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I've been a Truck Driver for over 20 years, and I really don't understand alot of these Truking Companies. They hire dispatcher's that have any trucking experience. They'er taking advantise of driver from other countries. Every company will tell you that you're a fool if you're not driving for them, the great pay and home time is still a joke! I have come off the road for these reasons, I'll only drive local. The Trucking companies are the reason that theres a driver shortage. Let keep it real. And we can't leave out the truck stops, pricies are so high on everything and alot of truck stops want you to pay for parking if you don't buy 50 gallons of fuel. And all of the BS rules and regulations. 
 
 
 
This is why there's a driver shortage. 
 
 
 
Larry Daniels. 
 
Cincinnati, Ohio

I feel the driver shortage is exacerbated by several factors: 1. there are lots of drivers, but fewer good ones--the bad ones quit or get fired. 
 
 
 
2. Increasing regulations imposed by companies and the government, leading to a sense of frustration and alienation. 
 
 
 
3. An overcrowded highway infrastructure, coupled with arrogant and dangerous drivers. 
 
 
 
4. Unreasonable demands and lack of 
 
communication between companies and drivers. 
 
 
 
5. Stagnant pay along with diminished benefits.

WHO WANTS TO WORK AWAY FROM HOME 14 TO 21 DAYS AND GET PAID A FEW HUNDRED DOLLORS A WEEK.I HAVE A bROTHER IN LAW WHO DROVE FOR A LARGE CO THAT "PAID FOR HIS TRAINING"hE BROUGHT HOME 150 OR 200 ON HIS BEST WEEKS. .WAIT TIME DISPATCHERS DELAY GETTING BACK TO YOU ECT....I WOULD HAVE STOPPED DRIVING ALLTOGETHER TOO IF I HAD NOT BEEN BLESSED TO PAY CASH FOR A GOOD TRUCK AND BECAME AN OWNER OPERATER WITH A GREAT OUTFIT(SO FAR.LARGE AND MEDIUM TRUCKING CO ARE TAKING MORE AWAY FROM THE DRIVERS TO MAINTAIN THEIR INCOME THAT DECREASED WHEN RATES WENT DOWN.

Some one asked me what I did for a living. I offered them the following clues: 
 
I'm up all hours of the day and night. 
 
The work I do is dangerous. 
 
If I mess up I could end up in prison. 
 
I'm constantly hassled by cops. 
 
The person I talked to thought I was a drug dealer. The answer was: No. I'm a truck driver!

You just dont get what they say, home time, and the pay is the shits, all the hrs,and no home time, you cant do it and have a life , And the truckstops are well you know

Reason(s) for driver shortage> Trucking companies have and are continuing treating drivers like crap, the police, politicians and the public in general treat us like crap. You have drivers from other countries that don't know how to drive, have no professional courtesy, they just drive the truck up and down the highways, ALL of these news laws aimed at making our lives miserable. I used to love being out on the road (OTR)but drive local now (it's not any better). People need to see life from our point of view and see what we go though everyday and night so they can have a comfortable life and not have to worry about having gas in their cars, food on the table and all the other things that make their life easy. Drivers are fed up, no money to be made, no decent, if any hometime and always having to worry "what if" I have an accident due to unforeseen equipment failure or the 4 wheelers carelessness or stupidity and some one gets hurt or killed. because I as a professional driver will be the person at fault because I am a truck driver

i feel older drivers are leaving,retire,local wrk. ect..and newer drivers can,t commit to a 2 year spand to find a way to operate to meet there need,s.

CSA 2010, falsified DAC reports,etc. 
 
Too much BS in this industry. This has to be the scummiest industry to be involved in. I'm considering getting out myself.

So far, some great comments!  
 
 
 
I contemplated writing a blog about a handful of reasons, but thought it would be best to include a driver's perspective first. 
 
 
 
I agree with a lot of the comments that have been posted so far.  
 
 
 
There are increasingly stringent regulations (CSA 2010, Hours of Service, EOBRs, etc.) that will surely have an impact on the existing pool of commercial drivers out there. 
 
