With the recent announcement by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that it would be delaying the Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) rule’s effective date until February 2022, you may be wondering: Now what?
Let’s face it — two years will blow by fast. If you’re a fleet or a training provider, take steps now to prepare for implementing ELDT. At the least, you will worry less about being out of compliance when February 2022 comes. At best, you’ll know you’re preparing students with a professional level curriculum for a successful career.
Over the next two years, the main focus of FMCSA will be technology fixes. The agency’s priority will be to stand up the training provider registry (TPR) and hook this central database into 50 state licensing agencies.
So is there anything for your fleet to do in the meantime?
If you run a CDL school or a carrier contemplating setting up one, simply sitting back and waiting may seem like it makes sense. After all, if you keep to the minimal requirements, you are technically OK.
However, if you value educating professional drivers who are able to run safely and legally and are more likely to stay in their new career, you would be wise to begin adopting the standards set out in the ELDT rule.
Nothing is expected to change as far as the federal instructor, facility and curriculum requirements. Rather than wait until the eleventh hour in 2022 to ensure you’re school is up to the standards, you can proceed in adopting — and even elevating — your training operation:
