About the ELDT Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposed a set of comprehensive national prerequisite training standards for entry-level commercial truck and bus drivers seeking to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL). This NPRM presents the hybrid approach adopted by the Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee (ELDTAC), combining a required minimum number of behind-the-wheel (BTW) hours (range and public road) with a prescribed theory curriculum for which no minimum number of hours is required. The NPRM incorporates performance-based concepts by requiring that driver-trainees demonstrate proficiency in both the BTW and theory portions of the curricula.
Negotiated Rulemaking
Negotiated rulemaking is a process which brings together stakeholder representatives and a federal agency to reach consensus on the text and/or major concepts to utilize in a proposed rule. In December 2014, FMCSA announced its intention to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee to develop proposed regulations to implement the MAP-21 requirements concerning ELDT for drivers operating commercial motor vehicles in interstate or intrastate commerce. The ELDT NPRM reflects consensus recommendations of a negotiated rulemaking committee comprised of FMCSA and 25 stakeholders and responds to a Congressional mandate imposed under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. FMCSA’s ELDTAC met for six two-day negotiating sessions starting in February 2015 until reaching consensus in May 2015. The ELDTAC included FMCSA and a cross-section of representatives from motor carrier transportation, highway safety, driver training, state licensing, law enforcement, labor unions, and insurance organizations.