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June 10, 2003 10:45 AM, EDT

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Monday rejected a proposal to let some drivers younger than 21 operate trucks as large as 80,000 pounds on interstate trips.

In its Federal Register filing, FMSCA cited a lack of safety evidence in rejecting the pilot program recommended by about 500 members of the Truckload Carriers Association.

The agency was “unable to conclude that the baseline safety performance of these younger drivers is sufficiently close to that of older drivers,'' it said.

Transport Topics reported last October that Congress had prohibited FMCSA from spending any money on this proposed project.

TCA, which first submitted the proposal in 2000, said at the time a strong U.S. economy created demand for additional truck drivers. The program called for 48 weeks of training at a licensed driving school and then several months of highway trips with older drivers.

However, insurers and safety groups opposed the plan because younger drivers have more accidents, Bloomberg reported.

Federal rules require drivers to be at least 21 to operate a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce. Most states currently allow people between 18 and 21 to drive trucks in intrastate commerce.

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