Driver Shortage Myth Busted

An Iowa news station did this segment about the driver shortage myth.

Driver Shortage Video

As we know the issue is high driver turnover due to long hours, relative low pay, and lifestyle being away from home

An Iowa news station did this segment about the driver shortage myth.

Driver Shortage Video

As we know the issue is high driver turnover due to long hours, relative low pay, and lifestyle being away from home

Also when you are new, your paychecks are never what you expected when getting into the business. I think training pay has been raised across all companies. But still in my opinion isn't much for being away from home so long and the hours that are worked. Plus these truck stops suck drivers dry, things are so priced gouged because they can.

I tried numerous times to speak with the ATA about this, but they did not get back to me.

Shocking, right?

The 'driver shortage' debate was going on when I started trucking in 1993. Is it real?

Without a doubt, the turnover in trucking is massive. That's partly because the wrong type of people get into trucking with the wrong expectations. Anyone with a little time in this industry has witnessed this.

People think trucking will be easy. It obviously is not.

People expect to feel like professional truck drivers when they complete training, but that is not how we conduct training in this industry, and that freaks out a lot of new drivers.

Very few people are adventurous. You must be adventurous to survive in this industry because adventure is part of the job, and that includes all types of drivers.

Mileage pay can be confusing for many people, particularly those who are accustomed to hourly wages and associate the time spent working with their earnings. However, in trucking, your compensation is based on your level of productivity rather than the hours you work. Unfortunately, some drivers struggle to grasp this distinction and never fully accept being paid for the work they produce. They always feel like they're being ripped off.

Trucking, like anything that's difficult and complex, is most challenging in the beginning. It never gets easy, but it gets much easier as you improve. Unfortunately, many people seem to believe it will always feel almost impossible, so they don't stick around long enough to become good at it.

The truth is simple; trucking isn't for most people. They'll let almost anyone take a shot at it, as they should, but you must expect that most people will drop out rather quickly once they discover just how challenging it is.

Here's the question I've always had - where are the ladies? Why are women only 6% of the drivers? Sure, back in the 60's that made sense for a long list of reasons. But today, women should be out there in much greater numbers. I don't understand why the powers that be would rather bring 18-year-olds into the mix instead of mature, adult women.

Personally, I think 18-year-olds have no business behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer. I was 21 when I started, and in retrospect, my risk tolerance was way too high even at that age.

Prime Inc is above industry average for female drivers with 1,478 drivers which is about 14% of Prime’s total.

I met my new company driver Fleet Manager by phone today. He was easy to talk with and has a lot of experience.

He said that his approach is to run his drivers as hard as they can take it (within freight availability limits). This maximizes miles for both of us. His bonus pay is based upon the total miles that his fleet runs. So our incentives are aligned.

Prime’s lease FM’s get bonus pay based on their fleets total revenue run, not miles. This can set up an adversarial situation with lease drivers that want loads with high revenue and lower miles to save operating costs.

They say we drivers work 70 hrs a week we can drive for 70 hrs but the time away from home is more like 140 hrs or more being most companies demand 7-10 days out with 1 day earned for hometime and then there the companies who offer hometime to do a 34 hr reset during the week or weekend!

There is no shortage of drivers or potential drivers that the trucking companies aren't causing themselves! We are the only industry that demands over 40 hrs a week with no overtime or 2 days off a week?

Just look at the trucking jobs ads online most have 65 mph trucks ( no rider policies, driver facing cameras, false hiring bonus/ other bonuses,they can and always take or have a way to take from you if they want) 7-10 days and some wanting 3-4 weeks out before hometime is allowed!

besides the industry pushes driver shortages to the public in order to get federal tax breaks and government subsidies also!

they need orphans and the homeless for there drivers, always pushing we treat you like family because you're going to spend more of your time making their families rich then time with your own family! I see drivers commenting they know me by name I guess these drivers never heard of caller ID or know the companies computer have their profile which shows the driver profile when you call in!

They say we drivers work 70 hrs a week we can drive for 70 hrs but the time away from home is more like 140 hrs or more being most companies demand 7-10 days out with 1 day earned for hometime and then there the companies who offer hometime to do a 34 hr reset during the week or weekend!

There is no shortage of drivers or potential drivers that the trucking companies aren't causing themselves! We are the only industry that demands over 40 hrs a week with no overtime or 2 days off a week?

