A New York Times article that was published late last week has had the trucking industry up in arms. The title of the article: “The Trucks Are Killing Us.”
The author, Howard Abramson, is a former ATA executive. He argues that Congress is “coddling the trucking industry,” that it “continues to do the industry’s bidding,” and that the industry is more concerned about money than it is about safety.
Bill Graves, president and CEO of the ATA penned a letter in response to his former colleague saying that Abramson’s article contained “several falsehoods, both implied and intentional.”
Graves pointed to a section of the article which claims that more people are killed in a year by large truck accidents than have died in all commercial airline crashes in the last 45 years. While this is technically correct, Graves notes that Abramson is implying that the trucking industry is responsible for those deaths which “simply isn’t true.”
“Per the most recent federal data available, upwards of two-thirds of all serious crashes involving large trucks are caused by the actions of someone other than the professional driver,” Graves writes. “Speeding, impaired driving and other aggressive behaviors by non-commercial drivers cause far more truck crashes than do fatigue or other issues cited by the author.”
But it wasn’t just the implied falsehoods that Graves and so many others took issue with, it was also the statements that they claim are just simply untrue – such as when Abramson said that Congress had “eliminate[ed] the requirement that drivers take a two-day break each week.”
Several other industry voices weighed in, including scathing editorials at Overdrive and CCJ which had less polite ways of telling Abramson that he got his facts wrong.
You can check out the original article here and read it all for yourself.
Next Story: FBI: Fraudulent Insurance Broker Sentenced To Jail
Source: nytimes, ccj, overdrive, prnewswire, thetrucker, fleetowner
Image Source: nyt credited to Harry Campbell
Geo says
Does anyone know what the ATA really accomplished last year?
Nothing.
They spent a lot of money and paid themselves a lot of money though.
jc says
Well I do agree that Congress and the industry is only concerned about money. They all pretend to care about safety but yet we are still paid by the mile instead of by the hour like the rest of the country. I contacted my Congressman about getting rid of the exception to the fair labor act for trucking. My point is that we are suppose to do everything by the hour why shouldn’t we get paid by the hour.
Robert says
Exactly
Dave's Ole Lady says
*shaking my head in agreement*
Don Dierdorff says
They all think of truck drivers as the scum of the earth, when in fact, they are the scum of the earth.
Plumkrazee says
Yes, and it is “drivers” like you that make them the “scum of the earth”.
However, the REAL drivers, are the knights of the road, and have a code that they live by. Sadly though, todays “drivers”, such as yourself, and the countless steering wheel holders, have diminished that code and watered it down to the point that, yes, here we are. Stuck with people like you.
R.Boan says
I agree 100%,The industry pay by the mile and in some cases the percentage pay, is all to get the drivers to do work without getting paid for it.The companies say this is an incentive for the drivers to get paid more,BS ,the only industry allowed to work it’s employees 70 hours a week and get paid for a 40 hour week.
WING says
Do not be beguiled by anyone in this industry. When a driver is out 168 hours a week, whether doing the companies bidding, or as an owner/op,said driver is always on duty, regardless of what status the driver has on the logbook. On duty or off, sleeper berth or driving, as long as the driver is required to have responsibility over the rig and load, the driver is working, even while sleeping. Everyone else goes home.
The driver is out on the road doing what is required. So the average driver, working 168 hours a week and getting mileage pay, makes less than minimum wage. MC D’s pays better!
David Marsh says
Because then the people at the top wouldn’t have enough to line their pockets! But they are attempting to recruit 100,000 service men and women to fill the positions that everyone else refuses to fill. The industry executives will screw those that protected us just to line their pockets. This is a ruthless bunch of SOB’s!
Jean says
I agree with this poster. They also want to put 18 year olds behind the wheel to fill those empty spots. If they would quit paying all that money for head hunters and ads on how great they are. Then they could pay truckers more money.
The wife
Kt says
Go ahead and take all the trucks off the road. Let’s see how long it takes before you’re screaming at the grocery store. Or the hardware store. Or the electronics store. Get my point? Freakin moron.
DAN says
Why does everyone call each other names and point fingers. I drive all over the country in a cargo van and I have seen many dangerous truck drivers, eating lunch, on their phones, driving too fast for conditions but that is not most of them, furthermore I have seen many more dangerous driving by non-truck drivers. The thing is that you have a lot more weight behind you when you crash into somebody or something and losing control isn’t as easily corrected. I even saw a fed-ex driver with a double trailer, blow by me on I- 65 in a snowstorm, only to see him wrecked in the trees a few miles North. Professional???
Anthony says
Let’s see how long they hate the trucks when there aren’t any on the road.
Ed says
With all the real issues that surround our industry, it would be nice if we didn’t have to battle this nearly constant barrage of out right lies and misinformation. Are the significant issues of safety our industry need to address? Absolutely! And we will never get around to addressing them, if first, we have to counter all the junk put out there by people with misguided and selfish agendas.
Don Dierdorff says
Companies lie, drivers believe their BS, and the industry continues to have a 165% attrition rate.
