Page 37 - ATR 6 2015 web 2

January start-date, the program has run
into another obstacle for helping drivers
entering the field.
In 2005, Arkansas Gov. Mike
Huckabee signed a bill into law that
granted third parties authority to give
the skills tests required for truckers to iN other iNdustries, New graduates fiNd
obtain commercial driver’s licenses. joB ads that require at least 3-5 years of
That law allowed the Arkansas State
Police to designate certain smaller experieNce. the paradox—how do i get a
trucking firms, driver training and joB without work experieNce? aNd how
technical schools to administer driv- do i get work experieNce without a joB?—
ing skills tests for truckers in the state. keeps them iN their pareNts’ BasemeNt aNd
Companies that have more than 50
licensed commercial drivers could iN uNpaid iNterNships for loNger thaN
already administer the test. The inten- previous geNeratioNs.
tion was to take some of the burden off
the state police, who had a backlog of
drivers seeking CDLs.
However, the state police have
stopped authorizing any new third par-
ties to conduct the commercial driving
skills test. between you driving a truck and going nies, public schools, and they only do
Sikora says, the cap on new third to go work for a motor carrier, since I Class B CDL for busses. Probably 20 out
party testers has been the biggest thorn have that background,” Sikora explains. of the 30 are all school districts. I called
for them as they start a new program. Because the cap on third party tes- them all, and they said, ‘No, we only
“That has been a real challenge ters is somewhat recent, College of the do it for our own drivers,’ because their
because of where we are located. I am Ouachitas had not anticipated this hin- tester is an employee of the school.”
now going to be forced to manage my drance to the curriculum, they are now The previous third party testers
time differently where I would probably realizing how much time can be split haven’t lost the authorization to con-
been able to utilize it better if I had my between classroom, range, road and the duct the skills test, unless they have
own third party tester on site,” Sikora brand new state-of-the-art simulators let it lapse, like Sikora’s potential tester
continued. purchased through a grant from the had.
The students on campus in Department of Labor, a testament to The cap now requires Sikora to
Malvern will now have to go 20 miles the need for quality driver training. commute students to a test site and to
away to Troop K in Hot Springs, the Sikora says that they had intended work around the state police’s schedule
nearest site where state police conduct to have a tester on campus to maximize costing students and their instructors
CDL skills test by appointment. convenience for the students and the unnecessary class time.
Relying on the state police and school, “I’ve got a staff member at the And the ban on driving interstate
their schedule, Sikora says, is challeng- college who used to truck, and he actu- freight for CDL-holders under the age of
ing in a 5 week course when students ally used to be a licensed third party 21 requires younger drivers to limit the
are taking off of their jobs for this tester with the state. I thought it was kinds of driving positions they can take.
training, and there’s limited time to the perfect opportunity. We’re going to The problem is that in an economy
teach more than just maneuvering have a range. So he’ll get certified, and that desperately needs people to learn
the vehicle on the roadways, which is then he can just test my people. and practice the trucking trade and a
important for a well-rounded program. “We filled all the information out driver shortage of 85,000 and growing
“I’m telling you [3-4 weeks] is just and found out right before I sent it in, according to the American Trucking
enough to really get an understanding the state had capped it. They have a Associations, any barrier to entry
of how to move this thing down a road- number of third party testers, and they threatens not just the driver supply, but
way. I’m going to be going into not just don’t want to exceed it,” he explains. the whole system on which it depends.
how to drive the truck and how to do it Sikora says they have looked at the Not to make mountains out of
safely, but I want to get into the hours list of existing third party testers in molehills, but as the shortage of quali-
of service a little deeper . . . I want to the area, “But it’s not really effective fied drivers grows, the molehills start to
talk about how the relationship works because most of them are bus compa- matter more. ATR

ArkAnsAs truckIng rePort | Issue 6 2015 37