What is a Class A CDL?
A Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) shows carriers and employers that you are a certified and competent licensed Professional Truck Driver. Operating certain commercial motor vehicles requires specialized skills and knowledge.
With a Class A CDL and the proper endorsements, you may drive the following types of vehicles:
- Tractor-trailers
- Truck and trailer combinations
- Tanker vehicles
- Flatbeds
- Low beds
- Container Trucks
- Buses
- School Buses
By requiring a Class A CDL license, the FMCSA and DOT ensures that unsafe drivers are not behind the wheels of commercial vehicles.
The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act’s goal is to improve highway safety by ensuring that drivers of large trucks and buses are qualified to operate those vehicles and to remove unsafe and unqualified drivers from the highways.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has developed and issued standards for testing and licensing commercial motor vehicle drivers.
Among other things, the standards require states to issue a Class A CDL to a commercial motor vehicle driver only after the driver passes knowledge and skills tests administered by the state related to the type of vehicle to be operated. Drivers need a CDL license if they drive interstate, intrastate, or foreign commerce.
