Truckers say the way they're treated by their employers and the general public is causing drivers to

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

leave the industry

Truckers say they're treated so badly that it's helping fuel the industry's huge attrition rate.

Drivers who spoke with Insider said that some firms paint a rosy picture of the industry to lure new workers while offering few benefits and paying per mile to justify low wages.

"They want to pay the drivers peanuts," Frederick Hall, a trucker in Georgia, said.

A shortage of truck drivers has been highlighted by the recent supply chain crisis, contributing to backlogs at ports and empty shelves at retail outlets. Some firms raised wages and offered bonuses to attract new staff after a surge in post-lockdown consumption spurred demand for haulage. However, many drivers say conditions are no better now than they were prior to the pandemic.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/truckers-say-the-way-theyre-treated-by-their-employers-and-the-general-public-is-causing-drivers-to-leave-the-industry/ar-AASMugK

[A HERETIC I AM]

1. The industry needs to do away with pay-per-mile.

OTR trucking is the only major industry I can think of that pays it’s workers what are essentially “Piecemeal” wages. It’s also the only one I can think of that a basic, standard work week is 60 hours (You can drive 70 hours in 8 consecutive days, but most drivers do seem to take one day a week off on average).

The firm I work for pays by the hour, and this is the model I think the industry needs to move toward.

It’s simple to calculate. Just a couple standard assumptions;

Calculate the ACTUAL** miles for the trip, from point “A” to “B”

Assume a 55 MPH average for all interstate miles and a 40 MPH average for all miles off the interstate.

Calculate the hours needed to complete the trip and pay the driver that figure. Pay the driver by the hour for each hour over the calculated time, so if he/she is stuck in traffic or broke down on the side of the road, they are paid for that time that exceeds the allotted time for the trip.

If the driver finishes the trip faster than the allotted time, they STILL get the entire amount.

This would eliminate the need for drivers to push themselves in order to get as many miles in a shift as possible. It would also mean that companies could advertise their actual hourly rate and a weekly hours guarantee.

EXAMPLE;

Let’s say I have a trip that is 550 miles and pays 10 hours. (For simplicity’s sake, I am not including pre-trip inspection or loading/unloading time, which NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED).

If I can drive it in 9 I still get the entire 10 hours pay.

If I am stuck in traffic for 3 hours or I have to wait to have a tire changed, I am paid for all the time over 10 hours.

This is the way it should be. Being paid per mile is, as the article alludes, an easy way for the company to screw the drivers.

And for simple maths sake, and so the reader is aware, $.50 per mile is $500 every 1000 miles (makes sense, right? ). If a driver can average 500 miles a day, every day for 6 days a week, his gross is $1500. That figure is not at all as common as it should be, but more and more firms are offering experienced drivers better than fifty cents. But even then, adjusted for inflation from the time I started my OTR career (1987), it has been absolutely flat, if not going backwards in pay for the last 35 years.

**. Many companies were, and perhaps still are, using the “Household Goods Movers Guide” to calculate mileage. That is basically the absolute shortest distance between city centers, and very often inaccurate for a given trip. The alternative is called “Practical Mileage” which closer estimates the actual mileage a given trip will take. If one has to be paid by the mile, the best way is either “Hub miles” - mileage from a “Hubodometer” or the dashboard Odometer miles.

As an aside, I just had my 8 year anniversary with my current gig. Longest time I have ever worked for the same company in my life !

[Baked Potato]

6. Thanks for taking the time to make this comment. Nt

[MineralMan]

11. Thanks for the details!

[obamanut2012]

13. It is a scandal they don't pay for loading and unloading time

[ProfessorGAC]

15. My Dad Was A Driver

Short haul, though. He drove a rig to deliver milk to supermarkets. He was paid by the day. (Good money too, in the 60s & 70s.)
Mondays & Fridays were long days because of the effect of the weekends. Huge Friday loads, lots of empty cases to reload on Mondays. His hours included the 30-45 minutes to do all the paperwork after he got back to the dairy.
Tuesday & Thursday were short days. Wednesday was like a day everybody worked.
He worked 42-45 hours a week. Got paid the same on a 7 hour day that he did on a 10 hour day.
His big advantage was that wholesale drivers were the own salesperson & bookkeeper and the former led to commissions. When he locked in with a 7 store independent chain in the south suburbs, he probably made an extra 20% per year.
But, his experience (being home every night) was radically different than what OTR drivers, like you, deal with.
I do know he made over $30 in the early & mid 70s. It's the reason why I couldn't have 100% of the state scholar money. I only got 40% because my dad made too much.
Would probably be a $180k today if anybody actually paid drivers an inflation adjusted number. But, I doubt many would pay much more than half that.

