Pub. 1 2020 Issue 1

Kentucky Trucker 27 KyTrucking.net trucking. Many are wary of entering an industry that might go away as a result of self-driving technology for 18-wheeler highway trucks. If they do apply for a truck-driving job, they often don’t have adequate train- ing for work that turns out to be much harder than they anticipated. Then they move on to other work instead. People also seem to agree about ways to fix the prob- lem, which generally consist of the following: • The industry needs more diversity. That means breaking free of the negative stereotypes that make many people reluctant to apply. In partic- ular, the long-haul trucking industry needs to attract women. Only about 8% of long-haul truck- ers are women. That’s despite the fact that the U.S. is split approximately equally according to gen- der, with slightly more women than men in most states. According to a 2017 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, only 10 states in the U.S. have more men than women. As a direct result of that, women represent a huge pool of untapped potential employees. (Which states have more men? Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.) • The job needs to be made easier. Brutal working conditions are not an attraction for anyone. Safety is an issue for women driving alone, and drivers often have to live in their trucks. Making the industry safer and more pleasant is something that will make it much easier for trucking com- panies to hire, period. In the long run that might mean the most difficult parts of the job may end up being automated. That’s fine. Nobody argues about the wisdom behind automating danger- ous jobs in the mining community; why should trucking be any different? Also, if there really is a shortage, won’t automated trucking jobs help ease that shortage? • Benefits will help: a 401(k), health insurance, and paid time off are all selling points. Free online col- lege tuition and bonuses are also options. Bonuses can be for taking a trucking job, staying with the job, and helping to recruit other drivers. • The pay needs to be better. Adjusted for infla- tion, drivers make less now than was the case in the 1980s. • Shipping companies should be required to pay by the hour, not the mile. Too often, truckers have to spend hours waiting at shipping facilities to load or unload, and they aren’t compensated for that time even though they can’t leave until the goods being shipped have been moved on or off the truck. • Regulation can be a good thing. Think especially of safety regulations. The Trucking Alliance thinks that if drivers had to undergo hair tests, it’s possible that 300,000 drivers would fail. Testing for drugs (especially opioids) and alcohol would also help clean up the industry. Owners who hire drivers without paying attention to whether that driver should actually be behind the wheel of an extremely powerful machine are valuing profit over safety, reputation and legal liability. Nobody benefits when unfit drivers are allowed to work because that is easier than making sure they are ready and able to drive safely. This is something that might have to be done on a federal level in order to get across-the-board compliance. Truck- ing associations can play a clear role in making sure the legislation is done right. One aspect in the industry that is already changing is the technology used to build the trucks. New trucks often have automatic transmissions, computers and cameras to help drivers by looking for obstacles, watch- ing lanes and sometimes activating the brakes. It is also possible for companies to collect data and track the way people are driving. Is there a driver shortage? Whether the answer is yes, no or something in between, there is certainly a turn- over rate that is higher than it ought to be, and also job conditions that could use some serious improvement. If trucking companies make trucking jobs more attrac- tive, there won’t be a problem filling them.