Training groups call for action on ‘licensing mills’

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 23) — Four North American truck driver training groups are calling for standards that would discourage “licensing mills,” which turn out licensed truck drivers in a matter of days or even hours.

Members of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario, Commercial Vehicle Training Association, the Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driver Schools, and the Professional Truck Driver Institute plan to meet this weekend to develop a strategy against the schools.

The four groups are considering a call for federal mandatory training standards. Neither federal government regulates the licensing requirements of truck drivers.

Driver training schools don’t agree on whether standards should be federally mandated, left up to individual jurisdictions, or handled by the private sector.

The PTDI offers a voluntary, private-sector certification program; 41 schools have been certified, including two in Canada.

Lana Batts, executive director of PTDI, notes that the CDL mills “are out there offering substandard training could not be certified by PTDI.”

The groups also want to see the industry recognize drivers who complete quality training. “Motor carriers must make it clear that they need drivers to be well trained,,” said Don Hess, president of APFTDS, “and recognizing those that obtain quality training through increased compensation is the best way to do that.”