Proposed NY Law Would Allow 18-20 Year-Olds to Drive Semi Trucks
There has been a truck driver shortage since before the covid pandemic hit and the pandemic just made the situation worse.
It's not just the over-the-road semi drivers either that everyone immediately thinks of that are in short supply. It's local delivery drivers, short-haul drivers, UPS drivers, and even bus drivers that are all in short supply.
Trucking companies have offered sign-on bonuses, paid training, and other incentives to lure people behind the wheel of a big rig. School districts all over the Capital Region are desperate for licensed CDL drivers to get kids to and from school. In Massachusetts, the governor even authorized the National Guard to be activated just to drive busses to elevate the issue.
In New York, there is a bill, that is waiting to be signed by Governor Hochul, that would CDL training and CDL licensing for 18 to 20 year-olds. Currently, you have to be at least 21 years old to get a CDL license, but trucking companies are hop[ing that this change in the law would allow them to hire potential truck drivers right out of high school.
This could kill two birds with one stone. It would help to alleviate the truck driver shortage in New York and give good-paying careers to more high school graduates in New York.
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