DENVER, Thursday, May 16, 2019 -- Safe roads and drivers were center stage at the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles' biennial Commercial Driver License (CDL) Training seminar May 7-8 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westminster.
About 60 third-party CDL testers from throughout Colorado attended the two-day event, which was hosted by the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles Driver Testing and Education CDL Compliance Unit.
The seminar focused on safety, providing third-party CDL testers updates on federal and state standards and yet-to-be-implemented changes that affect the licensing process. The updates included topics such as transitioning from paper score forms to tablet testing while administering CDL skills exams.
"Third-party testers are trained and certified by the DMV to administer exams to all Colorado motorists seeking a Commercial Driver License. Colorado has about 250 commercial third-party testers who are required by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to attend refresher training every two years to maintain their American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators certification as commercial third-party testers," said Driver Testing and Education Manager Carol Olds.
"The seminar is an opportunity for us to introduce changes in the industry and to help keep third-party testers on track from any drift that might be occurring in the field," said event organizer and CDL Compliance Auditor Ben Hochberg.
The goal is to make sure everyone is following rules and regulations, which makes Colorado's roadways safer for all motorists, not just commercial drivers, said CDL Compliance Auditor and Westminster resident Keren Baker.
"It's important for Colorado roads and highways to be as safe as possible because all of our families -- our children, our aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters -- use Colorado's roadways. Everyone in the commercial motor vehicle CDL program works diligently to ensure that every commercial motor vehicle driver has all the tools and all the information and knowledge to make them safe and successful. That effort hasn't gone unnoticed," said city of Aurora third-party tester Joe Warren.
"They [DMV CDL compliance auditors] are always willing to help if I have any questions," Warren said. "They keep us up to date if anything changes. We also get our newsletters every so often -- they can fill us in on new events, new technology or new rules and regulations. That's 100% perfect for us to improve ourselves [as third-party CDL testers]."
Jason Emory, of Excel Driver Services, agreed, saying, "Colorado has its act together and is trying to be as consistent, more consistent than any of the 35 other states that I've been through. I am so happy to be here and to be part of what's going on. I wish more trainers and companies were involved in this type of an environment."
Third-party testers who were unable to attend have more opportunities to gain the insight provided at the seminar. The Driver Testing and Education CDL Compliance Unit will host seminars May 20-23 at the Embassy Suites in Colorado Springs and June 19-20 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westminster.
For more information, email dor_decs@state.co.us.