Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) has asked the U.S. Transportation Secretary to block the creation of a pilot program that would allow drivers under 21 to operate large commercial trucks.

"While I understand the importance of the trucking industry to the U.S. economy, the safety of the traveling public must be put first," Wolf wrote in a recent letter to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. "I am very concerned about such a move and ask that you take action to prevent it."
Wolf recently learned that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was considering launching a pilot program that would lower the age requirement for getting a commercial driver’s license to operate large trucks from 21 to 18.
The proposal has been in the works for some time, pushed by the Truckload Carriers Assn. as a way to address a shortage of qualified commercial drivers. A year and a half ago, the federal government asked for comments on the pilot program proposal, which would allow drivers 18-20 years old to drive in interstate commerce under strict conditions. Under current regulations, interstate commercial drivers must be at least 21 years old.
Wolf, who has been a vocal critic of truck safety and was instrumental in creating the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, wrote to Mineta that “statistics show that drivers in the 18-20-year-old age group are three times as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as drivers over 21," citing a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute report.
"In 2000, there were more than 5,200 fatalities on our nation’s highways involving large trucks," Wolf said. "That is the equivalent of having a major plane crash every two weeks."