[petronius]

28. This summer I did a road trip to the East Coast and back and spent a lot of time behind

trucks and finally, when I got tired of my music, did the math on those "Drivers Wanted!!!!!" ads on the backs of all the trucks. It really was pretty shocking...

[Hekate]

2. 5th Rec -- for visibility

[Carlitos Brigante]

3. K&R! nt

[Iggo]

4. The general public?

Okay, what did I do and how can I make it better?

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. The article is a bit hyperbolic, frankly.

The guy that says the public treats him like a second class citizen…well….really? What did you do to get that attitude? Is my first question.

I could write several pages about my observations after 35 years, but since I’m on the road myself and away from my desktop computer, I’m going to make this short because this iPad keyboard is a pain!

Drivers are not completely without blame, I can say that much. Sure, it’s a major pain to have to wait a long time to get loaded and on your way, and that can cause anyone to be a bit crabby, but you get what you give in any situation, right?

As I said in my post above, paying drivers by the hour instead of by the mile would go a long way to improving the entire situation.

But, as far as what YOU (and by extension, anyone encountering a truck on the road) can do, here’s a couple things you might be aware of and a few you might not;

Be patient with us. I wish I was driving a vehicle than can do 0 to 65 in 8 seconds, but I can’t accelerate that fast and there isn’t a damned thing I can do about it. So please be patient with us.

People HATE to be behind a truck, and I get it, but if you pull out from behind me on the freeway, PLEASE pass! Don’t just sit there 2 car lengths off my back door, PARTICULARLY at night!! Also, if you pull out in front of me, GET ON WITH IT! Don’t hold me up. It’s impolite.

Look over your shoulder as you accelerate up the on ramp to the freeway, when it is possible. Know where the traffic is before you get to the dotted line in the acceleration lane. Every day I see people come all the way to the end of the merge lane and they haven’t bothered to look in their rear view or over their left shoulder ONCE, but now that they need to move into the right lane of traffic…”OH! There’s a truck there!” It is not the responsibility of the driver on the freeway to make room for the vehicle entering. It is the responsibility of the vehicle merging to match the speed of traffic and merge safely. Way too many drivers just assume I should move over for them, but I can’t if I’m being passed and you can’t see the guy on my left.

Many large fleets are speed limiting their trucks to between 65 and 69 MPH these days. If you are on a two lane freeway and two trucks are side by side, looking like they are intentionally blocking traffic, trust me, they aren’t. The guy in the left lane is just slightly faster than the guy on the right and wants to get ahead of him. So again, be patient, please. The problem isn’t with the guy in the left trying to pass, because he is likely going as fast as he possibly can. The problem is with the guy in the right lane who knows damned well the other guy is a little faster than he is, but won’t fucking lift! He could alleviate the problem in 3 seconds by just coming off his cruise control and allowing the other truck to pass. Having said all this, please don’t “side gate” or run alongside for miles. Pass and change lanes to the right. If I have an explosive blowout of a tire when you are right next to the tandems, it will scare the living shit out of you and it could damage your vehicle. Pass us and get on with your day. Of course, many truckers love to sit in the middle lane of a 3 lane stretch of highway, and I find that completely unprofessional. Truckers aren’t without blame in screwing up on the roadway.

Allow us to change lanes when you see the turn signal. You can flash your lights to make the driver aware that is your intention, but if you can avoid it, don’t flash your brights at nighttime, as that can be blinding. If you can turn them off for a sec, do that. It much easier on the eyes.

