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Truck Driver Shortage Looms, Will Safety Be Affected?

As the recession eases up, trucking industry officials are predicting an oncoming shortage of experienced drivers. It’s the kind of situation that California truck accident lawyers could very well do without, considering the important role that truckers play in maintaining safety on our highways.

Traditionally, an economic boom has always meant shortage of truck drivers. That’s because a vibrant economy leads to more employment opportunities for people who would otherwise have been considered for truck driver jobs. Trucking isn’t exactly the most desirable occupation in the world. Anyone will tell you that it’s long hard work. It can be physically strenuous, and the days can be long. It’s a job with little challenge and excitement. While most long-haul truckers love their jobs and wouldn’t dream of doing anything else, it has always been hard for trucking companies to attract new recruits into the field.

Those concerns had evaporated somewhat in 2008 when the recession set in. Suddenly, there was high unemployment across the country, and more applicants for the limited trucker jobs that were available. Now, there are signs to show that the economy is bouncing back, and that the dark days of 2008 and early 2009 are behind us. The trucking industry had been struck really hard by the recession, as virtually all industries experienced a slowdown. Freight activities dropped substantially. With several industries including manufacturing, looking up again, the freight industry is expected to enjoy a boom.

With this economic boom, however will be more numbers of employment opportunities for truck drivers. Employment in more “stable” sectors like the construction industry, will provide stiff completion to trucking companies when it comes to hiring employees.

There are other factors that could possibly cause a truck driver shortage. The baby boomer truck driver population, is aging. This is not a job that you can perform into your old age. As older drivers retire, there are expected to be fewer young drivers to take their place. Trucking industry experts estimate that the there will be a shortfall of more than 150,000 truckers this year alone. That shortage is expected to rise to 800,000 truckers in the next two years.

That is a massive shortfall of experienced and skilled truck drivers, and this would concern any California truck accident attorney. The fact that trucking and freight activities will actually increase over the next couple of years as the economy improves, is hardly something to celebrate when you consider that many of these trucks will probably have inexperienced or unqualified truckers driving them.

Considering the importance that truck driver skills, training and experience have in preventing tractor-trailer and 18 wheeler accidents on American highways, the trucking industry must take more initiatives to lure qualified drivers into the field. One part of this lure, could be higher salary packages in the same manner that the oil and gas industry, considered one of the worst workplaces on the planet, does.  Truck drivers must have more incentive to choose this occupation.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of truck accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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