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Motor carrier safety legislation awaiting President Clinton’s signature will make it harder for truck or bus operators with bad driving records — either on-duty or off-duty — to keep their CDL. The bill, approved by the House on Nov. 18 and the Senate a day later, also aims to improve the sharing of driving records among local, state and federal agencies.
Though the Federal Highway Administration was working on improvements to the reporting process, it took two accidents last spring to spur Congress into action.
First came the fatal collision between an Amtrak train and a tractor-trailer on March 15 at a grade crossing in Bourbonnais, Ill. The crash killed 11 train passengers and involved a truck operator with a history of license suspensions. John R. Stokes was driving the rig under a probationary license at the time of the crash, despite having his CDL suspended for 60 days because of three speeding tickets in that state ("CDL Crackdown Sought," 3-29, p. 1).
For the full story, see the Nov. 29 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
DOT to Scrutinize CDL Program (Sept. 24)
