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May 3, 2021

MSCI Asks Congress To Pass Legislation To Alleviate Truck Driver Shortage

In April, MSCI and more than 100 other organizations signed onto a letter spearheaded by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors urging federal lawmakers to vote for the DRIVE-Safe Act.

This legislation would help remedy the nation’s growing truck driver shortage by allowing younger truck drivers to travel across state lines.

Although 49 states and the District of Columbia currently allow individuals under the age of 21 to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and operate commercial vehicles in intrastate commerce, these same individuals are prohibited by federal law from driving a truck across state lines until they turn 21. The ban on interstate commerce also precludes them from hauling any freight intrastate that originated from out-of-state.

The DRIVE-Safe Act would change this scenario through a rigorous two-step apprenticeship program that creates a path for these drivers to participate in interstate commerce. In order to qualify, candidates must complete at least 400 hours of additional training — far beyond what is required of any other CDL holder in the nation. All qualified drivers participating in the apprenticeship program would be accompanied by an experienced driver in the cab and would only be allowed to drive trucks outfitted with the latest safety technology.

The legislation had strong, bipartisan support in the last Congress, and has been reintroduced this year.

The letter noted, “The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated the truck driver shortage, and the temporary closures of state DMV’s and truck driver training schools dried up the already fragile pipeline of new drivers entering the trucking industry. … [A]s a result of the already crippling driver shortage, companies in supply chains across the economy are facing higher transportation costs, leading to increased prices for consumers on everything from electronics to food.”

Read the full letter here.

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