In recent times, it has proven increasingly difficult for the trucking industry to hire new recruits. The reason behind this is that many of the recent generation of truckers are looking to live more social lives instead of committing their careers to driving trucks. This shortage of truck drivers is doing damage to the economy, as it affects freight costs which eventually results in the increase in the costs of consumer goods.
Greg Baumgartner, a Houston Truck Accident Lawyer, has revealed that a lot of trucking companies have had to result to employing less experienced drivers—a tactic they would never have considered before, if not for the shortage of trained and experienced truckers.
The Drive-Safe Act – A Solution?
The minimum age required by the federal government for truck drivers to be able to drive across state lines is 21. However, in a bid to resolve the industry’s recruitment problems, the Department of Transportation introduced the Drive-Safe Act; a bill that will lower the minimum age of truckers to 18 as long as they have a commercial driver’s license (CDL).
Nonetheless, many truckers and trucking analysts have kicked out against the idea, pointing out the potential danger that hiring inexperienced drivers could pose.
Research has revealed that experience is an important part of the trucking industry, as a lot more accidents occur involving younger and inexperienced truckers than the experienced ones. This implies that passing this bill will not only increase the number of inexperienced truckers behind the wheels, but it will also lead to an increase in the occurrence of truck accidents.
A Better Solution
Even though the aim of the Drive-Safe Act is to get more people to apply for trucking jobs, it might end up making the roads riskier to ply for the average drivers and road users. There is a better way to combat the employment problem in the trucking industry—paying truckers higher wages.
Recent research as suggested that the low pay assigned to truck drivers might be one of the major factors responsible for the difficulty involved in employing more truckers in the industry. Increasing drivers’ wages will encourage many of those willing to take on the job, but who are currently being discouraged by the low pay.
This option proves to be a better solution without exposing road users to greater risks involving truck accidents. You can also visit https://www.texas-truckaccidentlawyer.com/blog/why-reducing-the-age-of-cdl-drivers-is-a-bad-idea/ for more information on this recruitment problem.
