The federal government will let teens drive transports throughout the nation in a move it hopes will alleviate the supply chain crisis - but the initiative is being panned by critics who fear it could lead to disaster.
The new apprenticeship program deviates from current law - which requires truckers crossing state lines to be at least 21 years old - by allowing 18- to 20-year-old drivers to travel beyond their home states.
The push to change the law comes as the industry faces an exodus of 600,000 retiring truckers by 2028, and the Transportation Department estimated last October that 80,000 new hires were needed this year to offset attrition and clear a backed-up supply chain.
The pilot program, detailed last week in a proposed regulation from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, would screen the teens and bar any with driving-while-impaired violations or traffic tickets for causing a crash.
But safety advocates say the program runs counter to data showing that younger drivers get in more crashes than older ones.
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