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May 12, 2000 9:50 AM, EDT

The Professional Truck Driver Institute plans to split off from the Truckload Carriers Association.

PTDI, which develops training standards and certifies the curricula of truck driver schools, appointed a 13-member transition committee to guide the organization toward independence from TCA.

PTDI was created as an independent certifying body in 1986, but after some controversy over effectiveness was placed under TCA’s umbrella in 1996. “We owe the Truckload Carriers Association much . . . but now we see that complete independence is necessary so that we may better service all segments of the trucking industry, not just truckload,” said Mark Johnson, vice chairman of PTDI and national training director for the Teamsters union.

PTDI also appointed a three-member management committee that will temporarily oversee the organization’s operation, at least until the next board meeting in the fall.

The panel consists of Johnson; Kerry Kearl, vice president of company fleets for the Crete Carrier Corp., Lincoln, Neb.; and Robert Rothstein, general council of TCA.