DRIVE Safe Act raises questions on teen drivers and interstate trucking safety

After a years-long push by industry lobbyists to establish a pilot teen trucking program, their wish was granted in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The response from carriers? Crickets. By any measure, carrier interest was virtually non-existent. In sum, only 42 drivers completed the program in full.

The Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) shudders at the idea of sharing the road with teen truck drivers. Bryce Mongeon, OOIDA director of legislative affairs, minces no words: “With the current under-21 pilot program floundering miserably, Congress should not double down on this failed policy. In fact, one of the most pressing issues facing truckers is rock-bottom freight rates due to driver overcapacity. There is simply no reason for Congress to expand the pool of available drivers for long-haul, interstate trucking, especially given the lack of clear safety performance data from the ongoing pilot program.”

The general public also overwhelmingly opposes teen trucking. A 2015 public opinion poll commissioned by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety showed that 73% of the public opposed allowing teen truck and bus drivers to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce.

Let’s examine the industry talking points in favor of this policy.

The “we just don’t know enough yet” argument

Research indicates CMV drivers under the age of 19 are four times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes, and CMV drivers between the ages of 19 and 20 are six times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes. Teen drivers are not all that great at driving cars either (as any parent can attest). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional death for drivers aged 15-24. Truck driving is already one of the Top 10 deadliest professions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To summarize, the corporate trucking lobby is campaigning to have access to the highest-risk cohort of drivers to participate in one of America’s deadliest jobs. What could go wrong?

The “we need a career pathway” argument

This argument claims that teens won’t consider trucking for a career since they aren’t allowed to participate until they are 21. Let’s be clear, 49 states and the District of Columbia allow 18-year-olds to drive large trucks within state lines. This means that in nearly every state, under-21 drivers can drive large trucks, gain exposure to the occupation, and make an informed choice about continuing in the field. Long-haul trucking is far more challenging, and its drivers are subject to variable sleep schedules, something the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has cited as a contributing factor in bus crashes.

Steve Viscelli, University of Pennsylvania economic sociologist and author of the award-winning novel The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream, remains unimpressed with corporate trucking’s unyielding efforts to make teens long-haul truck drivers.

“For decades, the truckload sector’s low pay and difficult working conditions have pushed out experienced drivers," Viscelli said. "Carriers cry 'shortage' and employ elaborate recruiting and training schemes that chew through one pool of labor after another. Feeding vulnerable and ill-equipped teen drivers into this gauntlet is not the answer.”

The “it’s absurd that an intrastate teen driver can’t drive seven miles into another state” argument

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has an exemption process by which any carrier can request exemptions to regulations if the applicant can demonstrate that an equivalent or greater level of safety will be achieved. FMCSA already allows for approval of under-21 drivers to cross state lines on a case-by-case basis.

A clear majority opposes unleashing teens in interstate commerce. The most cited talking points in support of this foolhardy notion collapse under the slightest degree of scrutiny. The nation is already enduring a truck crash fatality crisis with 5,000-6,000 fatalities a year (including between 800 and 1,000-plus truck drivers). Teen trucking is a solution in search of a problem that exacerbates the ongoing truck crash fatality crisis. H.R. 5563, the DRIVE Safe Act, is bad policy, and the American public deserves better.