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Is The Truck Driver Shortage Making Our Roads Less Safe?

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There aren’t enough truck drivers to fill the needs of the market. Back in 2015, the American Trucking Association, an industry advocacy group, published a report detailing the trucking and transport industry’s struggle to find enough drivers. The report found that the shortage reached 38,000 in 2014 and was expected to reach 48,000 by the end of 2015. By the end of 2018 the number jumped to 60,800, and it’s estimated to more than double over the next decade.

Why are there so few drivers?

There is more than one reason. There is an aging workforce. The industry is not attracting many women to enter the profession. Notably, there is a lack of qualified candidates for trucking companies to choose from.

Quality over quantity is the better way to go.

Professional truck drivers are held to a higher standard than other commuters. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) is a set of rules that apply to nearly everyone who operates a commercial motor vehicle. The FMCSR covers topics including driver qualifications, safety requirements, how many hours a driver can remain on duty, and the penalties for violating rules.

If a police officer pulls over a family car, there is no driver log inspection. A group of friends taking a cross country road trip will not be decommissioned for failing to show how many hours the current driver has been behind the wheel. Obtaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL) requires much more training than a regular driver’s license does. At a minimum, getting a CDL, requires getting a permit to train with a CDL holder and passing a skills test.

Behind all the news about a driver shortage, is a recent shift in how the United States tackles the issue itself. There has recently been a new focus on deregulating the trucking industry as the United States continues to find ways to make truck driving more alluring to newcomers. As we recently wrote, the FMCSA will likely be having its longstanding drive time rules deregulated as a way to not only place more money in the pockets of truck drivers, but to help drivers get to their destination much quicker. Unfortunately, it has been shown that acts such as this one actually do more harm than good. While it is great that drivers will be able to ship products at a quicker pace, it has actually been shown that leniency with these drive-time rules has a negative impact on overall crash-rates across the US.

While safety remains a serious concern, there are issues that must be addressed.

Trucking industry publication, Heavy Duty Trucking, recently wrote an article regarding the driver shortage. Within the piece, they were able to interview Bob Costello, the Chief Economist from the American Trucking Associations (ATA). In response to a recent report that Costello released regarding the driver shortage, he stated that “the shortage probably seems much worse to carriers because we’re only talking about the quantity of drivers and they [fleets] also have to be concerned with the quality of the drivers they hire.” And that alone is the crux of the issue at hand. At what point does the safety of drivers and those on the road take a back seat to ensure the industry does not falter as a whole?

There are options to delay the effects of the shortage.

While the government is now working to change the regulations revolving around drive-time for commercial drivers, this solution really doesn’t act as a solution at all. It places drivers at risk of increased fatigue instead. With that being said, Heavy Duty Trucking acknowledged that Costello did provide a list of solutions in his recent report that trucking companies may adopt as a way to counteract the estimated reduction of drivers in the industry:

  • Driver pay increases
  • More at-home time
  • Improved driver image
  • Better treatment and reduced wait times (at shippers)
  • Transitioning military personnel to truck driving
  • Lowering the age for interstate operation

Just like everything in life, there is no silver bullet solution to issues that affect everyone. While many may believe that such actions as deregulating current rules will help the industry be more appealing or increase driver pay, there are clearly pros and cons to that approach. It is up to companies to speak up and acknowledge that driver safety must be at the forefront of each of these decisions. If companies can begin understanding and trying to implement these potential solutions, it just may counteract the inevitable shortage in the industry and keep drivers far safer on the roads in the meantime.

Significant Risks Associated with Shifting Age Demographics in the Trucking Industry

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It has been widely covered in the media the last several years that the United States trucking industry is experiencing a significant decline in its labor market that will ultimately result in a shortage of 175,000 drivers by 2026. What’s more, the American Trucking Associations, ATA, who conducted the research, has estimated the industry would need to hire “900,000 drivers over the next 10 years just to replace drivers leaving the industry, mostly through retirement.” However, a recent market analysis conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that while the ATA’s research and data certainly show a restricted market in need of an influx of drivers, the trucking industry itself has proven to be resilient as “supply responds to increasing labor demand over time.” 

Trucking Companies are Forced to Change Their Hiring Process

Even though this new research provides some optimism surrounding the future of the trucking industry, there are still a variety of factors that suggest trucking companies will continue to be negatively affected and forced to drastically change their businesses. One factor that is arguably the most consequential is that of aging truck drivers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average age of a commercial truck driver is 55 years old, meaning a majority of drivers in that age range will soon be retiring in the coming years. With such a large portion of its driving population retiring within the next decade, trucking companies have been forced to actively recruit younger drivers or provide increased incentives to older drivers to convince them to keep driving past the age of retirement. While the former option brings questions of inexperience, is the latter decision to encourage older commercial truck drivers to stay on the road posing a significant risk to driver safety?

