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…
A bipartisan bill in the House, introduced by Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich, hopes to “repeal the motor carrier overtime exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act, allowing truck drivers to be compensated for all the hours they work.” Currently drivers who spend many hours a day just waiting to pick up or deliver cargo aren’t paid for those hours; this bill is hoping to address that issue and, in turn, keep more drivers in the workforce. Read more...
A truck driver and passenger are hospitalized after their tractor trailer broke through a metal fence on the Fulton Street bridge in Atlanta. Traffic had to be “shut down while crews worked to remove the broken fence and the ramps from Interstate 20 to the southbound lanes of the connector.” The driver is currently in serious condition as investigators are trying to piece together the incident. Read more…
Though flatbed trucks are the most widely used open-deck trailers in the industry, recent deaths have renewed safety concerns for flatbed driving. While devices known as headache racks, often made of aluminum or steel, used to be required to protect drivers from shifting loads, this is no longer the case. These open-deck trailers are often hauling a variety of commodities such as “steel, rebars, steel coils, lumbar, construction materials, military equipment, machinery and other heavy goods.” Read more…
Economic fallout is exacerbating as “Texas Governor Greg Abbot moved incrementally to roll back new inspection rules for commercial trucks entering from Mexico, with some companies saying they aren’t able to fulfill orders because trucks are stuck in multi-mile backups at a number of entry points.” Many companies are bemoaning the fact that the added inspections have already cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention the smaller paychecks for all the loaders who have had trucks failing to show up. Read more…
Guest host and mega movie star Jake Gyllenhaal poked fun at truck drivers and truck stops on a recent episode of Saturday Night Live which aired on April 9th. Gyllenhaal, along with Saturday Night Live cast Cecily Strong, lampooned everything from drivers having to often pee in a bottle while on the job to the many stories of the fabled “ghost trucker” that many truckers have claimed to encounter. Read more…
While truck driver training programs help applicants find positions amongst the nation’s biggest freight haulers, quitting during these courses can often have severe repercussions. Despite the fact many of these programs fail to deliver the compensation and working conditions they promise, “drivers who quit early can be pursued by debt collectors and blacklisted by other companies in the industry, making it difficult for them to find a new job.” Read more...