Just look at the trucking jobs ads online most have 65 mph trucks ( no rider policies, driver facing cameras, false hiring bonus/ other bonuses,they can and always take or have a way to take from you if they want) 7-10 days and some wanting 3-4 weeks out before hometime is allowed!

besides the industry pushes driver shortages to the public in order to get federal tax breaks and government subsidies also!

they need orphans and the homeless for there drivers, always pushing we treat you like family because you're going to spend more of your time making their families rich then time with your own family! I see drivers commenting they know me by name I guess these drivers never heard of caller ID or know the companies computer have their profile which shows the driver profile when you call in!

Antoine, your comment is full of negativity. My experience in trucking has been very positive with few complaints like the ones you put forward. When I hear a driver griping about all the things you do, I just wonder why you don’t quit driving and get into another profession where everything is wonderful and lucrative?

Driving was my choice, no one put a grease gun to my head. I had a few surprises at the beginning, but I worked through those and I’m very happy I have a great job with a great company.

Many situations in life are dependent on us as an individual to make it work. Driving is a prime example of this principle.

This career is what you make of it. It takes a certain personality to be okay with not going home. I have an adult kid, and I only go home home every 12 weeks (I go crazy once I hit that line.) My "go home" isn't truly home either. It's usually a hotel in an area I want to explore, and usually a rental car.

It's clear you have negative feelings about this industry, and like BK it makes me wonder why you chose to stick with it.

This is nowhere near an easy industry to survive and thrive in, especially when you are adversarial towards the industry in general.

Let me tell you, so far, my worst day ever out here, is still better than one of my best days in Workers Comp Adjusting. It's not the right fit for everyone, and implying that every company is identical is a disservice to those who want valid and truthful information, so that they can make an informed decision about becoming a driver.

They say we drivers work 70 hrs a week we can drive for 70 hrs but the time away from home is more like 140 hrs or more being most companies demand 7-10 days out with 1 day earned for hometime and then there the companies who offer hometime to do a 34 hr reset during the week or weekend!

There is no shortage of drivers or potential drivers that the trucking companies aren't causing themselves! We are the only industry that demands over 40 hrs a week with no overtime or 2 days off a week?

Just look at the trucking jobs ads online most have 65 mph trucks ( no rider policies, driver facing cameras, false hiring bonus/ other bonuses,they can and always take or have a way to take from you if they want) 7-10 days and some wanting 3-4 weeks out before hometime is allowed!

besides the industry pushes driver shortages to the public in order to get federal tax breaks and government subsidies also!

they need orphans and the homeless for there drivers, always pushing we treat you like family because you're going to spend more of your time making their families rich then time with your own family! I see drivers commenting they know me by name I guess these drivers never heard of caller ID or know the companies computer have their profile which shows the driver profile when you call in!

We are the only industry that demands over 40 hrs a week with no overtime or 2 days off a week?

Obviously you were never in the military.

It takes a certain personality to be okay with not going home.

Or, you find a driving job that does get you home. My driving job has me working almost the same hours/shift as the factory guy who lives next door to me. That's what I like about this job, there are thousands of driving opportunities out there, just got to find the one the works best for you.

So many topics in one thread.

1) The driver shortage is a total scam by the ATA to create a crisis in the minds of the public. They do this so they get support for their, "solutions" that all involve paying drivers LESS - CDL training in high schools, H2-B visas, allowing drivers from Mexico to run in the US, lowering the age for interstate driving, etc. If there were an actual shortage wages would be going up to attract more people to the industry.

What we have is churn - thousands of people earning their CDLs then giving up driving in their first year. Out of my CDL class of 30 only 2 were still driving 8 months later.

2) Truck driving is a, "big tent" - there are A LOT of driving jobs that are rarely, if ever discussed here. Waste Management (garbage trucks), the city bus company and others will train people to get their CDLs.

3) It's up to YOU to find the driving job that's right for YOU. The problem is there isn't a simple way to research all the types of driving jobs. It takes time and it it isn't easy. The good jobs that pay well and have low turnover rarely advertise. There are a lot of companies that just accept 100%+ annual driver turnover rather than make changes. In most industries that would be unacceptable.

4) Your mileage may vary. Just because one driver had a positive experience doesn't mean a different driver working for a different company will have the same experience. Not all companies are equal-pay, working conditions, home time and equipment condition can vary greatly just by changing the name on the side of the truck. There are definitely some companies that treat drivers much worse than others. Three drivers on a truck? Yeah, they've got that.

4) The company where I earned my CDL no longer offers training for new drivers. I was happy with my experience but the courts said many of their practices were predatory and unlawful. They settled out of court and shut down their training program.