 
 
That existing pool of commercial drivers, by the way, is aging and exiting the industry (retiring, etc.) with a much smaller influx of drivers to replace them. There are too many barriers to enter into a commercial driving career: Must be at least 21 years old (23 in most cases), must pay $6000-8000 for a CDL, and must be an "indentured servant" to an OTR company for at least one full year. This is not attractive to potential commercial drivers, even though truck drivers stand to make a decent living under the right circumstances. 
 
 
 
We certainly can't discount some of the comments about the way truck drivers are treated. In many cases, especially where turnover is so high for a trucking company, you can pinpoint the primary issue to one person (or a group of people) in Dispatch who have no interpersonal skills in dealing with truck drivers - instead they talk down to them and treat them like they're a dime a dozen. 
 
 
 
Personally, I'm all for the FMCSA's goals of making the highways safer and reducing the crashes and fatalities on the road. However, they need to embrace how they can better entice people to consider a career in commercial driving or we will be in for a driver shortage of epic proportions.

I have been driving trucks since 1985. In the "good ole' days", which actually started long before I started driving, drivers were treated with respect from both the general public and law enforcement officers. 
 
Now, neither is true. Trucks are an interference to drivers of automobiles on the highways and biways, they will do anything to get you out of their way, including taking extremely dangerous risks around the CMV that they are playing games with. 
 
 
 
DOT and other law enforcement talk down to you like you are a sewage covered rag fresh out of the cesspool. Inspection stations are out for blood, you run into them all the time and you are treated like s***. They do whatever they can to find things wrong with your truck and give you a hard time. With CSA 2010, it's going to become MUCH more difficult for the common, normal truck driver to get through these inspections without getting a ticket for some infraction that will end up putting points on your CDL. 
 
 
 
I pull a flatbed trailer and was reading the infractions and the points assessed. Flatbed pullers better learn about tying down loads according to THEIR way of doing things, there are dozens of infractions that are an automatic 10 points. 
 
 
 
Truck drivers are not paid for the time they spend, at least concerning OTR. You are not paid for waiting at a terminal to get loaded or unloaded. You are not paid for downtime. You are not paid for the time it takes you to fuel the tanks in your truck. You work many hours every single day that you receive no compensation for.  
 
 
 
I will ONLY work hourly now. I am a local driver and for me, it's the only way to go. I get paid for EVERYTHING I do, whether it's fueling or filling out logs.  
 
 
 
Moving on, truck drivers are expected to stay out on the road for weeks or even months at a time. I know full well the feeling of being out on the road for 3 months, begging my dispatcher to let me come home. He would dispatch me everywhere BUT Arizona, where I live. I did OTR for many, many years, I loved it at first but I grew to HATE it.  
 
 
 
Truck drivers also have difficulty finding places to park at the end of the day. "No Parking" signs everywhere. Unless you really KNOW a city that you are in and where, perhaps, a truck might be able to park without getting hassled by police, you are relegated to trying to find a place at a truckstop or a rest area, good luck with either of those. (BTW, I know many places in the Phoenix area, off the beaten path, if you need to find a place to park overnight).  
 
 
 
Truck drivers are, in a nutshell, expected to sacrifice their lives in exchange for low pay and extremely poor living conditions. What possible appeal can that have on the average young person today? Yeah, mom and pop, I can't WAIT until I'm 21 and can get into trucking so I can be treated like a piece of dog s***!! 
 
 
 
The industry will eventually begin to fail as older drivers exit and not enough come in. At that point, I would like to hope all of us drivers will band together and start making demands on the industry. Pay for hotel stops at least once a week instead of making everyone continually live in a little box. Raise the pay scale substantially. I don't CARE if everyone has to pay more at the grocery store, WE are the people paying the REAL price here. 
 
 
 
MANDATORY home time (if you want it, not all drivers want to go home, I know drivers that live in their trucks, have no house or apartment, have lived that way for decades and love it). For those of us that have families or even don't but want to be able to go home, this is hardly too much to ask for. 
 
 
 
There are all kinds of ideas out there floating around, some of them might work, others are off the wall. One suggestion that trucking companies simply buy out or rent warehouses or other such, large facilities, turn them into giant overnight stopping places with free laundry, sleeping quarters, everything. Terminals don't even come close to cutting it. The bottom line is money. Drivers aren't making enough of it to cover the amount of sacrifice that is encountered. There are a lot of "new" drivers out on the roads today, there because of the economy and the fact that trucking is a "last option" sebastion to be used only if nothing else will work. 
 
