The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officially denied on January 12 an exemption request from NGWA from new Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) requirements for Class B drilling rigs.
NGWA submitted the request for drivers of Class B drilling rigs to be exempt from the new commercial driver’s license (CDL) ELDT requirement in 2022. The new requirements, which were implemented in February of 2022, require extended classroom hours and behind-the-wheel driver training for those seeking a Class A or B CDL.
In the request, NGWA argued that its membership has traditionally provided training for their employees through their companies in-house and that the new requirements put an unnecessary financial and logistical strain on small businesses. This ultimately impedes access to water and increases costs for customers.
In its decision to deny the request, the FMSCA stated that NGWA did now show significant evidence that additional in-house driver training would meet adequate levels of safety.
From the decision:
FMCSA analyzed the exemption application and public comments and determined that the exemption would not achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption.
“While this is certainly a disappointment, we respect the FMCSA’s decision and will continue to look for opportunities to provide more options for driver safety training,” said NGWA Public Relations and Government Affairs Manager Ben Frech. “Our industry takes safety very seriously, and I’m hoping we can work with the FMCSA to make the additional ELDT more accessible, especially to small operators.”
The full FMSCA decision can be read here.
Click here to read NGWA’s exemption request.
For more information, email Ben Frech, NGWA public relations and government affairs manager, at bfrech@ngwa.org or call (800) 551-7379, ext. 1570.