Congress mulls lowering age requirement for truck drivers to prevent national shortage

(FOX News) -- When Juwan Mack turned 21, one of the first things he did was carry out his dream. The South Carolina resident applied for, and received, his trucking license.

"I remember as a kid always being at my grandma's house. Her house was right next to a main highway," Mack said. "So, I remember being on the side of the road and a truck would come by and I would pull my hand down for them to beep the horn…childhood dreams."

But Mack, now a truck driver for CCC Transportation, had to wait years for that dream to become a reality, thanks to a law that requires drivers of commercial vehicles to be over 21 to cross state lines.

>>VIDEO: DRIVE-Safe Act will allow teens to drive across state lines

Now, Congress is considering a new piece of legislation proposed by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., called the Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act, also known as the DRIVE-Safe Act. It aims to allow 18 year olds with their commercial driver's licenses, or CDLs, the ability to drive commercial vehicles across state lines in an attempt to help prevent a nationwide driver shortage.

Most states allow truck drivers under 21 to crisscross a state, but those 18 to 20 are not allowed to cross state lines. Many truckers are reaching retirement age in the next decade and leaving the workforce, and companies say they are having a tough time hiring new drivers. In South Carolina alone, more than 8,200 locally owned trucking companies said they were suffering from a driver shortage.

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