Last month, in the first two sections of A History of Trucking Regulation (1887 to 1949 and 1950 to 1985), we discussed the origins of and ultimate government retreat from regulating the economy of trucking. As the laws moved away from bureaus determining hauling rates, carrier routes and deciding who could haul what, where, and when, the Interstate Commerce Commission�s (ICC) regulatory powers were drastically reduced. With this power reduction, regulatory and policing responsibility were transferred to the Department of Transportation, whose greatest concentration was on truck and highway safety.

The shift from economic regulation to a focus on safety is exemplified in the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986. From the inception of the trucking industry in the late 19^th century to the mid-1980s, any person licensed to drive an automobile could also legally drive a tractor-trailer or a bus. In many of the states that did have a classified licensing system, a person was not tested on skills in a representative vehicle. In addition, many drivers obtained driver's licenses from more than one state and hid or spread their convictions among several driving records while continuing to drive. In 1986, Congress closed these safety loopholes in one of the first pieces of national legislation that mandated to the states how they were to train, test and qualify who would be allowed to drive a commercial vehicle.

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA of 1986) was designed to improve highway safety by ensuring that drivers of large trucks and buses are qualified to operate those vehicles, and to remove unsafe and unqualified drivers from the highways. The Act was signed into law on October 27, 1986. With these new regulations, each state retained the right to issue a driver's license, but minimum national standards were established, which the states must meet when issuing Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL). These important laws were a victory for professional truck and bus drivers, as Congress finally recognized that driving certain commercial motor vehicles requires special skills and knowledge.

The act addressed specific circumstances that existed prior to 1986 by:

• Making it illegal for CDL holders to possess more than one license,
• Requiring states to adopt knowledge and skills testing to ensure individuals required to have a CDL are qualified to operate heavy trucks and buses, and
• Establishing minimum licensing standards and information requirements for the CDLs that states issue.

The act did not require truckers to obtain a separate Federal license; it merely required states to upgrade their existing testing and licensing programs, if necessary, to conform to the Federal minimum standards. 

The CMVS Act of 1986 divided CDLs into three classes:

Class A � Any combination of vehicles with a GCWR[MC1]  of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Class B � Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,000 or less pounds, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.

Class C � Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either 1) designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or 2) transports material designated as hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and is required to be placarded under subpart F of 49 CFR Part 172, or is transporting any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin in 42 CFR Part 73.

Since April 1, 1992, truckers have been required to have a CDL in order to drive certain CMVs. In addition, a prospective CDL holder must pass additional knowledge (written) tests or skill (driving) tests to operate certain types of vehicles or to haul certain commodities. These are referred to as Endorsements and Restrictions. If the trucker doesn�t pass the Endorsement tests, he is then Restricted from operating a certain type of vehicle or hauling the specific products or commodities.

T - Double/Triple Trailers (Knowledge Test only)

P - Passenger (Knowledge and Skills Tests)

N - Tank Vehicle (Knowledge Test only)

H - Hazardous Materials (Knowledge Test and TSA Threat Assessment)

X - Combination of Tank Vehicle and Hazardous Materials (Knowledge Test only)

S - School Bus (Knowledge and Skills Tests)

The Air Brake endorsement is a specific section on the General Knowledge CDL exam. If a driver either fails the air brake component of the general knowledge test or performs the skills test in a vehicle not equipped with air brakes, the driver is issued an air brake restriction. This restriction means he can drive a Commercial Vehicle to the level at which he tested as long as it doesn�t have air brakes.

In addition to requiring new CDL testing, as of December 1989, the government began to require urine sample drug testing. Motor carriers were required to perform several types of drug tests:

• A pre-employment test is given when a driver is being considered for employment. The carrier cannot hire a driver whose test comes back positive.
• A �reasonable suspicion� test is ordered when a trained supervisor has a reasonable suspicion that a certain driver is using drugs. 
• Random tests of a percentage of a carrier�s drivers are also required under CMVSA of 1986, using a lottery-type selection system.
• Additional drug testing was mandated during the trucker�s required DOT physical and after any accident resulting in a fatality, injury that requires medical attention, or the towing of a vehicle.

From CDL requirements to drug testing, the CMVSA of 1986 ushered in a new era of safety focus and regulation of commercial drivers, rather than the previous government interest in controlling the economics of trucking.

In the next article, we�ll explore the changes to the end of the 20^th Century from 1990 to 1999.

Until then, good loads and good roads, everyone.

Timothy Brady � 2010

To contact Brady:

www.timothybrady.com

731-749-8567

 [MC1]DANE: Are GCWR and GVWR generally know acronyms or should we spell them out for readers?