Your recent article on truck drivers (“Brutal hours, low pay leave truckers flat,” Page 1, Jan. 26) inaccurately and unfairly paints a grim picture of life on the road.
Most of the 3 million career truck drivers in the U.S. are pleased with their profession. They’re proud of the vital contribution they make to our economy, and they are troubled by the waning image of drivers who in bygone days were viewed as “knights of the road.” Surely, as in all fields, there are a few disgruntled individuals, and everybody has opinions on how the industry, government and citizens can make things better.
Truck drivers, in fact, make a comparatively good wage–significantly higher than your article reported. A 1995 survey of truck driver wages by the American Trucking Associations revealed that the annual average driver salary is $33,500. Many drivers make well above that figure, many earning more than $50,000. Moreover, they are able to do so while complying with speed limits and federal hours-of-service regulations.
Your article also misrepresented the trucking industry’s occupational safety record. When put in the proper context of deaths per 100,000 workers, truck driving rates ninth among occupations with the highest fatality rates–not first–ranking behind fishermen, airline pilots, taxicab drivers, construction workers and even farm workers.
Truck drivers are perhaps the greatest authorities on highway safety due to their training and because they face potentially life-threatening conditions daily, largely attributable to the careless habits of car drivers. In 1995, police reports showed 72 percent of the fatal accidents between cars and trucks were the car driver’s fault.
But trucking currently faces a serious challenge: We must recruit responsible, qualified people to help reduce the over-the-road driver shortage. We can do so by publicizing the great opportunities that exist within the industry. Tribune readers need to know there are good jobs available now in trucking and that those who join our profession perform an honorable and essential service.
