It’s a national problem, and one that Los Angeles truck accident attorneys believe could impact trucking safety in California and around the country. Across all 50 states, trucking companies are reporting a shortfall in the number of trained and experienced truck drivers.
Trucking simply isn’t as attractive a job option for young people as it used to be a couple of decades ago. Not many young people now want a job that keeps them away from family for long periods of time.
Further, the trucking industry also believes that the federal administration’s recently strengthened standards are preventing people from applying for these jobs. The new rules include logbook maintenance standards that make it harder for truck drivers to falsify log books. Besides, strict restrictions on Hours of Service, also limit the number of hours that a truck driver can drive.
All these factors have made trucking a much less attractive proposition than earlier, which explains the shortfall of applicants. Trucking companies are trying to meet the shortfall in their own ways. Some have resorted to setting up their own trucking training colleges in order to train batches of applicants. However, others are simply cutting down operations, resulting in delayed deliveries.
What Los Angeles truck accident lawyers are really concerned about is the possible effect on trucking safety as a result of the shortage. Inexperienced, unskilled drivers are now likely to be picked up by many trucking companies looking to hire any truck driver.
In other parts of the country, there are efforts to increase the truck driver pool using other sources. In Virginia, the Virginia Trucking Association is supporting a program, which helps former military veterans obtain commercial driving licenses for a new career.
