CDL Requirements That Truck Drivers Must Know

I’m David Craig, a board-certified truck accident attorney with the law firm of Craig, Kelley & Faultless, and these are the trucking truths.

Not everyone can drive a commercial motor vehicle, nor should they. In order to drive a commercial motor vehicle, you have to have the knowledge and skill necessary to operate one of these 40-ton, 80,000-pound vehicles safely. And the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations have specific requirements of the knowledge that you must have.

They also have certain sections on the skills that you must have. Plus, you have to meet certain physical and medical requirements. And that’s a good thing.

Section 383.110 is the general requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and requires all drivers of commercial motor vehicles to have the knowledge and skill necessary to safely operate their commercial motor vehicle.

Section 383.111 requires that truck drivers have knowledge on visual search, speed management, night operations, extreme driving conditions, hazard perception, and also on vehicle inspections.

In addition, Section 383.113 outlines the required skills that every truck driver must have in order to drive a truck. Part of that includes performing a pre-trip inspection and having safe, on-road driving skills.

And the other thing about a truck driver is that in order to get that license, they have to promise to follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

So not everybody has the knowledge or skills to drive a truck, and that’s the way it should be. Thank goodness we have these rules and requirements because they protect all of us.

We want good, safe truck drivers on the road, and we do not want the other folks. We don’t want just anybody hopping in a truck and driving it. We want the ones that are properly trained, skilled, and have passed the test.

And that’s the truth.