Compounding the supply chain disruptions blighting the country nationwide, marijuana violations have taken over 10,000 truck drivers off the road this past year. With more and more states legalizing recreational marijuana, more and more truck drivers have tested positive for the substance. As of this past April, “10,276 commercial vehicle drivers have tested positive for marijuana use. By the same time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% increase year over year.” Read more…
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) will be celebrating Operation Safe Driver Week by offering a free webinar to help prepare commercial vehicle drivers for the week long event, which is slated for July 10 – 16. The webinar is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 2, where the discussion will include “a review of the 2022 Operation Safe Driver Week enforcement guidance, data collection forms, planned CBS digital media efforts and available resources.” A question and answer session will follow. Read more…
The Motor Transport Association of Connecticut will once again hold the family-friendly Connecticut Truck Driving Championship. The 71st anniversary of the event will be held at the FedEx Freight facility in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, with an awards ceremony to immediately follow. The stakes are high as “drivers who win their class at the state level will have the chance to compete at the national level. This year’s American Trucking Association (ATA) Nationals will be held in Indianapolis Aug. 16-20.” Read more…
Though the government is promising to put more commercial truck drivers on the road to ease the supply chain woes that are blighting the country, an obstacle of their own making is currently hamstringing their vow – a federal ban on marijuana use that has taken thousands of truckers off the road. According to experts and court documents, “Washington’s zero-tolerance approach to weed has swept up drivers who lit up only when off-duty, as well as those who consumed hemp derivatives such as CBD oil that are advertised as non-psychoactive.” Read more…
Though many trucking companies lament the fact that they are low on truck drivers, this runs counterintuitive to the fact “that there are many times more commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued than there are jobs in the industry.” With unemployment levels below 4%, it appears that many truck drivers are leaving the industry to find one with a “safe, steady job that will enable them to provide a reasonably comfortable life for themselves and their families.” Read more…
Rivian automotives will receive $1.5 billion in aid from the state of Georgia and local governments to “build a 7,500-job, $5 billion electric vehicle plant east of Atlanta.” With the hopes that Rivian will anchor an entire electric vehicle industry, including electric trucks and commercial delivery fans, the aid package will become “the largest single industrial announcement in Georgia history, including a pledge that the company will reach the full investment and job targets by the end of 2028, with jobs paying an average of $56,000 a year, plus benefits.” Read more…
Fully driverless trucks have caused concerns for many in the industry about the potential layoffs, but “ a growing body of research and expert opinion, however, suggests that the economic shift to self-driving big rigs is unlikely to impact as many truck driving jobs as some news headlines proclaim.” Read more…
The Coca-Cola company has pledged to donate “$1 million to the Technical Colleges System of Georgia’s (TCSG) Commercial Truck Driving Program to support what its executives call critical training and job opportunities for Georgians.” The company goes on to say that “businesses and consumers rely on Georgia’s trucking industry, which is facing a driver shortage that has been particularly heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic,” and this donation will hopefully help address the issue. Read more…
Truckers from Wyoming through parts of Nebraska are grappling with a springtime blizzard that’s unleashing havoc on the roadways as it moves east. Officials are saying that “conditions are changing rapidly and advise anyone traveling along Interstate 80 to find a safe, alternate route around the storm or park.” Even after the storm subsides, drivers should drive slowly and watch out for slick spots. Read more…
With the current trucker shortage probably doubling by 2030 according to the ATA, it has become imperative that the issue is addressed immediately. There are many factors contributing to the continued shortage, amongst them are: “high average age of truckers and an increasing number of retirements,” “the inability of some candidates to pass a drug test,” “and a federal law prohibiting truckers younger than 21 years old from crossing state lines.” Read more…
