* DC - Young as 18 to get behind the wheel of big rigs on the nation's interstates ?
-- Parents may hesitate to hand teens the keys to the family car, but Congress is proposing to allow drivers as young as 18 to get behind the wheel of big rigs on the nation's interstates... Federal regulations currently require drivers be at least 21 before they can drive commercial trucks across state lines, but a bill introduced this week by Republican senators would allow contiguous states that join together in "compacts" to drop the age threshold to 18 for interstate trips. There is no limit on the number of states that could join the compacts... After four years, the Transportation secretary is supposed to report to Congress on whether teens have "an equivalent level of safety" in comparison with older truckers... In 2013, all drivers ages 18-20 had a fatal crash involvement rate, per 100,000 licensed drivers, that was 66 percent higher than drivers who were age 21 years or older, according to the Transportation Department's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, although the total number of crash deaths among teens has been declining since 2002... The change was sought by the American Trucking Associations to help address a shortage of truck drivers...
(Photo: A young trucker on work) -- Washington, DC, USA - Associated Press/US News, by JOAN LOWY - July 10, 2015Labels: trucking bills USA, young drivers
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