There are more than 250 million passenger vehicles registered in this country, while there are approximately 9 million trucks of one form another on our roadways. That presents a huge potential for accidents. And the statistics bear that out. There are nearly 500,000 truck crashes every year. Those statistics have risen in recent years, causing federal and state governments to regulate those trucks and their drivers more carefully. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 was the result. Since then, commercial truck drivers of vehicles over 26,000 pounds and/or carrying 16 or more passengers or carrying school children or hazardous materials have had to obtain a commercial driver's license for truck operation. Applicants must be 21 years of age and pass both a written and driving safety test. Their driving record is also monitored by a national database establishing extra penalties for moving violations and/or accidents.