Trucking Too Many Truck Drivers

Too Many Drivers

Filed Under (Trucking - Driver Shortage)

My letter to the editor, printed in the letters section of Roadstar Magazine

After reading a lot of opinions about the HOS changes, it seems like a lot of drivers don’t understand or have found their excuse to quit trucking. Which is fine. The fewer drivers the better.

Any change in the log book rules is not going to change how drivers are taken advantage of. Regulations are only as good as they are enforced. I don’t think Unions or striking is the answer either. Right now rates are low and drivers are taken advantage of because there are too many trucks. Shippers know they can go for the lowest desperate bid and that drivers will take most anything just to keep moving. Companies and shippers know this.

Drivers are to blame for working for a company that allows shippers to take advantage of their drivers. There are plenty of good companies and good shippers that treat drivers with respect. If drivers were a valuable asset to a company they would be treated as such by the company and the shippers that use them, instead of just another number or worse like many are.

We should all be more professional, more educated and we must police ourselves. That means reporting dangerous drivers before they wreck. Bear reports are a thing of the past, they only help the bad drivers. Testing and certification of all drivers (no one gets grand-fathered) in order to keep their CDL bi-annually or every five years, just something. This would insure truck driving becomes a respected career again. There are several industries that certify the professionals in their fields.

Truck driving schools and even company sponsored schools have no investment in the people they train. If they have a wreck or get tickets, there are plenty waiting to take their place. If companies had a substantial investment in their students they would insure they could not only drive the truck but had the aptitude to be professional.

Hopefully this would thin the ranks a little and the cream would rise to the top. Eventually the market gets rid of bad businesses and bad drivers. If the ratio of drivers to freight was less, shippers would have to make their rates competitive. In regions where inbound and outbound freight is unbalanced, shippers would just have to pay to move trucks to where the freight is.

Am I totally off base here?

(9) Comments Read More

Comments

Just Trucking Around #

Age does matter

In between all the stats, there are three points that show age does matter. This is from Jim York’s June column in Fleetowner mag. Older but wiser – Fleetowner.com …the majority (62.7%)) of drivers are under age 46. However, that

Just Trucking Around #

Sweatshops on Wheels

Michael H. Belzer’s Sweatshops on Wheels book, I admit, it was tough for me to get through. And not because of the big words and boring statistics. The author drove for a truck for 10 years then became a professor.

Just Trucking Around #

Finally! The Answer to the Driver Shortage!

During the last few weeks there have been several articles about the driver shortage. Even USA Today ran an article about how the driver shortage can halt or do damage to the economy. At the same time trucking companies are

Sean #

You made very good points. I personnaly took my test and learned on my own how to drive a Truck.I quess I am an inexperianced driver. I am a person you whould like out of the industry.I am sorry it will not happen.I have been driving various trucks for years and assure you that I would never harm another person,myself or my license.As far as pay Schnider national wanted to hire me for .25CPM and attened a 6 week class with no pay for a dedicated run from Henderson NC.I would also have to sign a contract for 1 year or pay them $4k for a licnse that I already have.My problem is the insurance situation.I can optain a license go to an employer and take another driving test but the insurance will not cover me because I didn’t spend $4k to learn how to drive.Maybe that is why there might be a shortage of drivers along with what a driver has to be contebed with.I would like to know does a driver school make you smarter or is it the way they retain drivers.

wayne #

Sean, I never said I wanted inexperienced drivers off the road or out of the industry. I did say that schools and companies have no investment in their students so they don’t give a rat’s butt if they wreck or not. For another, there is no driver shortage, only a shortage of drivers willing to work cheap. You are finding that out. Sorry about the school and insurance situation. That’s the way things are nowadays. Next time leave a valid email address so I can respond.

Donald Pettingill #

There is some miss information here. I decided after a 10 year absense from trucking to go back. I investigated and decided to go with Schneider National because of location and type of truck that I would be driving. (tanker) The pay is not great but the company is large and secure. I did NOT have to sign any agreement to pay them for my training as I was hired as experianced but I did have to go through two weeks (not 6) of driving school and then some bulk training that I got paid for. I also worked for a short time for Swift Trucking and they are about the same. If you have experiance then they will hire you at a higher rate of pay but will require you to go through their schools. I am glad I did as it was refreshing and helped get back in the swing of things. Oh yes I am 62 and that did not faze them one bit.

James L Alderton #

The drivers shortage is only caused by low wages and lack of respect,big companies do not want to raise wages as tnis would cut into their profit margins and to give drivers the respect they deserve would ultiminate sin.We as drivers and owner operators are the only work force in North America capable of shutting down the North American economy,but we will not stand together.This many sound like a big task but take amoment and think about it if every driver owner operator got some back bone and booked their holidays or phoned in sick on the same four days we could shut both Canada and the US down,then we could get the wages and respect due to us.New laws being passed without your say and imput would be stopped in their tracks like speed limiters.Alot of you say I can’t afford to take four days off if you are saying this you should be taking a good hard look at yourself.

Dan Kennedy #

Off base?
No Sir, right on the money(with the exception that it “was” a respected industry.
The schools, the companies themselves and yes the driver’s are indeed to blame.Getting miles means virtually nothing if after ten hours I have to shut it down.If I could average sixty miles an hour in those ten hours (at twenty five cents)for six days, maybe it would be a viable business career. Anyone who has ever tried it will tell you that is hard work. It can be stressful and yet it can be fun and rewarding.
With speed limiters, light rules like Canada, pressured legislation, more of it, this business would slow down, not be viable and definately not be fun or rewarding.
It may be corney, but it is an American symbol, like the cowboy. Like many industries in our country, we are regulating too much and restricting too much. The drug tests when started were a good thing. A good driver did not have to worry about that. But continued legislation and tariffs may just scare off new drivers and new companies.

Mel Hogan #

I am a school bus driver looking to start a career in truck driving. I am very concerned about the safety issues of where I chose to go. Schneider and Swift seemed the best to me. They treated me like a real person not just a number. Stevens Transport was very rude on the phone for my interview and they let me know that I was number 11 on their phone. Can you tell me which is the best company? Thanks.