Due to the efforts of State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage, Hoosier veterans
who have gained experience driving trucks and other heavy equipment will
have an easier time using those skills to find employment once their
military service is completed.
Earlier this month, the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) established a
new policy that allows the agency to waive a skills test for select veterans
who are applying for an Indiana Commercial Driver’s License. The change
would impact veterans who completed an approved military driver training
program and operated a truck as a regular duty.
The new policy resulted from inquiries made by Moseley over the summer
during his service on the Interim Study Committee on Driver Education. After
lawmakers on the committee discussed the possibility of the change, BMV
officials chose to enact the proposal administratively.
“I am acutely aware that many Hoosier veterans are having trouble finding
jobs when they return home,” Moseley said. “I fervently believe we need to
go above and beyond the call of duty to help these men and women for all
they have done for us.
“Those veterans whose service consisted largely of driving trucks and other
large equipment gained those skills through the same type of training
demanded when applying for a commercial driver’s license in Indiana,” he
continued. “I see no reason why they cannot claim those military training
hours as experience when they get out of the service and seek a commercial
license.”
All milatary applicants still must pass a required written test before
receiving a license.
If an applicant has not completed the proper military motor transport
operator course, but does have two years of commercial motor vehicle safe
driving experience in similar military vehicles, that person must take the
skills test. Any testing fees and vehicle rentals will be reimbursed if the
applicant passes the skills test.
To apply for the wavier, Moseley said a person first must complete, save and
print a skills test waiver found at
http://www.in.gov/bmv/files/Military_CDL_Skills_Test_Waiver_Application.pdf
and secure the signature of the applicant’s commanding officer or the
responsible person in his/her military chain of command that attests to the
applicant’s military driving experience. The applicant can visit a BMV
branch, pass the required written tests and have a CDL permit issued.
Applicants can submit the completed wavier form, along with a copy of the
applicant’s military Commercial Driver’s License and a form DA1059 by faxing
the documentation to 317-974-1615, dropping the materials at any BMV branch
or mailing to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, ATTN.: CDL Programs, 100
North Senate Avenue, IGCN Room N481, Indianapolis IN 46204.
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