Stormin' Norman to address truckers

By: Dan Keegan
Date: 2001-10-26

Comments (20)    Join conversation

The Agenda for the American Trucking Associations 2001 Management Conference in Nashville (Oct. 28-31) is a telling insight into the importance of trucks and their drivers in our modern transportation system. Amongst the speakers will be General Norman Swartzkopf, commander of U.S. troops during Desert Storm, Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card (via satellite hookup), and Vice President Dick Cheney via video-taped presentation.

When the FBI announced it was investigating terrorist links to commercial licensing and the transport of hazardous materials the nation awoke to the idea that it isn't just planes that pose a risk but every element of transport that forms part of the circulatory system of a modern society. Drivers pose a special concern, says John Conley, vice president of National Tank Truck Carriers, because they are so closely involved with hazardous materials ( HAZMAT) shipments.

The connection between the September 11 attackers and the hazardous materials transportation system has pulled the spotlight towards an issue that has been bothering the trucking industry for some time: the selection, qualification, training, licensing, and hiring of commercial drivers.

"Any safety director will tell you that there is really not a shortage of people who want to drive trucks," Conley said, "but there is a significant shortage of drivers we feel confident to hire to drive our equipment carrying your product. When we do find the good drivers, we can't pay them enough." In recent years, competition, merging, and downloading have squeezed the trucking industry hard, forcing it to cut corners. An unfair burden in providing cheap transportation for goods fell on the driver, who is often expected to work long hours under difficult conditions for low pay. This was one of the issues laid out for Homeland Security director Tom Ridge in a recent letter from Jim Johnson, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association ( OOIDA). The OOIDA has long been concerned with certain practices in trucking that affect the economy of the industry and "may leave safety and security gaps that place the entire nation at risk," says Johnston.

In particular, Johnson expressed concerned about a shortage of drivers that causes domestic carriers to aggressively recruit foreign nationals to become truck drivers in the United States. This pressure promotes incidents of misuse of U.S. visas to gain entry for foreign workers to become truck drivers, says Johnson, and it is aided and abetted by lax rules for background checks before hiring, and meager requirements for obtaining a commercial drivers license in the U.S. "For years we have stated that the most important factor in truck safety is the experience and quality of the person behind the wheel," Johnston told Land Line Magazine recently. "Unfortunately, there are not many obstacles to anyone getting a CDL for purposes that may be good or bad. The lack of qualifications necessary to become a truck driver allows motor carriers to focus on finding the cheapest labor they can rather than qualified professionals."

The quest for cheap labor, he adds, has led U.S. carriers to look overseas in their recruitment efforts. "The recruiting efforts cover every region of the world. If they have a warm body and their feet can reach the pedals, they can be a truck driver. The foreign recruitment of drivers makes it easier for foreign nationals to come into the country where they easily gain access to 80,000-pound vehicles and all of the goods, raw materials, chemicals, fuel and munitions that are shipped by truck every day on our highways."

The demand for foreign-recruited drivers has stimulated some illegal activities by some recruiters. Johnson pointed to a March 12 case in which two men pleaded guilty in federal court in Little Rock, AR, to several charges related to helping foreign truck drivers obtain U.S. visas illegally. They helped them file false visa applications, including false reasons for wanting to come into the country, and allegedly made their money from American trucking companies looking for drivers.

However, easy entry into the country is just part of the problem, says Johnson. Low requirements for the Commercial Driver's License and HAZMAT permits are also an issue. A written test and a brief driving test are all the CDL requires, he adds.

Once a driver with a CDL is found and hired, the motor carrier has 30 days to complete a background check. However, says Johnson, once a driver is hired, there isn't enough incentive for the company to actually perform the check. For some time now the OOIDA has strongly advocated the establishment of mandatory driver training and a period of supervised apprenticeship to improve the quality of truck drivers and the safety of our highways. Now, Johnston urges, there may be national security reasons to support such a rule.

Login or sign up to receive email notification
when a comment is added to this thread.

NOTE - You can cancel at any time, and we have a strict privacy policy which forbids us from sharing your email address or other information with any third party.