Why There Is a Shortage of Truck Drivers in Chicago and Nationwide

According to CBS News, the trucking industry needs to hire nearly 90,000 truck drivers to keep with increase freight demand. That number could triple in 10 years. Since most everything we eat, use at work, or place in our home comes to us through truck deliveries – a shortage of truck drivers can mean price increases and delays in getting the products we use and enjoy. If the demand isn’t met, trucking companies and drivers will be tempted to push the boundaries of safe driving by driving faster and with less rest.

Bob Costello, the chief economist for American Trucking Associations, an industry trade group, says that a 100,000-truck driver shortage is when the economy will really start to show signs of suffering.

The reasons for the truck driver shortfall

According to Mr. Costello and other trucking professionals and workers the shortage is due to:

• The demanding lifestyle of being a truck driver. Many drivers are on the road and away from home for days and weeks at a time.
• Many drivers don’t get enough rest. One truck driver, Greg Gedenberg, interviewed by CBS claimed that he sleeps on a 36-inch box in the back of his truck. He says that he only stays at hotels occasionally.
• To make truck driving work, you must love to see different places and work with different people
• Some truck companies require that truck drivers be on the road for six months which can make having good family relationships virtually impossible

Trucking companies claim that getting new drivers is very competitive right now. Most drivers, like Gedenberg and Jennifer Gossman, another driver, say the main incentive for getting new truck drivers comes down to one thing – better pay. Trucking companies are in a constant tug of war to pay drivers more money while the owners and shareholders want the companies to keep costs down.

Factoring in the cost of living, and reviewing federal employment data, the wages paid to truck drivers has only marginally increased in the last ten years. The median salary for a truck driver is just $41,000.

Tired drivers are dangerous drivers. Drivers who are pressured to make deliveries so trucking companies can make more profits are dangerous drivers. At Gainsberg Injury and Accident Lawyers, our Chicago truck accident lawyers hold trucking companies and drivers liable when they take unreasonable risks. Dangerous drivers cause deaths, catastrophic injuries, and serious changes to people’s lives. To speak with a strong advocate who will help you get justice, please call us today at 312-600-9585 or complete our contact form to make an appointment. We take truck accident cases on a contingency fee basis.