FMCSA Caught in the Crossfire: Should the Teen Trucker Program Get the Boot?

by TRUCKERS VA
(UNITED STATES)

Introduction: What’s Going On with the Teen Trucker Program?

The feds are back in the hot seat — and this time, it’s over whether or not teenagers should be driving big rigs across state lines. Sounds wild? That’s what a lot of folks are saying.

The Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program (SDAP) was launched under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to let 18- to 20-year-olds haul freight interstate — something that’s normally reserved for drivers 21 and older. The idea was to help the industry’s so-called driver shortage.

But now that the pilot’s winding down, safety advocates are sounding the air horn, telling the FMCSA: “Shut it down for good.”

Let’s break it all down — without the corporate fluff.

Key Points: What Safety Groups Are Saying

💥 It’s too risky – Multiple safety groups, including victims' families and public safety advocates, are pushing back hard. They say putting teens behind the wheel of 80,000-pound vehicles is a disaster waiting to happen. Stats show that drivers under 21 are involved in more crashes — and no pilot program can magically change that.

📊 The data just ain’t there – Even after two years, the program has low participation and not enough data to prove it improves safety. Safety groups argue: if the FMCSA can’t show it's working, why would you extend it?

🧠 There’s a smarter way – Instead of pushing young drivers onto the interstates, critics suggest investing in better driver retention and training for the folks already in the game. You know, fix the revolving door before opening another one.

The Industry's Split Reaction

Not everybody’s slamming the brakes.

🚛 ATA wants a 5-year green light – The American Trucking Associations is asking the FMCSA for a full five-year extension. They say the SDAP has structure, training, and oversight — and could help fix the driver shortage in the long run.

🚫 OOIDA says “Not so fast” – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) isn’t buying it. They argue that the program didn’t attract enough drivers to begin with and that FMCSA’s energy should be spent helping existing drivers thrive, not experimenting with new ones.

OOIDA backs alternatives like the ROUTE Act, which would allow younger drivers to work within 150 air miles — giving them a chance to get experience without being thrown straight into long-haul chaos.

Trucker’s Perspective: Real Talk

Here’s what the suits usually miss:

Being a trucker ain’t about just holding a steering wheel. It’s about handling stress, knowing the road, watching for the unexpected, and managing time like a chess grandmaster. You don’t pick that up overnight — or in a classroom.

Would you let a brand-new teen pilot fly a commercial airplane with 200 passengers after a short apprenticeship? Nah. So why we doing that with 80,000 lbs. of freight rolling down I-95?

A few young folks can handle the pressure. Most can’t — yet. That’s not shade — that’s wisdom.

The Bigger Picture: Is the Driver Shortage Even Real?

The industry loves to cry “driver shortage,” but let’s call it what it is: a retention problem. Drivers come in, get chewed up by bad dispatch, low pay, poor home time, and leave. Rinse and repeat.

Instead of tossing teens into the mix, how about fixing:

Bad company culture

Low starting pay

Unrealistic schedules

No path to ownership or career growth

If those things got handled, we wouldn’t need to recruit teenagers with half-baked “apprenticeships.” We’d already have a strong, experienced, motivated workforce.

Bottom Line: Don’t Gamble with Safety

Look, giving teenagers a shot at a skilled trade isn’t a bad idea in theory. But the interstate trucking world is high-stakes and high-risk, and it shouldn’t be a testing ground for political experiments or quick-fix industry lobbying.

FMCSA’s got until March 2026 to decide the fate of SDAP. Let’s hope they choose data over pressure and listen to the folks who live this life — not just the boardrooms.

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