Problem No. 1: According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in August stood at 8.1%. The unemployment rate among our nation’s veterans who served from September 2001 to the present stood at a disgraceful 10.9%.
Problem No. 2: According to the American Transportation Research Institute’s “Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry Report for 2011,” driver shortage is a critical issue facing the trucking industry. And this newspaper reports that driver shortage will only get worse as the economy and freight movement grows.
With the availability of so many recently discharged veterans, many of whom have operated heavy vehicles, and the need for qualified drivers, one would think that Washington would find a way to expedite the marriage of the availability with the need. And while Congress should be commended for highlighting the issue through the Wicker Amendment to the Defense Reauthorization and language in the recently enacted Highway Reauthorization Bill, we see no immediate action. The mandated study – and report to Congress – and enactment of necessary legislation and promulgation of regulations will take years, while our unemployed veterans continue to suffer.
The Solution: The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has a solution that is in place. DMV has joined forces with military and transportation-related businesses to put former servicemen and women to work through our Troops to Truck program.
Virginia is an ideal place to launch this first-in-the-nation program because we have:
- More than 823,000 veterans,
- More than 20 major military installations,
- Approximately 63,000 active duty military;
- A Governor, Bob McDonnell, who is making Virginia the most military- and veteran-friendly state in the nation.
With military and industry partners, we provide our military personnel with training, testing, credentialing, and viable avenues for employment in commercial motor vehicle operation.
At a Sept. 7 event at the Richmond headquarters of Estes Express Lines, Rep. Eric Cantor declared that Troops to Trucks “is a solution to a problem that, frankly, Washington has not been able to address.”
Here’s how the program works.
Skills Test Waiver – One Less Test: On July 1, we began waiving the road skill test requirement for military commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders as permitted under 49 CFR 383.77 for drivers with military commercial vehicle (CMV) experience, as certified by their commanding officer. The waiver allows us to streamline the CDL process for military personnel and eliminate the burden for them to provide a CMV for the test. To date, 31 recently discharged members of the military have had their skills test waived.
Empowering for Employment: For those without experience, we have established training and testing through our Virginia-based military partners by certifying Marine Corp Base Quantico (home to the Traffic Safety Branch), Fort Lee (home of the US Army Transportation School), and Fort Pickett (home of the Virginia Army National Guard) as third party testers.
Certification was made after a thorough review of the curriculum, classroom, equipment, and the routes and maneuvers used for the skill testing and concluding that everything met or exceeded Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and DMV requirements.
As third party testers, the installations conduct initial classroom training to prepare the applicant to take the knowledge test and receive their Commercial Instruction Permit (CIP). Once the military base informs DMV that it has a class ready to take the test, we dispatch one of our mobile customer service centers – otherwise known as DMV 2 Go – which are equipped to administer all tests. As applicants complete our application for a CIP, they also complete our Placement Interest Questionnaire, identifying the type of CMV they would like to drive and their preferred employment location.
Upon passing examination, the applicant is issued the CIP through DMV2Go and return to the base for behind the wheel training and testing. After applicants pass the skills test administered by the base, DMV 2 Go returns to issue their CDLs.
DMV is also working with military to ensure that the applicant has the necessary medical certifications.
Virginia’s DMV is the first in the nation to have all of its CDL examiners certified to administer the federal Skills Performance Evaluation, and our Troops to Trucks program can be opened to wounded warriors with missing or impaired limbs.
Once the service member is credentialed, DMV “shops” the questionnaire, based on the type of CMV identified, through our partners – the Virginia Trucking Association, the Virginia Motor Coach Association, and the Pupil Transportation Association of Virginia – to identify at least three potential employers. DMV then provides the suggested employers with the questionnaires and contact information for the potential employees.
We also share the questionnaire with the Virginia Department of Transportation for potential employment into the public sector.
We hope process will help solve the driver shortage issue for our Virginia-based program, but because we know states share full reciprocity regarding CDLs, our Virginia-issued CDL can be exchanged for the veteran’s home state, giving our program national influence.
Bottom-line: Through our Troops to Trucks program, we will help put Virginia’s veterans to work and inspire other state DMVs to do likewise.
[The author has been DMV commissioner under Virginia governors Bob McDonnell (2010 to present), George Allen and Jim Gilmore (1994 – 2001). Holcomb was American Trucking Associations general counsel from 2001 to 2010. ]
