UPS doubles down on driver training rule exemption request

The United Parcel Service is taking another crack at its exemption request from FMCSA’s entry-level driver training rule.

After its request was denied in December, UPS is asking the agency to reconsider allowing the company to be exempt from requiring training instructors to have two years of experience. The reconsideration request is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Once it does, the public will have 30 days to comment.

“UPS believes that its current process of preparing driver trainers exceeds any skill set gained merely by operating a tractor-trailer for two years,” the notice stated. “UPS also believes that a two-year experience requirement doesn’t automatically equate to success as a commercial motor vehicle driver trainer.”

The initial exemption request published in the Federal Register in June 2019 with UPS saying that its eight-week driver training school, which has trained employees without any previous CDL experience, is a sufficient way to develop driver instructors.

The request elicited a larger response than the typical exemption application, prompting 112 comments from the public. According to FMCSA, 58 of the comments were in favor of the exemption, while 51 opposed and three had no position.

OOIDA was among the opposition, saying that if the standards created in the entry-level driver training rule are enforced “highway safety will undoubtedly improve.”

FMCSA denied the initial UPS request, arguing that there is no substitute for commercial motor vehicle driving experience.

“In the agency’s judgment, the rigorous instructor training provided by UPS, while laudable, is not a substitute for commercial motor vehicle driving experience,” FMCSA wrote. “UPS therefore fails to provide an alternative to the instructor requirements likely to ensure and equivalent level of safety, and the request for exemption is hereby denied.”

In the reconsideration request, UPS said the exemption is necessary because of “turnover issues” with driver trainers. According to the FMCSA notice, UPS said it had to hire 100 candidates in an attempt to get 50 trainers across the United States. Of the 100 hired, UPS said it was able to retain only 38 trainers.

FMCSA’s entry-level driver training rule was set to go into effect Feb. 7, 2020, but the agency announced in November that it opted to move the implementation of the rule until 2022.

OOIDA said the delay was a contradiction to safety.

“Delaying the rule directly contradicts FMCSA’s mission of reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks,” OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer said. “Truckers will tell you the best way to promote safety is improving the driver training requirements, and right now too many new drivers enter the industry without the basic skills or knowledge to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle.” LL