Sponsors (32)
The bill opens a supervised pathway for under-21 CDL holders to access interstate driving and improves safety through structured training and mandated technology, but it imposes compliance costs, privacy trade-offs, and potential hiring constraints that may disproportionately affect small carriers and some young drivers.
Young drivers and other commercial drivers will receive structured supervised apprenticeship training with minimum driving-hour requirements, competency benchmarks, and mandated in-vehicle safety technology and experienced co-drivers, which should improve driver skills and reduce crash risk during interstate entry.
Young adults under 21 with CDLs can gain interstate driving experience through supervised apprenticeships, accelerating career entry into higher-paying interstate trucking jobs.
Employers and drivers benefit from mandated training recordkeeping and required remediation after reportable accidents or violations, increasing accountability and encouraging continuous safety improvement.
Small carriers and employers will incur added compliance and operating costs to supply specified vehicles, install safety technologies, provide supervision, and maintain records, which could strain smaller businesses' finances.
Young CDL holders may face reduced hiring opportunities if carriers respond by limiting under-21 hires or imposing stricter employer-side requirements, blunting some of the bill's intended access to interstate jobs.
Drivers will face privacy concerns from mandated forward-facing video and other in-cab monitoring, raising questions about continuous recording and data use.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal apprenticeship pathway allowing under-21 CDL holders to drive interstate while completing required supervised training and safety benchmarks.
Official title: To establish an apprenticeship program for commercial drivers under the age of 21, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 26, 2025 by Rick Crawford · Last progress September 26, 2025
Creates a federal apprenticeship pathway that lets employees under 21 who hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL) operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce while they complete structured, supervised training. The law sets required training hours, competency benchmarks, vehicle equipment and supervision rules, recordkeeping and remediation after accidents or violations, and directs the Secretary of Transportation to write implementing regulations within one year. Employers are barred from knowingly permitting under-21 CDL holders to drive interstate unless the worker is enrolled in or has completed a program that meets the law’s training and safety requirements. The law does not change CDL issuance rules; it creates a federal standard for apprenticeship-based interstate driving by younger drivers.