I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5358 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations relating to 

commercial motor vehicle drivers under the age of 21, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2018 

Mr. HUNTER (for himself, Mr. HOLLINGSWORTH, Mr. JONES, Mr. 

GROTHMAN, and Mr. SENSENBRENNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations 

relating to commercial motor vehicle drivers under the 

age of 21, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Developing Respon5 sible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘DRIVE-Safe Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM FOR COMMERCIAL 

2 DRIVERS UNDER THE AGE OF 21. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, the 

4 term ‘‘apprentice’’ means an individual under the age of 

5 21 who holds a commercial driver’s license. 

6 (b) APPRENTICE.—An apprentice— 

7 (1) may drive a commercial motor vehicle in 

8 interstate commerce while taking part in the 120- 

9 hour probationary period (as described in subsection 

10 (c)(1)) and the 280-hour probationary period (as de11 scribed in subsection (c)(2)), pursuant to an appren12 ticeship program established by an employer that 

13 complies with the requirements of this section; and 

14 (2) may drive a commercial motor vehicle in 

15 interstate commerce once such apprentice completes 

16 such an apprenticeship program. 

17 (c) FORM OF APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—For pur18 poses of this section, the term ‘‘apprenticeship program’’ 

19 means one that is defined and structured as follows: 

20 (1) 120-HOUR PROBATIONARY PERIOD.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The apprentice shall 

22 complete 120 hours of on-duty time, of which at 

23 least 80 hours are driving time in a commercial 

24 motor vehicle. 

25 (B) PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS.—In 

26 order to complete the 120-hour probationary 


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1 period, an employer shall determine that the 

2 apprentice is competent in the following areas: 

3 (i) Interstate, light city traffic, rural 

4 two-lane, and evening driving. 

5 (ii) Safety awareness. 

6 (iii) Speed and space management. 

7 (iv) Lane control. 

8 (v) Mirror scanning. 

9 (vi) Right and left turns. 

10 (vii) Logging and complying with 

11 rules concerning hours of service. 

12 (2) 280-HOUR PROBATIONARY PERIOD.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—After completion of the 

14 requirements of paragraph (1), the apprentice 

15 shall complete 280 hours of on-duty time, of 

16 which at least 160 hours are driving time in a 

17 commercial motor vehicle. 

18 (B) PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS.—In 

19 order to complete the 280-hour probationary 

20 period, an employer shall determine that the 

21 apprentice is competent in the following areas: 

22 (i) Backing and maneuvering in close 

23 quarters. 

24 (ii) Pre-trip inspections. 

25 (iii) Fueling procedures. 


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1 (iv) Weighing loads, weight distribu2 tion, and sliding tandems. 

3 (v) Coupling and uncoupling proce4 dures. 

5 (vi) Trip planning, truck routes, map 

6 reading, navigation, and permits. 

7 (vii) Transporting hazardous mate8 rials, if properly endorsed. 

9 (3) RESTRICTIONS FOR FIRST PERIOD.—During 

10 the driving time described in paragraph (1), the ap11 prentice may not operate a commercial motor vehicle 

12 on which hazardous materials placards are placed. 

13 (4) RESTRICTIONS FOR BOTH PERIODS.—Dur14 ing the driving time described in paragraphs (1) and 

15 (2)— 

16 (A) the apprentice may only drive a com17 mercial motor vehicle that has— 

18 (i) automatic manual or automatic 

19 transmissions; 

20 (ii) active braking collision mitigation 

21 systems; 

22 (iii) forward-facing video event cap23 ture; and 


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1 (iv) governed speeds of 65 miles per 

2 hour at the pedal and 65 miles per hour 

3 under adaptive cruise control; and 

4 (B) the apprentice shall be accompanied in 

5 the cab of the commercial motor vehicle by an 

6 experienced driver. 

7 (5) RECORDS RETENTION.—The employer shall 

8 maintain records, in a manner required by the Sec9 retary of Transportation, concerning an apprentice’s 

10 satisfaction of the requirements of paragraphs 

11 (1)(B) and (2)(B). 

12 (6) REPORTABLE INCIDENTS.—If the appren13 tice is involved in a preventable, reportable to the 

14 Department of Transportation accident or pointed 

15 moving violation while driving a commercial motor 

16 vehicle as part of an apprenticeship program de17 scribed in this section, the apprentice shall undergo 

18 remediation and additional training, until such ap19 prentice can demonstrate to the employer’s satisfac20 tion the performance benchmarks described in para21 graphs (1)(B) and (2)(B). 

22 (7) COMPLETION OF PROGRAM.—The appren23 tice completes the apprenticeship program on the 

24 date such apprentice completes the probationary pe25 riod described in paragraph (2). 


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1 (8) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act 

3 shall preclude an employer from imposing addi4 tional requirements on an apprentice taking 

5 part in an apprenticeship program established 

6 pursuant to this section. 

7 (B) TECHNOLOGIES.—Nothing in this Act 

8 shall preclude an employer from requiring or in9 stalling additional technologies in a commercial 

10 motor vehicle in addition to the technologies de11 scribed in paragraph (4)(A). 

12 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) The term ‘‘commercial motor vehicle’’ has 

14 the meaning given such term in section 390.5 of title 

15 49, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the 

16 date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (2) The term ‘‘driving time’’ has the meaning 

18 given such term in section 395.2 of title 49, Code 

19 of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 

20 enactment of this Act. 

21 (3) The term ‘‘experienced driver’’ means an in22 dividual who— 

23 (A) is at least 21 years of age; 


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1 (B) has held a commercial driver’s license 

2 for the 2 years preceding the date on which 

3 such individual serves as an experienced driver; 

4 (C) has had no preventable, reportable to 

5 the Department of Transportation accidents or 

6 pointed moving violations for the year preceding 

7 the date on which such individual serves as an 

8 experienced driver; and 

9 (D) has a minimum of 1 year of experience 

10 driving a commercial motor vehicle in interstate 

11 commerce. 

12 (4) The term ‘‘on-duty time’’ has the meaning 

13 given such term in section 395.2 of title 49, Code 

14 of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 

15 enactment of this Act. 

16 (5) The term ‘‘pointed moving violation’’ means 

17 a violation that results in points being added to the 

18 license of a driver, or a similar violation that the 

19 Secretary determines is comparable. 

20 (e) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 

21 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 shall issue regulations that comply with the requirements 

23 of this Act. 

Æ 


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