Monday 27th October 1986

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 was signed into US law, to improve highway safety by making sure truck drivers and drivers of tractor trailers and buses have passed a written and driving test to become qualified to drive Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs), and to remove drivers that were unsafe and unqualified from the highways. The Act gave states the right to issue commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), but the national government established minimum requirements that must be met when issuing a CDL.The Act corrected problems that existed before 1986 by making it illegal to hold more than one license and by requiring States to adopt testing and licensing standards for truck and bus drivers.