Recent Uptick in Commercial Trucking Crashes

While there are numerous benefits for keeping experienced drivers on the road, it cannot be denied there is evidence of an increase in the number of crashes taking place each year with aging commercial truck drivers behind the wheel. Based on an investigation conducted by CBS News in 2016, drivers over the age of 65 made up 10 percent of commercial vehicle operators in the United States and over a three year period from 2013 to 2015, there were more than 6,636 accidents involving elderly drivers in 12 states throughout the US, marking a 19% increase. This isn’t to say that elderly drivers should not be on the road. Just as there are many highly capable teenage drivers, they also happen to maintain the largest fatal crash rate amongst all drivers in the United States. With that being said, understanding the risks associated with the decisions being made by these trucking companies can only help us be more aware and safer in our driving habits. 

Making the matter more complicated is the fact that under Section 391.11 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a maximum age limit has not been set for commercial truck drivers, making it all the more likely that the rate at which aging drivers remain on the road will continue to increase. It is easy to imagine that while the demographics of the industry rapidly change over the next decade and trucking companies find ways to retain drivers and expand employment to a younger demographic, the number of crashes involving elderly truck drivers will only continue to rise. 

Although there is no age limit restricting older drivers from maintaining their commercial license, the FMCSA, under Section 391.41, requires all drivers to meet a series of physical qualifications to be determined by a medical examiner, which is valid for up to 24 months. Several examples of qualifications that must be met are that the driver must not have a loss or impairment of limbs; have no established medical history of respiratory dysfunction, arthritis, epilepsy, etc. However, more interesting is the fact that the FMCSA mandates that a driver must have a “distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye without corrective lenses or visual acuity separately corrected to 20/40 or better with corrective lenses.” As we all know, our vision only gets worse as we age and although 20/40 vision is not terrible, this law effectively establishes that so long as an older driver has corrective lenses providing them with 20/40 vision, they may continue driving for two additional years before having their eyesight checked again. One can only imagine how much an individual’s vision may change in two years, especially as we age, only making the FMCSA’s requirement more suspect. 

Available Resources for Drivers and Companies 

All of this information makes it appear as though the industry is allowing unqualified drivers to remain on the road. With that being said, commercial truck driving is already a grueling job, requiring long hours and the ability to maintain focus. As a way for trucking companies to be more diligent in the hiring process and manufacture safe driving conditions, J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc’s. Preventable Accident Manual serves as a great resource. The manual goes to great lengths to provide many countermeasures trucking companies may take. Looking at Section A6 of the manual, covering Illness and Fatigue, several tips are provided which inform managers they should be cross-checking driver logs, notifying drivers of violations, and most importantly, they should be aware of the physical qualifications and medical examinations required for the hiring process. As more evidence points to aging commercial truck drivers remaining on the road past their years of retirement, such countermeasures must become more central to how trucking companies employ and train their drivers.  

While this new data on the trucking industry may show positive signs that the industry is not struggling as much as it was previously believed to be, it’s important for the public to be aware that although the industry may be resilient, there are still significant risks associated with these changing demographics of drivers. We must maintain knowledge of how road safety dynamics may shift in the coming years due to changes such as these. The more we know and study this data, the better protected we will all be.

Stay safe out there!  

Technology Could Stop the Rise in Fatal Truck Crashes

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Despite numerous safety regulations put in place to protect commuters, the number of traffic deaths involving semis and large trucks is on the rise. This puts travelers in passenger vehicles at greater risk on our nation’s highways. Rear end accidents are the most common types of crashes with big rigs going too fast and failing to stop in time to prevent crashes.

A lot of new cars are equipped with automatic breaking technology that assists drivers when they get too close to vehicles in front of them on the road. There has been no action in Washington and resistance by the trucking industry to require installation of automatic emergency breaking systems or warning signals in large trucks to try and decrease, if not eliminate, rear-end truck wrecks. Instead the death toll keeps climbing.

Driving a truck is hard work. Federal regulations allow truck drivers to work 11 hour shifts and they do. A trucker has to stay alert and focused on the road, traffic, and other potential hazards for extended periods of time. Add to that the time constraints that shippers place on getting their goods delivered on time and you have the potential for fatigued operators who might be driving too fast.

