Smoothing the Ride to a CDL in New York

Get our free mobile app

New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she wants to make it easier to get a Commercial Driver’s License, easing the trucker shortage that has been slowing delivery of products and driving up prices.

Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News

The Governor says a new initiative would allow qualified third parties to give the CDL road tests in order to provide more testing locations statewide and expand the capacity at existing state-run sites. That would reduce the time it takes to get qualified CDL operators on the road.

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is holding a public hearing on the idea on January 26 via WebEx from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Written comments are being accepted at CDLThirdPartyTesting@dmv.ny.gov from next Tuesday, January 18 through February 4.

New York has launched other steps to get more truck drivers delivering goods. That includes opening new CDL Driver Testing sites in partnership with the State University of New York, the Thruway Authority, New York Racing Association and Office of General Services at large lots at their various sites to accommodate road tests and setting up faster testing for school employees holding an existing CDL to allow them to get permits for driving vans and buses temporarily.

For more information on getting a Commercial Driver License, go to https://dmv.ny.gov/commercial-drivers.

LOOK: Route 66’s quirkiest and most wonderful attractions state by state

Stacker compiled a list of 50 attractions--state by state--to see along the drive, drawing on information from historic sites, news stories, Roadside America, and the National Park Service. Keep reading to discover where travelers can get their kicks on Route 66.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.