There is a great shortage of truck drivers not only in the USA, but across the whole of North America as well. Because of this shortage, we are now seeing an increased cost of shipping freight because trucking companies are suffering from staff shortages as they find it hard to recruit new staff.
This means that to bridge the gap between supply and demand, trucking companies have been hiring drivers who have a lot less experience. This is considered to be a safety risk, according to Greg Baumgartner, who is a Houston Truck Accident Lawyer.
Why is there a Shortage?
There are a number of different reasons for this truck driver shortage. Probably the number one reason is the salary on offer to truck drivers. The salary is considered to be relatively low compared to other professions and many new drivers will not be happy about sacrificing their family or social life, especially when the job has low pay.
To combat this, there has been a slight increase in pay. But, this has still not been enough to transform the number of new drivers. Bonuses are another way to attract drivers, but the average salary for truck drivers is still too low.
Many of you will have heard about the new bill that has been introduced to attempt to decrease the age of drivers who are able to drive from state to state driving lorries with a CDL. It is widely considered that this measure is short sighted, as it doesn’t tackle the root of the problem and may in fact compromise safety as a result.
The Importance of Experience in Trucking
It is generally agreed that as the age of the truck driver goes up, the level of safety increases also. This then results in less accidents taking place on our roads involving more experienced drivers. This extends right across the transport network and is not just exclusive to trucks. There is a definite correlation of younger drivers who are inexperienced drivers being involved in more accidents than experienced older drivers.
Due to the number of deadly 18-wheeler lorry accidents in the state of Texas, it is clear that lowering the legal age of a long-haul driver to below twenty-one will not have a great impact on the number of truck drivers. But, it will definitely have a negative effect on the safety of our highways.
For more information, check out https://www.texas-truckaccidentlawyer.com/blog/why-reducing-the-age-of-cdl-drivers-is-a-bad-idea/.