New Regulations Increase Need for Trained Drivers

The trucking industry has seen the additional of many new regulations in recent years, which is one reason why truck carriers often look for newly trained truck drivers who have a firm understanding of those new regulations and the requirements of the industry.

One of those new regulations involves e-logs.

“The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a timeline for a final rule requiring truckers to use electronic logging devices to record their hours of service,” reports Landline Magazine. “The administration announced that it intends to submit a final rule to the Office of the Secretary of Transportation in May 2015 and publish the rule by the end of September 2015.”

According to the Landline Magazine, the new regulations would establish four things:

1) minimum performance and design standards for hours-of-service (HOS) electronic logging devices (ELDs);

2) requirements for the mandatory use of these devices by drivers currently required to prepare HOS records of duty status (RODS);

3) requirements concerning HOS supporting documents;

4) measures to address concerns about harassment resulting from the mandatory use of ELDs.

“The issue of ELDs and driver harassment by motor carriers was the subject of a recent third-party survey commissioned by the administration,” Landline Magazine added. “The survey showed that harassment by carriers was commonplace, but did not tie the harassment to the use of electronic logs. 

FMCSA has been back at the drawing board since losing a federal court challenge brought by OOIDA in 2011 – a ruling that said ELDs could be used by motor carriers to harass drivers. The ruling forced the FMCSA to vacate its initial final rule on electronic logs.

“Congress passed a law in 2012 that required the FMCSA to bring a new final rule, one which satisfies that ELDs cannot be used to harass drivers, by October 2013,” Landline reported. “The administration’s 2015 timeline is running about two years behind that. OOIDA vows to continue fighting against the mandatory use of electronic logs, saying they will make no more differences in safety than paper logs and may actually lead to increased fatigue and driver harassment on the highways.”

New complex regulations and standards like this are reasons why truck carriers like the hire drivers who have relevant CDL training from a school like US Truck.

Not only are new regulations driving demand for more trained drivers, but so is the growth of the trucking industry.

The commercial truck industry is exploding with growth and thousands of new truck drivers are needed to meet the new demand. Carriers are especially interested in CDL trained drivers and they want applicants who can remain in the industry for many years to come. Paying more attention to health and wellness is one way that the truck industry is improving its retention rate, which has not been good in recent years because not enough truck drivers are entering this profession with CDL training from a respected truck driver school.

The United States Truck Driving School gives students the chance to experience what working as a truck driver is really like before beginning this career. Officials at US Truck also work with trucking recruiters to help students land the best job possible upon graduation from the CDL program.

Students of the CDL training program at US Truck are put in the driver’s seat of their career path as many complete the program with multiple job offers and opportunities.

Students also benefit from the fact that recruiters at US Truck work to help graduates find employment at some of the best carriers upon completion of the program. In fact, many students complete the CDL training program with multiple job offers waiting for them.

America needs more truck drivers and many Americans need a job. It makes sense that many jobseekers would consider a career as a commercial truck driver, especially considering this will be an in demand career for several years to come.

If you are looking for a new career then completing a CDL training program like the one at US Truck could be a great option.