The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Requiring drivers to have background checks before receiving hazardous material certifications makes perfect sense. But the law, as interpreted by the Transportation Security Administration, singles out law-abiding ex-offenders whose criminal records have nothing to do with terrorism or national security. The new rules, which went into effect at the end of May, could potentially worsen a national trucking shortage and kill off valuable training programs that bring former convicts back into the work force by teaching them to drive trucks and helping them obtain the necessary licenses.

Almost everyone agrees that people who have been convicted of crimes should be screened out of jobs that are clearly related to their offenses. Sex offenders should be barred from working in public schools or day care centers. People who have been convicted of terrorism, espionage - or just using explosives to commit a crime - could certainly be excluded from driving tanker trucks filled with gasoline. But the government has stretched the list of disqualifying crimes to include sweeping and vague offenses. The list suggests that someone who committed insurance fraud or passed bad checks and then paid his debt to society would be barred from driving trucks.

The hazardous materials that former offenders would be banned from hauling include common substances like nail polish and paint. The thousands of chemicals on the list are so pervasive in the trucking stream that losing the ability to transport them would be tantamount to losing the trucking license itself. Those disqualified have a right to appeal, but when it comes to national security issues, authorities have generally been extremely conservative about granting exceptions to the rules. Unless changes are made, it seems inevitable that law-abiding ex-offenders will be barred from one of the few professions that have historically been open to them.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company