Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Standards; Volvo Trucks North America, Inc.'s Exemption Application

Summary: The FMCSA announces its decision to grant Volvo Trucks North America, Inc.'s (Volvo) application for an exemption for seven of its drivers to enable them to test-drive commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in the United States without a commercial driver's license (CDL) issued by one of the States. Volvo requested that the exemption cover seven Swedish engineers and technicians who will test drive CMVs for Volvo within the U.S. They stated the exemption is needed to support a Volvo field test to meet future air quality standards, and to test-drive Volvo prototype vehicles to verify results in ``real world'' environments. Each of these drivers holds a CDL issued in Sweden, but lacks the U.S. residency necessary to obtain a CDL issued by one of the States in the U.S. The FMCSA believes the knowledge and skills testing and training program that drivers must undergo to obtain a Swedish CDL ensures that these drivers will achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption.