Companies said his group has been offering new-entrant survival training. Photo: Evan Lockridge

LOUISVILLE, KY — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration got many suggestions from people in the industry on how to implement a new-entrant testing system Friday at the Mid-America Trucking Show during their second of three public listening sessions.

In her introductory remarks, FMCSA’s administrator, Anne Ferro emphasized that the agency’s mission is safety. “That’s the mandate Congress gave us” when the agency was spun off from the Department of Transportation.

“Over the years Congress has given us additional mandates,” including the new-entrant proposal being discussed, she added.

The proficiency exam has been on the agency’s to-do list for several years, but Congress got the clock ticking in earnest when it included this requirement in last year’s highway bill, truckinginfo reports.

“It has been standard practice if you needed a DOT number you could get as many as you wanted whenever you wanted,” she said, with a new-entrant audit coming as much as 18 months later. “It has been too easy.”

The FMCSA is expected to come up with a rule that will require anyone applying for new authority – a carrier, a broker, a freight forwarder – to take a knowledge test first.

Small Fleets

David Owen, of the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, said the idea is long overdue. His group, he said, started offering members new-entrant survival training about five years ago and has sent about 1,000 people through the course.

Owen suggested using the existing CDL licensing infrastructure for the new-entrant exams.  He threw out a $100 possible fee for applicants, and recommended the FMCSA offer an online tutorial to help prepare people for the test.

Tom Weakley with the OOIDA Foundation agreed that new entrants should be tested on FMCSA regulations, as well as knowing how CSA works and what happens when there’s an intervention.

“They should know how to establish a safety management plan,” Weakley said, but added that “We don’t think it should be limited to FMCSA regulations. There are some best practices that need to be considered,” including budgeting, knowing their costs of operation, etc.

In 2006, he said, a survey of members who had operating authority was used to help develop a curriculum for owner-operators entering the business. The curriculum was offered in seminars, webinars and online education.

However, he suggested that best practices might not be considered part of the pass/fail requirements for the test, rather an educational type of exercise so the new entrant would have some ideas of what he or she still needed to work on when it comes to the business side of trucking.

Brokers

James Lamb, president of the Association of Independent Property Brokers & Agents, addressed how the requirement might affect brokers.

He alleged that the provisions of the law were essentially written by the Transportation Intermediaries Association and that the goal, like the $75,000 broker bond, was intended to drive small brokers out of the market.

“Much like the broker bond, we believe this requirement is designed to restrict and discourage would-be entrepreneurs from entering the industry and competing with large brokers,” he said, asking that the agency “steer clear of promulgating unreasonable barriers to entry.”

He specifically addressed a requirement calling for three years of relevant experience, noting that the law does not define what is relevant. Because the role of transportation intermediaries is essentially sales and support, he said, his group believes the FMCSA should include sales and support experience outside of the transportation industry as part of that relevant experience.

“Evidence of knowledge should be based on the understanding of broker regulations and motor carrier safety regulations such as hours of service so they do not engage in actions that would hamper public safety, like force drivers to violate log books,” he said.

Lamb said the mandate should require four hours of training on industry regulations and safety standards, and that the training could be done by companies registered with the FMCSA.

Read the full truckinginfo story here. 


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