Be Part of the Ultimate Safety & Compliance Community
Trending news, knowledge-building content, and more – all personalized to you!
An individual who applies, for the first time, for a Class A or Class B commercial driver’s license (CDL), or who upgrades to a Class A or Class B CDL, must complete driver training from a provider listed on the Training Provider Registry (TPR) administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
A specific curriculum that includes theory and behind-the-wheel instruction must be completed in order to obtain a Class A or Class B CDL.
These requirements apply to all entry-level drivers who drive in interstate, intrastate or foreign commerce and are subject to the CDL requirements.
Theory training. There is no required minimum number of instruction hours for theory training, but the training instructor must cover all topics set forth in the curriculum.
The curriculum address five areas of instruction. Instruction must cover all topics under the five areas of instruction.
*Instruction on this topic not required for drivers upgrading from a Class B CDL to a Class A CDL.
A written assessment must be used to determine the driver-trainee’s proficiency for each unit of instruction. The driver-trainee must receive an overall minimum score of 80 percent on the theory assessment.
Behind-the-wheel training. There is no required minimum number of instruction hours for behind-the-wheel (range and public road) training, but the training instructor must:
Range training. Behind-the-wheel range training is training provided by a behind-the-wheel instructor when an entry-level driver has actual control of the power unit during a driving lesson conducted on a range. Behind-the-wheel range training does not include time an entry-level driver spends observing the operation of a CMV when not in control of the vehicle.
Behind-the-wheel range training must teach driving exercises related to basic vehicle control skills and mastery of basic maneuvers necessary to operate the vehicle safely. The training provider must teach ‘‘Get Out and Look’’ (GOAL) to the driver-trainee as it applies to various range training topics.
The required range training topics are as follows:
Public road training. Behind-the-wheel public road training is training provided by a behind-the-wheel instructor when an entry-level driver has actual control of the power unit during a driving lesson conducted on a public road. Behind-the-wheel public road training does not include the time that an entry-level driver spends observing the operation of a CMV when not in control of the vehicle.
The instructor must engage in active two-way communication with the driver-trainee during all active behind-the-wheel public road training sessions.
The required public road training topics are as follows:
*These topics must be discussed during public road training, but not necessarily performed. Driver-trainees are not required to demonstrate proficiency in these skills.