With trucks being the largest and heaviest vehicles on the road, it makes sense to require trucking companies to equip their rigs with sensor technology that will alert drivers when they are following too close to other vehicles. A big rig can destroy another semi in a high speed collision, and a truck driver may be more protected from injury in a big vehicle, but riders in passenger cars are at a much greater risk of injury or death from a rear-end collision from a truck. This is clearly a case where technology could help save lives.

Truck Drivers Must Stay Alert

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Data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), showed that nearly a third of fatal crashesin work zones involve a large vehicle or semi-truck. With such large vehicle sharing the roadway with passenger cars, truck drivers should be extremely vigilant in taking every possible precaution to avoid collisions. 

Keeping an eye out:

Looks can sometimes be deceiving. The weather can make it hard to see what’s happening on the road in front of you. A driver might forget to turn their lights on. A trucker might look at the radio for a split second when traffic starts to slow down. It’s important for every long-haul driver to look ahead to try to anticipate what’s coming. Scan the road in front of you and check the mirrors regularly to be aware of what’s happening in your blind spots. 

Don’t rush:

The online fidget spinner store may have promised delivery within 48 hours, but despite our growing demand for things from the internet, we should still be demanding safe travel on our nation’s highways. Soon there may not be any corner stores left to get basics like groceries as giant companies buy everything and turn the world into robot-run warehouses. The stuff we order on our smartphone apps has to get to us somehow. Before artificial intelligence replaces the need for us to ever travel outside of our houses, it may be a good idea to keep travel times for the big truck deliveries on a realistic schedule. When a driver has to carry a shipment across the country, safety should always supersede faster delivery times. I’d rather have my special order, customized hanging flower pot late than risk a driver sliding off the road in a storm because he’s trying to get there quickly. 

There is no valid reason for a semi-truck to drive too fast for road conditions. Trucking and shipping companies should be regulated with this in mind. Rather than focusing on getting bigger trucks to go faster, these outfits should be making sure that everyone arrives at their destination safely. If slightly longer shipping schedules can result in fewer crashes, it’s an idea worth studying. 

Also, from a labor supply point of view, truck drivers might want to look into working for another firm if they feel pressured to cut corners to make faster deliveries. In an ideal world, everyone would just follow the rules. But let’s be realistic. There is a truck driver shortage in America. The pay isn’t bad, but it’s not an easy job. Long hours, sometimes monotonous, repetitive tasks, and physically demanding job requirements means this line of work is clearly not for everybody. If a driver works for a company that doesn’t put safety first, he or she should not be shy in demanding that companies follow safety laws that are put in place for a reason. We all need to earn a living, but in this labor market you probably have options. 

Put your phone away:

Distracted driving is a huge problem. As tempting as our social media feeds are, when it comes to driving, you can’t do two things at once. Anyone who drives a car these days has seen a person behind the wheel looking down at their phone. No matter how talented you think you might be at texting and driving, don’t do it. Traffic conditions can change in an instant. That’s all it takes for a distracted driver to cause a wreck. If a message is so important that it can’t wait, find a safe place to pull over. It’s a no-brainer. 

The Trucking Industry Wants Congress to Consider Allowing Longer and Heavier Semi-Trucks on the Road, But Is It Safe?

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As Congress considers new spending on infrastructure projects in 2019, trucking and transportation companies are looking to convince legislators to approve more relaxed rules that would allow shippers to haul heavier loads and longer trailers on their trucks.

A number of American shipping companies, including UPS, FedEx, and Amazon formed an advocacy group with a wholesome sounding name called Americans for Modern Transportation that is actively seeking to influence Congress to allow trucks to start pulling two, connected 33-foot trailers, adding 10 feet to what the current law allows. The shipping companies argue that longer trucks would reduce the number of trucks on the road and would allow companies to better meet online shopping demand.

With people buying more things online, online shopping is rapidly overtaking brick and mortar retail sales. This begs the question that even if current shipping demands could be met by by fewer trucks with longer trailers, as demand in e-commerce inevitably increases, won’t the number of huge trucks on the road also go up? Shippers certainly aren’t looking to ship less.

Even if we imagine that these new rules would result in fewer big-rigs on the highway, longer trailers would mean heavier trucks. The increase would be measured in tons. This would also lengthen the stopping time for drivers carrying such massive cargo. Since it takes more time and distance to stop a heavier vehicle, commercial drivers would need more space on the road to operate safely.

