Driver shortage. The cause.

HEY..did someone mention something about short drivers......oh nevermind....its driver shortage.....

 

I see idiots who shouldn't be driving a truck, driving a truck, every day. I hate the new and increasing regulations on us, but maybe it will get rid of some of the cowboys who need to be gone.
I was off duty the other day in my home town, and watched a gasoline tanker (placarded,don't know if loaded or not) tailgate a car on a divided, 4 lane road, for a few miles. I'm talking the jerk was barely more than a car length behind the car, sometimes less. The roads were wet, and it had sleeted, earlier. It was slippery.

Yes, the driver of the car was an old geezer, doing a few miles under the speed limit, but the right lane was empty, there wasn't much traffic, but this jerk decided he owned the left lane, not the geezer.

I passed cautiously doing the speed limit, copied the truck number down, and parked...and made a phone call. (His company, actually the corporate office)

At first I was shuttled off to voice mail, and didn't expect to hear anything back, but later in the day I did get a call from a nice lady in the safety department, who confirmed the facts, time, and location.

There's no effin excuse. If you let traffic get you pissed off, you need to park or figure some way to calm down. There was no reason the tanker couldn't get around the geezer safely, and legally, instead of riding his bumper like a jerk.

 

The DRIVER shortage is very real!

However, the availability of retarded monkeys to hold a steering wheel is at an all time high. Remember when flunkies worked at a burger joint and asked "do you want fries with that"? Mexicans do that now, the flunkies stare at a windshield all day.

 

When the average truck driver is making over $.55 a mile. I will say there might be a shortage. It is simple economics supply and demand. When there is a shortage of a product or service the price goes up.

The only shortage I see is a shortage of people willing to work for low wages. I seen a decal on the back of a trailer that said if you're not making $.36 a mile to come over to there company and make the big money. I would be ashamed to work for that low wages as a experience driver.

I have high hopes on CSA I do believe it will be like deregulation it will take five years to shakeout. I have already begin seeing a lot of the of unprofessional drivers get too many points and get kicked out of the trucking business. There is one big shortage of professional drivers that used to have courtesy and professionalism on the road. Nowadays I see all these I got a go I got a go drivers tailgating cars and speeding and just plain drive like idiots. Then when they get a ticket they blame the cops not their actions of breaking the law. It's always somebody else's fault not theirs.

Just my two cents.

 

yep and after you've been driving long enough you learn to just suck it up and take things with a grain of salt.The lies I get told goes in one ear and out the other.

 

As my father (also was a driver) used to say: If these companies could get away with it, they train gorillas to drive these trucks. That way they could pay 'em in bananas.

 

population is increasing so more drivers will be needed but ATA is not a good source, they have their own agenda which is why I laughed hard when Romney lost after they pumped millions into his campaign. single biggest contributor if I'm not mistaken. I'm not an Obama supporter but that was funny.

 

Well said!

 

Increased population has nothing to do with the amount of freight moved when unemployment stays high and people are only buying necessities .
It is true 200,000 "drivers " will be needed because of high turnover with the megacarriers . Tens of thousands of CDL mill graduates playing musical steering wheels .