According to the FMCSA’s Federal Register, Daimler Trucks North America (Daimler) has requested a temporary Commercial Driver’s License Standard’s Exemption for a Daimer employee to drive a CMV without possessing a commercial drivers license in the United States.
Daimer has requested the CDL exemption for Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard who is the head of the Daimler Trucks and Bus Division. Bernhard will test drive Daimler vehicles on U.S. roads “to better understand product requirements for these vehicles in ‘real world’ environments and verify results.”
Bernhard hold a valid CDL in Germany, however he does not have U.S. residency, therefore he cannot obtain a state-issued CDL.
The FMCSA has granted Bernhard the temporary exemption stating, “FMCSA believes that the process for obtaining a German- issued CDL is comparable to or is effective as the U.S. CDL requirements and ensures that this driver will likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that would be obtained in the absence of the exemption.”
According to the FMCSA, the exemption will allow Bernhard to operate CMVs “to support Daimler field tests to meet future vehicle safety and environmental requirements and to promote the development of technology and advancements in vehicle safety systems and emissions reductions. He will typically drive for no more than 6 hours per day for 2 consecutive days, and 10 percent of the test driving will be on two-lane state highways, while 90 percent will be on interstate highways. The driving will consist of no more than 200 miles per day, for a total of 400 miles during a two-day period on a quarterly basis,” the FMCSA states.