The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has formally requested additional flexibility from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regarding Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) applicants who do not pass their pre-trip test.
As outlined in a notice released on December 5, 2023, published in the Federal Register, FLHSMV is seeking an exemption from the standard CDL skills testing protocol. This protocol mandates that the three components of the CDL skills test—pre-trip inspection, basic vehicle control skills, and on-road skills—must be conducted and successfully completed in a specific sequence.
The FLHSMV is specifically asking the FMCSA to permit the continuation of testing for applicants who fail either the pre-trip inspection or basic vehicle control skills sections of the CDL test. Additionally, they are seeking permission for applicants to return at a later time to retake only the specific parts of the test that they did not pass initially.
According to the Federal Register notice, “The applicant cites that the most failed segment of the test is the pre-trip inspection, and if the exemption is granted, the tester could continue to test basic vehicle control skills and on-road skills in this instance. If the CDL applicant passed these other portions of the test, they could return at a later date and retake just the pre-trip inspection portion of the test. The exemption applicant further states that, if granted, the exemption would allow their compliance staff to better utilize their time and resources in completing the required monitoring of third-party testers.”
The FLHSMV believes that the exemption would not compromise highway safety.
The FMCSA is accepting public comment on the FLHSMV’s request through January 4, 2024. You can click here to submit a comment.