 
 
Many of these drivers have no more business driving a truck than an ape has flying an airplane. They won't, fortunately, be able to stand it for very long. I believe trucking and driving them is a sort of calling just like a police officer or fireman is. We are the lifeblood of the economy. Everyone knows that if the trucking industry shut down, so would America. 
 
 
 
I mean, the list is endless of why there is a trucking shortage. There is not an endless list of available remedies. Trucking companies don't want to shell out more money, DOT and law enforcement only want to make driving a truck harder and municipalities couldn't care less if there are places for you to park your rig. 
 
 
 
Again and inevitably, the shortage will continue to grow and at some point in time, there will be a breaking point. Hopefully sooner than later.

If drivers are paid for docktime and if the trucking companies would do more terminal to terminal drop and hook and let drivers have more time with there famlies than they do now. also we all have to do better to inprove our image when on the road. Safety and courtesy should be always on our minds.

Its the rediculous regulations and now this stupid no idling law. Give me a friggin break. They expect me to sleep in a truck with no ac or heat because im not allowed to idle my engine,they can all kiss my hairy ass. YOU go sleep without air condition and tell me how much it sucks. There is absoloutly no reason for any new driver to want to go through this crap. They keep busting our balls and were gonna quit in droves or forced out. Then prices will go up everywhere when there is no one left out there to deliver there precious shit. Then they'll be crying a sob story 10 miles long. I cant wait. Im fed up with the bullshit. Trucking will make a man bitter.

In the good old days,And when i say old i mean 70,80s,Trucking was pretty good.Then when they decided to deregulate the Industry.As time went on things just seem to keep getting worse.Never changing or getting any better with time!

I agree with what one driver has said about an increase of demand of what they want out of the driver and what they compensate you with in return. Along with the B.S. home time they offer..its all about bussiness and hardly anything about the drivers. Most people in this country have familes and would like to see them more than 3 or 4 days a month. All companies need to relize that there needs to be more options for the driver out there or the driver will say fuck it. They need to somewhat conform to the needs of the drivers instead of the driver has to do it this way and thats final.

There is no driver shortage. There is a shortage of people willing to do the work for the conditions and pay on offer. Unless and until there is a real driver shortage neither conditions and pay will change. Before we reach a real shortage I expect Mexican trucks and guest worker programs to be implemented resulting continued worsening of pay and conditions for American drivers. Welcome to feudalism redux.

Been drivin since 1979, drove transit 11 years OTR 6 years trained both bus and truck drivers and 4 losey tickets 3 of which was for bein in the left lane (2 of those were for not obeying posted signs) keeps me off the road until they are 3 years old so I sat on unemployment waiting it out drawing $800 every 2 weeks! I want to work the 4th one will fall off 2-27-2011 just in time when I run out of the so called 99 weeks. I didn't get even 52 weeks I guess due to taking lame jobs in between. 
 
These people are straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel! It's all about money. Thank God I only have about 15 more years to retire. 
 
In my opinion flippin burgers is a better job at least you go home every night and get paid for your time.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? OTR driving SUCKS. Here are the reasons why: 
 
(1) Too many ridiculous regulations, starting with the 14-hour rule. There are many days that 14 hours just isn't enough time. 
 
(2) No place to park! Especially after dark. 
 
(3) Truck drivers are treated like shit. It always amazes me to hear dispatchers talk about "I was out there for (fill in the blank) years, so I know what it's like." If it was all that, they'd still be "out there."  
 
(4) Everyone, from the "travel centers" to the DOT have their hands in your wallets. They only like truck drivers for their $. 
 
(5) No life on the road. Ask a doctor "hey, doc, what kind of job can I get that lacks the two basic ingredients for staying healthy, namely lack of exercise and poor diet?" Why truck driving! Try OTR! 
 
(6) The inability to make any plans. Everything is based on the load - 100% of the time. 
 
(7) The la raza factor. Too many Mexicans in the freight business, and a lot of them hate white people. Say what you want, but you know it's true. 
 
