This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit on Wednesday.
FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: How the CVTA is advocating for driver training programs
DETAILS: The Commercial Vehicle Training Association’s new president and CEO discusses the steps the organization is taking to prepare states for the Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) regulation coming in February 2022 and the drive to remove the interstate commerce restriction on 18- to 20-year-old truck drivers.
SPEAKER: Bailey Wood is the president and CEO of the CVTA, the largest association representing commercial truck driver training programs in the United States.
BIO: Prior to joining the CVTA, Wood served as the director of public affairs for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration. Previously he was responsible for policy communications and advocacy for the National Automobile Dealers Association and communications for the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association.
KEY QUOTES FROM WOOD:
“We need to get safe drivers on the road and we need to do so quickly. The Commercial Vehicle Training Association trains and their members train hundreds of thousands of drivers every year and we need more of them. That’s why I took this on because I saw an incredible opportunity to not only expand the number of drivers in the United States but to do so in the safest way possible.”
“[The ELDT rule] is about getting people better trained and making sure that there’s a minimum standard in which their training is being met. We’re thrilled that the Federal Motor Carriers Association is on track to implement this rule in February 2022. The next focus that we have as an association is the states. The states very much have a role in implementing this since, ultimately, driver licensing happens at the state level.”
“A lot of people have hesitation about the maturity of an 18- to 20-year-old and the bottom line is this same age group can go to war. They are handed a firearm and they can go to war and many times they actually go to war and they drive the same vehicles that are on our roads today.”
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New head of CVTA focusing on entry-level driver training rule