Truck Driver Shortage – How Serious Is It?
Trucking is one of the most important businesses in the world, but it is also a dangerous one because of being directly related to a trucker’s daily routine. Have you ever wondered why there are so many truck accidents? Or why are there always higher trucker vacancies by different companies?
This is because, over the years, trained truck drivers have reduced to only a few thousand. Let’s find out what are the factors that are causing truck driver shortage these days.
Truck Driver Shortage: The Numbers
According to the American Trucking Associations, over the years, the number of truckers has decreased for some reason. ATA’s statistical analysis was made for truck driver numbers per year. For the year 2017, almost 50,700 were recorded. A year later, it went up about 20% to 60,800. By the year 2019, there were only 59,000 trained truck drivers.
Keeping this analysis at hand for the year 2021, we have about 48,000 truck drivers on the roads. Companies are growing, much of the consumer market goes online, and that means more transport for far-off areas. Based on the given data, it is now estimated that there will be a shortage of 175,000 truck drivers by 2024.
Common Causes of Truck Driver Shortage in the USA
There are logical reasons behind the lower number of American truckers, which should be taken into consideration.
Age and gender
Age and gender, as the truck industry is more relying on males that are 45 or older because for an interstate commercial driver’s license, you need to be 21. The youth of that age look for better opportunities. Apart from that, nearly half of women don’t consider truck driving as a suitable profession due to stereotypes.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle is one of the major problems that steers people away from becoming truckers. Long routes, no proper nutrition, almost alone most of the time, sleep deprivation is only a chunk of issues faced by professional truckers. Apart from that, high-calorie snacks, sugar frenzy drinks keep adding weight and eventually cause diabetes or heart disease.
Wages
Wages have been an issue for almost all truckers; due to the increase in gas prices, the package was not enough. Adding the fatigue and long routes, for most drivers, it isn’t worth it.
Is Trucker Shortage a Safety Concern?
With the increasing demands of shipping wares across the country, trucking companies are hiring more and more inexperienced drivers. Trucks are high load-bearing vehicles, and no ordinary vehicle license holder can maneuver a truck effectively.
Adding to the untrained employees, it takes a while to adjust to the new truckers’ lifestyle, which causes most of the accidents. But the companies that hire untrained employees know that they are liable, which is why they usually have an army of lawyers on their payroll.
Truck accident victims, on the other hand, find it harder to claim what is rightfully theirs when they are severely injured by a negligent trucker. But since compensation often runs into tens of thousands or even millions of dollars, a new breed of lawyer has emerged: the truck accident lawyer.
Yes, there are lawyers out there who are only specialized in getting compensation for truck accident victims. Some of the best ones, like this truck accidents attorney in Atlanta, have decades of experience with handling such cases.
Truck driver shortage ups the risk of accidents, and truck accident injuries can be fatal. The vehicle that collides with a truck can be said to have smashed in a million pieces. Usually, the blame goes to the trucking companies and truck drivers that are poorly trained, sleep-deprived, overworked, or even under the influence.
Final Thoughts!
A reported number of 500,000 truck accidents occur every year, and 5,000 of the grand total end in somebody’s death, usually a passenger car occupant. These numbers are a clear indication something is driving truck accident numbers up, and truck driver shortage is likely it, at least indirectly.
About Author
Early in his journalism career, Kerry L. Tucker had a revelation: there were not enough experts reporting on law issues. Legal matters are part of daily life. Yet, there seems to be a general aversion towards them. One of the main reasons for this is that the convoluted legal language is difficult for many people to follow. Therefore, he decided to change how the law is perceived by the public. Throughout his career, he met with many people who shared their personal stories with him. Some of these hit him harder. One of the cases that stayed with him and influenced his future career development was a car accident case involving a child. From then on, he decided to zero in on car accident lawsuits.