Current rules limit truck weights to 80,000 pounds. Trucking companies want this number raised by over 5 tons to allow hauling up to 91,000 pounds. As for the trailers carried by trucks, industry advocates want to increase their length by five feet. With two, connected trailers this ads 10 feet to vehicles that are already on the road making already massive big-rigs even bigger.

Congress already rejected a similar industry proposal back in 2015. One main concern is the damage that an increase of over 5 tons per truck might cause to our already deteriorating roads and bridges.

Illinois, like the rest of the country is dealing with an aging infrastructure problem that needs to be addressed. Just recently a cracked bridge shut down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Federal authorities said the bridge did not meet minimum national standards for new bridges, and the Federal Highway Administration called it “obsolete.”

The Briggs Street bridge that runs over I-80 in Joliet is causing concerned residents to plead to local authorities to replace it before a proposed truck stop is built right next to it.

An inspection of the bridge showed that it is in even worse condition than the partially collapsed Lake Shore Drive bridge. A truck stop there would only add more pressure, wear, and tear to an already failing bridge. Adding longer and heavier trucks to the mix could be a recipe for disaster.

Congress should consider the real impact these shipping industry proposed rules would have on people’s lives not only in the inevitable increased travel times for passenger vehicles trying to navigate around these new super trucks, but even more importantly the concern for public safety that arises. A paramount concern should be that these vehicles have safe roads and bridges to travel over. Let’s fix the roads first and then talk about bigger rigs to fill our Amazon orders.

Why is my car safer than a 30-ton tractor trailer?

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It’s time to demand the same safety standards found in most conventional vehicles

One thing’s indisputable: today’s technology is highly sophisticated and, in many ways, a necessity for most of the world.

When my wife and I bought our last car, we accounted for the essentials: seat belts, airbags (front, side, etc.), standard daytime running lights, and antilock brakes. Then it got interesting. We looked closely at the back-up camera, the blind spot detection system, the rear and forward collision warning systems, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure warnings—advanced features that have been fine-tuned over the last several decades with the explicit purpose of keeping people safe.

Which begs the question: Why are my car, other cars, crossovers, and SUVs adhering to and employing better safety standards than 30-ton tractor trailers?

According to the Large Truck Crash Causation Study, which based its findings on roughly 120,000 large truck crashes, 55 percent of truck accidents were initiated by the truck. Even more alarming: 87 percent of those crashes were the result of carelessness—fatigue, poor driving, speeding, tailgating, etc. And more still: Over 22 percent of truck crashes occurred when the truck rear-ended another vehicle; 32 percent happened when the truck drifted from one lane to another lane or off the road entirely.

These types of crashes are significantly more preventable if we demand the same types of advances found in most conventional cars.

Take rear back up cameras, for example. A 2010 study by the NHTSA found that 228 deaths and 17,000 injuries resulted from cars backing into people. As alarming as that reads, consider that nearly 44 percent of those crashes involved kids under the age of 5, and that a pickup truck or an SUV was four times more likely than a car to kill someone. Thing is, rear-end backup cameras will be required for all new cars beginning May 2018. To date, no such standard is in the works for commercial trucks.

The theme here: the bigger the vehicle, the more dangerous the outcome. If a pickup truck with a rearview mirror is four times deadlier than a car, imagine how the numbers correlate to a tractor-trailer. If you’ve ever sat in the cab of a semi-truck, you know that blind spots are extensive. You know that large trucks don’t have rear-view mirrors. You know that side mirrors have no practical use. In fact, the trucking acronym for maneuvering in reverse is called G.O.A.L., which stands for “Get Out And Look.” (In an ideal situation, the driver uses a spotter to direct them properly.) Installing a back-up camera could go a long way to reducing those stresses and preventing unnecessary accidents.

This isn’t an issue of truck companies coming up with science-fiction-level tech to solve a problem. This isn’t even an issue of calculating the cost-benefit analysis. Active/adaptive cruise control for trucks (a system that adjusts a truck’s speed based on the vehicle in front of it) runs as low as $2,100. It’s not free, but as someone who’s represented families who have lost loved ones because a truck rear-ended a car, I can assure you it’s significantly less than what a truck company ends up paying for a lawsuit. Simply put, it’s a poor business decision for the trucking industry to ignore better safety practices for the sake of saving a few bucks.

The saddest part about this may be the lack of awareness. Given the prevalence of driving safety technology, it would likely surprise most people to learn that multi-million-dollar trucking companies, with fleets of trucks covering millions of miles of road each year, don’t utilize existing technology to prevent injuries and fatalities. Isn’t it time they should?