(8) Being forced to drive around the general public, and many of them don't know how to drive. 
 
There are certainly more reasons, but the above should be a start. In an economy which is the worst since the Great Depression, why do you think trucking companies are still hiring?

With the new enforcement of CVSA rules there are plenty of poor quality and poor health drivers that are driven out. Also the old timers are leaving voluntarily as a result of enforcement rather than deal with it, especially since they have seen a time with less hassle and more pay. (from what I hear them say) 
 
I personally think the new enforcement is good because it will get rid of bad drivers and unhealthy drivers.  
 
What I hope most though is that it will make a lot of drivers make some changes so that they are healthier. That is my ultimate wish. It's a shame right now how we don't take care of our bodies, but that's not what this post is supposed to be about so I won't get into how it's a lie that you can't eat healthy or get exercise on the road. 
 
Another reason for the shortage is even younger and new drivers leave trucking at high rates simply because trucking is not what they expected. 
 
Too many don't ask enough questions, they get into trucking based on assumptions and wishful thinking generated from movies and misconceptions about the travel, money and good times, all of which is in short supply to a new driver. 
 
They don't consider the impact on the family, stress on relationships and this too causes many to leave creating a high turnover. 
 
There are many reasons for the shortage and there will always be a shortage of drivers and a bigger shortage of good drivers. 
 
It's the nature of the industry without some major overhaul from the way the drivers think and operate to the way trucking company managers think and operate. 
 
this is good for good drivers cause we will always have a job and actually, I think we may end up getting paid more the next time the shortage peaks after the economy gets in the next recovery gear!

ive been reading what ppl have said. i must aggree totaly. i was truck driver in europe for 25yrs. and every law enforcement is out to get you. theres no parking anywhere and in England they charge you upto $70.00 a night to park. theres a 56mph speed limit for trucks all across europe and the trucks are limited to that speed if you exceed the limits the fines are about a moths wages and points. fuel is around $10.00 a gal. its nice to know that prostitutes have more rights than a truck driver

You wanted to know and you got a bunch of reasons,here is another. Treating us like we're scum. We tell our kids the way we have been treated, they wont have nothing to do with trucking. I hope to see all of the ones that mistreat us such as lawenforcement, govs,rich, & ignorant peoples kids driving in the future because my kids wont. I am not a robot, I make mistakes, to many miles not too. People make laws that have a clue about what their doing. I would like to see the look on their face when their rich arrogant butt's can't get tiolet paper to wipe their butt. To the driver who thinks he may get paid more due to the CSA,just hold your breath and click your heels dorothy; and all of us truck drivers can already tell not to turn our back around you.

LOL been driving commercially since '03. I'm desperate to jump truck. Low pay, high stress, treated like crap. Yep McDonald's here I come! Anyone ever consider maybe unions could be a good deal for us?

What is happening out their is the schools for cdl schools a like pup mills putting out alot of drivers with the idea that they well make 30000 to 45000 the frist year. For CDL A CDL B 28000 to 35000 the frist year. That dosen't happen so most leave the cdl driving. The real world CDL A OTR pay sucks and home time is 34 hours what a joke. For CDL B yea but your home ever night but your driving way over hours and the amount of problems with what your driving are just bad. 2 truck i have driven got 35000 in DOT fines be for this DOT points system came out. Have a letter from my manger of everything thats wrong with the truck helps get the fines off to the owner. I just waiting for a contry wide CDL strike where nothing roles fuel trucks, food money, fire trucks and everything elese for 7 days then you well see pays/wages/mig start to go up.

Driver shortage my a$$.If their was a driver shortage why is alot of drivers complaining about not getting enough miles including myself.alot of these companies make you jump through alot of hoops just to get considered and thats even if u have a clean driving record and backround.This industry has alot of b.s. to if from companies and dot treating drivers like crap.to travel centers taking advantage of drivers.And of course our conjested highways.gee if their is a driver shortage i hope it stays that way i dont want to see the interstate even more congested.

The way to fix the industry is to include all cdl drivers into the fair wage law. Then.all the drivers would have to be paid by the hour for their time plus overtime. Cdl driver in pa