Allow us to enter a street when traffic is heavy. If you are in a long line of cars and there is a truck trying to enter, slow down and allow him to do so. It is greatly appreciated, especially if there is no stoplight in either direction for a ways to provide a break in the traffic stream.

Again, I could write an essay on these sorts of things, and much of it is simply common sense, but the biggest thing is to understand that the guy driving that truck is, for the most part and with very few exceptions, not trying to ruin your day, he’s just trying to get through his day, safely.

Stay safe and keep right except to pass!

[IzzaNuDay]

14. Virtual hug

I feel you on this. Think the years of physics, engineering and truck design make me appreciate the hard work truckers do.

You are part of the lifeline to our nation’s supply chain. Much appreciated in my home.

I had a relative who was a trucker. My regret was not being able to ride along with him on his travels. But he told me enough stories to make me appreciate the profession!

[radicalleft]

19. I drove OTR in the mid 90's...so I have some experience

Yes, 4-wheelers can be a pain the the arse, but I have a gripe of my own now about OTR drivers...

What is this new need to drive in the middle-right lane (generally slower than other traffic)? I was taught lane discipline when going through trucking school, but that seems to be a thing of the past. By hanging out in the middle-right, they effectively take up two lanes of traffic...not supposed to pass a big truck on the right.

[Act_of_Reparation]

27. I'm not a truck driver, but I suspect it might have something to do about traffic merging...

...onto the highway in the far right lane. Navigating a merge with traffic behind them and a semi barreling down the lane seems to throw some people for a loop.

[Kingofalldems]

5. One thing truckers could do is vote for Democrats.

Repubs represent the owners.

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. Unfortunately, 30 plus years of Rush Fucking Limbaugh and his ilk....

Have had a hand in convincing drivers that we are “Evil Socialists” hellbent on turning the USA into Venezuela, for fucks sake.

Also, and I have said this before, I am a member of an industry overwhelmingly populated by morons. You don’t have to have an advanced degree, or even a HS Diploma, for that matter, to get a CDL. Plenty of guys out there that lack critical thinking skills and spend way too much time listening to right wing talk radio.

We need more drivers to be Teamsters or just simply unionized and we need to either repeal or seriously modify the Taft-Hartley act that pretty much paved the way for “Right-to-Work” laws.

I won’t hold my breath.

[SYFROYH]

8. Still willin

[Verse 1]
I've been warped by the rain, driven by the snow
I'm drunk and dirty, don't you know
And I'm still, willin'

[Verse 2]
And I was out on the road late at night
I seen my pretty Alice in every headlight
Alice, Dallas Alice

[Chorus]
And I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonopah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me; weed, whites, and wine
And you show me a sign
I'll be willin', to be movin'

[Verse 3]
Well I've been kicked by the wind, robbed by the sleet
Had my head stoved in, but I'm still on my feet
And I'm still, willin'

[Verse 4]
I smuggled some smokes and folks from Mexico
Baked by the sun every time I go to Mexico
And I'm still...

[Chorus]
And I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonopah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me; weed, whites, and wine
And you show me a sign
I'll be willin', to be movin'

[crickets]

10. K&R for the post and the discussion.

[obamanut2012]

12. Drivers need to quit raping female trainees

And, companies need to start protecting their female trainees and also hiring more women to train female recruits.

I know NOTALLTRUCKERS, but it is a known issue within the industry, and no one does anything.

I good starting point to read:

https://jezebel.com/unhappy-trails-female-truckers-say-they-faced-rape-and-1725590857

[A HERETIC I AM]

16. God damn, that was hard to read.

I’m sorry for the language, but those motherfuckers need to be strung up.

Jesus H. Christ in a jump seat.

CRST has had a dubious reputation for years when it comes to new recruits, as well as CR England, Swift and Werner, all firms that offer tuition reimbursement programs. The driver trainers usually get an extra stipend for having the other person in the truck, and I know for a fact that some of them do it only for the extra money, and can have real contempt for the new person just trying to learn the ropes. I can not imagine the difficulty a woman would have dealing with an utter asshole who is by inference, her supervisor, spending extended periods of time alone with him in a space no larger than your hall bathroom. The bullshit about the company not paying for two showers is worse than a fucking joke. Every major truck stop chain in the country will give a “Team Shower” meaning two separate shower rooms for the price of one for teams. And they don’t cost the driver or company anything if they fuel at the truck stop.