MamaWolf says
I am so sick of idiots like this telling such lies. I bet he’s NEVER driven a truck or went on a ride-along!! Let him ride with a driver for a month and see what crap we gotta deal with! I’m getting a dash cam to chronical all the stupid stuff 4-wheeler drivers do around trucks! Like illegal passing in a no passing zone and taking out the left corner light/hood of my truck… Dashing into that space in front we need for breaking, so close you can’t even see their bumper! Etc. He needs to get a clue, they ALL do!!
Lance says
MamaWolf – – there for awhile there were illegals doing this to force the truck to hit them in the rear so they could sue. This went on a few years ago in Chicago.
George Dorman says
My last job I got hourly pay $24 OT after 40. Made great money til they closed the doors. You all know there are guys who milk it. I would do 2 or 3 loads a day, and some would do 1 in the same time. Our terminal was not making enough revenue to keep it open. So now I’m retired and trying to live off reduced soc.
sec.
Charlie says
Most don’t understand this reasoning. They think that trucks make money just because they are built.
Laz says
Fenderbenders come with new drivers, but the really big smash ups come with the vets. They tend to drive flat out with impunity.
Douglas Kirk says
Have any of you guys ever thought about how much your mileage pay actually translates into on an hourly basis? According to my calculator, a driver making .45/mile at 65 mph makes 29.25 an hour. Obviously there are not a lot of places where it’s possible to do this every minute of every day, but most people would kill for that kind of a wage. Also, keep in mind that most of us work more than 40 hours in a week so the weekly total isn’t bad. I guess the point I’m making is this: if you can’t stand the job or the pay, go find something else to do and SHUT THE HELL UP.
Dave's Ole Lady says
LOL, what a funny comment. You are assuming a lot here, you must not be a driver. There are a lot of hours of work that a driver does not get paid for, take for example waiting for your load, paperwork, etc. (no pay for the first 2 hours), breakdowns (depending on the company, you could have a lot of these), traffic jams… Also, depending on the time of year, it may be hard to get miles. Companies string you along, making all sorts of promises and proclamations about the miles that you will be getting and after a couple of months you realize that, once again, it was just smoke and mirrors.
Laz says
he did say “according to his calculator” not according to his experience
Don Dierdorff says
Freedom of speech has never included SHUT THE HELL UP. Save that for the commies.
Charlie says
Yes sir. Tell it.
Lance says
Well, it all has to do with the company you are with, for the most part.
Paul says
Well. I got my class-1 in 1978 and seen a lot of changes. Cars today are like rubber bands when they take off. Zipping in/out of lanes no signals or patience. Today 65mph yet cars doing 75-85 all day long. Swift and other companies think anybody can pilot a rig. Now coming around bite them in the ass. No respect for drivers by companies or consumers. New generation not wanting to be professional drivers. Really can’t blame them. No pay. That’s why shortage increasing by the day. Police reports show cars at fault most of the time.True drivers just sit and watch their profession wither away.
Dennis says
Not everyone would kill for that kind of wage,Douglas.Almost every trucking company out there has a “help wanted” sign hanging outside their terminals.That 29.25 hourly wage does sound enticing though,which unto itself,would seem to bring everyone looking for work practically breaking down the doors to get an application.But the fine print tells me that isn’t the whole story. Does that hourly wage include paid health/welfare?How big is the deductible on the healthcare and how much does the employee have to pony up for his/her share of the premiums.How about retirement?Fully paid or contributory?You and I both know that a truck isn’t in constant motion every hour of every day,so,although that hourly wage sounds good,it isn’t realistic.So the guys and gals out there that want a better wage and benefit package shouldn’t be castigated for it
Nate says
Isn’t implying that there was ever a requirement for a 2 day break each week a falsehood?
Lance says
Yes – – that applied only if you had used up 70 hours in 5 days. If you still had hours to drive, you could use up that 5 or 8 or whatever you had left. But back then, you only had to have 2 days off if you had used up all your 70 in 5 days.
royce says
The thirty four hr restart was nearly perfect with the 1am to 5am . Requirement. It changed,I’m not getting any more money for that change, I have benifited in no way from that change. I don’t know ANY drivers that benifited from the rerevision. If any owners benifited it was for fifteen seconds and 15 cents then right back into the soup. It will be a sweet day when trucking finally falls in on itself. Already the industry has to import people from overseas and south America because pretty much everybody but the desperate and those of us who stayed too long are the only Americans left in trucking to screw. There has never been a bigger bunch of weasels in charge of the hen house than today. The smartest politicians avoid talking about trucking at all because there are no solutions. It’s like a t#rd on the carpet,everybody knows it’s there, nobody likes the smell, and nobody wants to clean it up. I guess if we all wait long enough it will finally dry out and the dog will eat it.
Steve says
So this comment is for people who don’t think a professional truck driver can make money within ihe realm of cpm, or for that matter percentage of load versus hourly.
