SLMA Supports DRIVE Safe Act in Congress

Last week, SLMA joined over 100 organizations in asking Congress to include the DRIVE Safe Act in upcoming infrastructure legislation, which aims to address the truck driver shortage by expanding the pool of available drivers. The DRIVE Safe Act includes a two-step apprenticeship program that creates a path for commercial truck drivers that are currently only allowed to operate within their state's borders to drive across state lines. In order to qualify, candidates must complete at least 400 hours of additional training. Drivers who participate in the apprenticeship program established by the bill would only be allowed to drive trucks outfitted with the latest safety technology, including active braking collision mitigation systems, forward-facing event recording cameras, speed limiters set at 65 miles per hour or less, and automatic or automatic manual transmissions. Professional drivers training within the program are also required to be accompanied by an exxperienced driver throughout the process. SLMA supported this legislation in the last Congress and continues to work with the DRIVE Safe Coalition to encourage its passage.