When I was hauling cars, the last firm I worked with made me a training driver, and one of my students was a woman. First time I ever rode with a woman that wasn’t my S.O.

That gig had us in a “Day Cab” (one with no sleeper compartment) 10 car transport, so we were in a hotel every night, but she absolutely got her own room. There was no way I would have allowed the company to put us in the same room and there wasn’t any way I was going to insist on it.

With this firm I’m with now hauling US Mail, we had a couple Jacksonville - > California trips and others that required teams. They put me with a woman on more than one occasion. I made it very clear that I consider the closed sleeper curtain to be a locked bedroom door and there was no way I would enter unless I had her permission, and I expected the same in return. Those trips stopped only for driver exchanges, fuel and food (and those stops were combined with time set aside for getting cleaned up) so there was none of this “Oh, the upper bunk is broken so we have to sleep together” crap.

I swear, those fucking assholes that harass women in their charge need to be prosecuted and the managers that look the other way need the same.

God DAMN that was a difficult read. Makes my blood boil.

[obamanut2012]

17. I know

And, I know every company is NOT like that. It is surprising to me no one at any level of government has at least made believe they were going to do something.

My uncle did short-haul driving for a sand plant (which gave him cancer), and he told stories how they would harass women drivers until they left. He at least was saying it with shame. This was the 70s and 80s.

on edit: I appreciate your posts about this.

[NowISeetheLight]

21. I was a Werner Trainer

In the 90s. Only male students were ever assigned to my truck. I can’t imagine some of the situations in that article. Sharing showers, one bunk, WTH!

[rockfordfile]

18. truckers have always been a bloodline in our country.

[sarcasmo]

20. Trucking's antiquated pay structure causes the attrition rate.

I remember sitting for plenty of weekends and most of a Monday waiting for a load.
The trucking industry needs a overhaul.

[NowISeetheLight]

22. LA for three days once

Trying to get home to Phx. Five $20 shag loads in a row over three days. It wasn’t like Werner didn’t have freight either.

[sarcasmo]

25. Yep. The down time causes turnover. Werner and Schneider are turnover factories.

[Emile]

24. Sat in Greeley Colorado for three days, no pay waiting on my next load. I been

out for two weeks and was wanting to get back home to Indiana. Finally got a heavy load of birdseed to be taken to Lodi, California. I told my dispatcher that's the wrong direction. He said once I get out west he could find me a load to get back. I ended up driving from Lodi to San Francisco for a load to Chicago. Got to Chicago and they wouldn't let me deadhead 120 miles to home, instead I had to come in to the home terminal with a full load. So they sent me up to Wisconsin to get a load for New Jersey. I got back to the home terminal and called my wife to drive over 100 miles to pick me up. They allowed me three days off, but they couldn't let my tractor sit that long. When they called me back after 3 days they tried to hand me Greyhound tickets to Philadelphia to pick up another tractor that another driver abandoned. No pay to go get this tractor I told this company to kiss my ass!

[sarcasmo]

26. What a nightmare.

[AwakeAtLast]

23. Yawn, says this Teacher

They're mad because it effects them now.

[SouthernLiberal]

29. Many years ago, I lived in NJ...

And my parents lived in upstate NY. That meant long drives on the New Jersey Turnpike. A lot of the turnpike has two sets of three lanes - one for passenger cars, and one that trucks can use, but cars can also use (at least as of almost 30 years ago) I tried the car only lanes just once, and was convinced that the other drivers wanted to kill me.

Then I tried the lanes the trucks were in. I found that the drivers of those trucks really deserved to be called professionals. In those days, I never exceeded the posted speed limit, which did make me the slowest vehicle. The trucks all were going a little faster, and passed me safely.

Once, a guy in a car was driving too close, and I was scared. A couple of truck drivers noticed this, and managed to separate him from me. I was amazed at how they moved those trucks so precisely, even at highway speeds.