I started driving in 2009. At .31 cpm, within 6 months I was at .36 cpm. The truck only went 62 mph. I usually drove 11 hours a day as we were a cross country company and was usually parked on weekends waiting to deliver. That’s $1188 a week at .36 cpm x 55 hours worth of driving a week at 60 mph. Add driving bonus for 10,000 miles a month and truck driving school tuition reimbursement and I made decent money. Roughly $700 a week or more after taxes.
Second company was .44 cpm mile and they paid more if you went into New England. Also more if you had Haz-mat. Which I did/do. So I think it was .45 cpm to start. That company was short hauls. You got about 2200 miles a week. The trucks went 65 mph. There were extra bonuses as well. I rarely brought home less than $900 a week after taxes.
Company numbers 3 and 4 were local flat bed at 28% of load. The trucks went 75 mph. I made roughly $700 a week after taxes. But was in my bed every weekend and 3 nights a week. Had decent Healthcare at company 4. Neither company told me how to run the truck.
Company 5, where I’ve worked going into year 3. I’m the yard guy at a local company with less than 20 trucks. Our trucks go 75, i’m paid by the hour, from the minute I walk in till the minute I walk out. 3 raises since i started. I’ve got 2 types of insurance, and dental. 2 weeks vacation, 2 personal days, 9 paid holidays, profit sharing, 401k. Uniforms. I have all the owners numbers in my company supplied cell phone. I’ve never worked more than 60 hours a week. I have worked maybe 9 weekend days in the time I’ve worked there. I can borrow equipment if I need it, just ask and schedule, etc. Oh, I made $53k last year. OT is after 8 and after 40. Since I work in the Haz-mat industry it’s also worth saying it’s recession proof.
You can make money driving a truck. If you drive otr, you need to keep the door shut and shown them you’ll run. Regional, you’ll need to learn the tricks of the trade. Local us where it’s at. My advice on this column has always been this. Get 2-3 years at a large carrier, keep your license clean, stay healthy and then go looking for the job you want. That’s what I did. There’s signs out in front of every trucking company and everyone is in the truckstop books anymore. Too many rules and people who have no clue are the reason. The old timers who drive because they love to drive have had enough. The new drivers arent happy with being a hood number, so then you have immigrants who can’t speak English doing the job because it’s better money then whatever hell hole they came from.
Go find your happy place in trucking or go flip burgers. It’s up to you to make the change. No one is going to do it for you.
Infosaur says
Howard Abramson should be required to give back every red cent he earned as a ATA “executive”.
See ‘white collars’ this is why us ‘blue collars’ are so sick of you. You make a disproportionate amount of money compared to the ‘service’ you supply, and in the case of a weasel like this you do more harm after you leave than any good you would have done IN your position at the ATA.
If you feel SO guilty about the abuses you see in the industry then you should be ASHAMED to have ever taken money for representing them. Somehow I doubt he’ll return it.
Lance says
That’s all true. This dummy Abramson doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Geri mann says
Unless you been behind the wheel of a big rig you should not be making up the rules and regulations for them. We are not all the same. Even sardines in a can are not all the same. If you look at the % rate of accidents with big rigs, it’s mostly caused by the car. So start educating them and make more safty laws for them to have a driver license to drive a car! It really doesn’t matter how safe you try to make the truck and driver if the driver of the car insist on being unsafe, unaware, and down right don’t give a shit!!! I’ve been driving my rig for 30 yrs now had 3 major accidents. Head on, driver of car fell asleep and hit me. Hit going down the road on driver side, driver of car was using cell phone and had no license. Hit on left side going down the road, driver of car failed to yeild the right of way while merging on to interstate. The head on she died how do u thing this effects me? SO REALLY START EDUCATING AND MAKING BETTER LAWS TO RECIEVE A LICENSE TO DRIVE A CAR! Stop violating my constitutional right!!! THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT ALLOWED TO DICTATE HOW MUCH MONEY I CAN MAKE, But that is what they are doing by telling me how and when i can drive my truck. The MORON THAT WROTE THIS ARTICAL NEEDS TO GET HIS FACTS IN ORDER BEFORE IT COST HIM A LAW SUIT
Lance says
right on!
mike says
The ata is really in my opinion the monster carriers lackies.
Ron says
“Per the most recent federal data available, upwards of two-thirds of all serious crashes involving large trucks are caused by the actions of someone other than the professional driver,” Graves writes. “Speeding, impaired driving and other aggressive behaviors by non-commercial drivers cause far more truck crashes than do fatigue or other issues cited by the author.” That’s why the Ohio Highway Patrol played “Politics” at my accident scene in 2005. They covered up “for the actions of someone other than the professional driver,” They guy who ran the red light was an Ohio state employee,driving an Ohio state owned vehicle…killing HIS passenger. But I have the “Vehicular Manslaughter” charge on my driving record ? You can’t fight dishonest police officers who have an agenda.Truck drivers are “EASY TARGETS” for Police to the lay the blame on. “Equal Justice” under the law is a joke.Just manipulate the true facts.
Don says
I have been driving for 34 years I want to wave at all the truckers out there and give the bird to the drivers that don’t care and yes there is a different’s