Page 39 - ATR 1 2013

“we haVe a moral obligaTioN To do The righT ThiNg To eNsure we’re
puTTiNg The righT people iN our TrucKs.”

—curT ValKoVic, direcTor of driVer TraiNiNg, maVericK TraNsporTaTioN

to a lawsuit and a circuit court decision
in 2005 requiring the agency to further
consider the rule, though not vacate it,
because the agency had failed to consid-
er its own recommendations. And that’s
how the 2007 notice came about.
The five-year-old notice estimates
the regulation would cost $167.8 mil-
lion to train 40,200 entry-level drivers.
There would have to be 19.1 fewer fatal
crashes and 507.2 nonfatal crashes over
time for costs and benefits to equal-
ize. It arrives at that figure by valuing
each human life lost in a fatal crash at
$3.6 million – yes, it actually says that
– and each nonfatal crash as costing
$195,000.
If enacted as is, the rule would
require drivers to earn a certificate from
an institution or program accredited
by the U.S. Department of Education schools. The 2007 rule listed 11 accred- and that the process would help ensure
or the Council for Higher Education iting bodies, but participants said the continuous improvement and prevent
Accreditation. Private motor carrier actual number is much lower; the ATA’s fraud. “I really don’t see how we can
training programs also would have to be Stephenson said there were three. Under expect this industry to police itself,” he
accredited. the rules as written, a school must be said, referring to troubled carriers that
That also raised some concerns in business two years to become accred- close and then re-open under another
from driver trainers. Accreditation ited. However, it cannot operate unless name.
measures a school’s institutional pro- it’s accredited. “How can you be in busi- Participants questioned whether
cesses rather than its curriculum and ness to get accredited if you’ve got to the rule might exacerbate the driver
can be costly to attain. Ball said his 12 be accredited to be in business?” Frey shortage which the ATA estimates will
Roadmaster schools would have to pay asked. reach 239,000 by 2022. Frey said private
more than $120,000 to become accred- Instead of accreditation, some carriers would have difficulty offering
ited and spend up to $50,000 each year participants suggested schools be certi- in-house training because they could
per location to maintain that status. fied based on their actual curriculum. not offer employment as an induce-
Many schools nationwide would close, Stephenson suggested that a program be ment to complete it without losing
and those that remained would have to created that would allow third parties their accreditation. Also, some said
raise their tuitions, he said. to validate entry-level driver trainers, or the specific hours requirement might
CVTA’s Frey said less than half allowing schools and motor carriers to lead to students being ineligible for Pell
of the driving school graduates across self-certify. grants, student loans or veterans’ ben-
the country come from accredited One dissenting voice came efits. “When we talk to the majority of
schools, and schools could pay $50,000 from Kreigh Spahr with Cuyahoga schools out there, there are a lot of indi-
per location to become accredited and Community College in Cleveland, who viduals who want to be truck drivers,
then there would be an ongoing, pro- said accreditation is about making sure but the biggest challenge is having the
hibitive cost especially for small driving schools are educating students properly financing to get there,” Frey said.

arKanSaS truCKing report | issue 1 2013 39