Advocacy Group Sues FMCSA Over Driver Training Rules

According to the Insurance Journal, the Advocates for Highways and Auto Safety have filed suit against the FMCSA, urging to the FMCSA to “issue stiffer rules for training for entry-level truck drivers.”

Since 1991, Congress has set multiple deadlines for the FMCSA to establish uniform minimum entry-level training requirements for new drivers, and multiple times, the FMCSA has missed those deadlines, the advocacy group stated in their suit.

However, In 2004, the FMCSA passed a rule requiring prospective drivers to complete ten hours of classroom work.  The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety say that that rule is not sufficient.

“People are dying needlessly while the agency drags its feet,” Henry Jasny, the Washington-based watchdog group’s general counsel, said in a statement.

The Advocates and Auto Safety suit urges the court to require the FMCSA issue a final rule on new driver training within 180 days.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways joined the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in the complaint.

Source: Insurance Journal

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