The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has relaxed some of its truck driver apprenticeship requirements as it seeks to entice more fleets to join the program.
Inward-facing cameras will no longer be required for carriers to participate in the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Program, the agency said in a post on LinkedIn and Federal Register notice.
An appropriations law this year removed the camera requirement. But the FMCSA will still ask whether carriers are using inward-facing cameras.
Companies also will no longer need a Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Program number to join.
The apprenticeship program, established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, offers 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds a chance to explore a career as a truck driver and helps carriers hire and train new drivers.
The program allows up to 3,000 young drivers participate. As of Q4, the agency received 112 motor carrier applications and fully approved 34 motor carriers.
The agency’s relaxation of the inward-facing camera requirement could help welcome carriers that haven’t rolled out the technology across their fleets.
Some drivers view inward-facing cameras as invasive, and some companies have agreed to hold off on implementing them in their operations.
Union-represented drivers at ABF Freight and TForce Freight, for instance, negotiated prohibitions against inward-facing cameras in their five-year collective bargaining agreements last year.
