UPS receives driver training exemption

September 27, 2022

Mark Schremmer

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The United Parcel Service won’t need to wait for a commercial learner’s permit holder to pass a knowledge test before training them to operate with twin 28-foot trailers.

The carrier received a five-year exemption, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in a notice set to publish in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

“The exemption allows UPS to conduct behind-the-wheel training for commercial learner’s permit holders in twin 28-foot trailers, rather than waiting to conduct the training after the individuals receive their Class A CDLs and pass the required knowledge test to obtain the double/triple trailer endorsement on their CDLs,” FMCSA wrote.

According to the agency, it determined that the company will likely achieve a level of safety that is at least equivalent to the regulation.

“The exemption is restricted to UPS’s driver-trainee (commercial learner’s permit) holders operating vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds or less,” FMCSA wrote. “The exemption will enable UPS drivers to obtain on-the-road training in doubles only under direct supervision of a certified driver instructor who has completed UPS’s eight-week UPS Driver Trainer and Instructor Program and is recertified every 90 days before obtaining a CDL and the required endorsement for operating such commercial motor vehicles.”

UPS made its exemption request in 2020, saying that its long-haul driver candidates are typically hired from within the company. The company said the drivers are usually UPS associates experienced in driving commercial motor vehicles that do not require a CDL. Once a candidate acquires a commercial learner’s permit, UPS conducts 80 hours of combined classroom and behind-the-wheel training.

FMCSA received 38 comments on the exemption request, with 20 supporting the exemption and 18 opposed.

The exemption takes effect when the notice is published in the Federal Register and will last for five years. LL

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