The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986
Commercial trucks and busses present dangers which are unique to their size. Because of this, it would seem reasonable that driving larger vehicles requires special skills and knowledge. Prior to the implementation of the Commercial Driver’s License program, however, anyone with a driver’s license could legally drive a tractor trailer or bus.
In states that did have a classified licensing system, the driver might not have been skill tested on a representative vehicle. This resulted in many drivers operating motor vehicles that they may not have been qualified to drive.
In addition, many unsafe drivers were able to obtain licenses from many different states. This allowed them to spread convictions for various driving related crimes out among multiple driving records in multiple states and continue to drive.
Fortunately, the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 was passed. The goal of this important piece of legislation was to improve highway safety by ensuring that drivers of large trucks and busses are qualified to operate large vehicles. The secondary goal of the act was to remove unsafe and unqualified drivers from the highways.
This act allows the states to retain their right to issue a driver’s license; however, it establishes minimum national standards which must be met when licensing commercial motor vehicle drivers. In addition, the law makes it illegal to have in one’s possession more than one commercial driver’s license.
This piece of legislation requires states to adopt testing and licensing standards for potential truck and bus drivers. These tests are meant to check a person’s ability to operate the vehicle which he or she plans to drive for a living.
This act does not, as critics might suggest, require drivers to obtain a separate Federal commercial driver’s license. This legislation merely requires states to upgrade their testing and licensing standards to the minimum Federal standards.
The legislation places requirements on the commercial motor vehicle driver, the employing motor carrier, and the states themselves. All drivers are required to have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to operate a commercial motor vehicle since 1992. The states are required to administer both a knowledge test and a skill test. These tests can be administered by third party testing groups, like driver’s schools. There is also a grandfathering provision which allows states to “grandfather” drivers with good records from the skills test. This makes drivers who are already safe and without any convictions to skip some of the red tape. Commercial motor carrier groups are required to employ licensed individuals and to maintain good records.