Under-21 pilot program – the party no one is going to

March 24, 2023

Mark Schremmer

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The American Trucking Associations and large fleets have long claimed that there is a truck driver shortage.

They not only convinced lawmakers that the problem was real, but they also told them that they had a way to solve it.

Start allowing under-21 truck drivers to operate across state lines, and the problem will be yesterday’s news, they said.

The fears of additional supply chain issues were enough to get Congress to include an under-21 pilot program in 2021’s infrastructure law. The program was built to accommodate about 1,000 carriers and 3,000 under-21 apprentice drivers.

In January 2022, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced the establishment of the pilot program.

Soon, those teenagers would be lining up to be truck drivers, and everything would be just peachy.

Wait … what did you say? The under-21 pilot program hasn’t reached 3,000 participants yet?

OK. Nothing to be alarmed about, I’m sure. How many do they have, 2,500? No.

2,000? Still less, you say?

1,000? What? A lot lower?

There has to be at least 500, right? Still not close?

I give up. How many?

I’m sorry, my ears aren’t too good. I thought you said, “four.”

Wait. You did?

Yep. That’s correct. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., said at a Senate subcommittee hearing on Thursday, March 23 that only four apprentices are in the program.

“Although the pilot program is intended to accommodate up to 1,000 carriers and 3,000 enrolled apprentices at any given time, the initial participation data is just alarmingly underwhelming,” Hyde-Smith said. “At the time of the presentation from FMCSA, only 21 carriers had been approved for participation and four apprentices were in the program. One, two, three, four, and we could take up to 3,000.”

But before you get too alarmed, let me give you some information that will make you feel better.

We don’t need to be worried about the low participation numbers in the under-21 pilot program because there was never a driver shortage in the first place.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has always refuted the driver shortage claims. Instead of a shortage, OOIDA says any issues have to do with an inability to retain drivers because of low wages and poor working conditions at large fleets. Turnover rates at large carriers are commonly at 90% or above and have surpassed 100% over the years.

In 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor published a study looking at the trucking industry and whether or not there was a driver shortage.

The study found that there wasn’t a shortage and that any issues in the labor supply could be corrected by increasing wages.

In April 2022, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that his department estimates that 300,000 truck drivers turn in their keys every year.

Even more recently, the OOIDA Foundation’s latest market update says that there are too many truckers chasing too little freight, causing rates to drop.

So instead of a current shortage, the problem seems to be that drivers see the problems in the industry and opt to leave.

Maybe the same problems – low wages and poor working conditions – that are making older drivers leave the industry are what’s preventing teens from wanting to join in the first place. LL