Becoming a truck driver nowadays involves an incredible amount of scrutiny. The background checks, drug tests, physicals, and driving tests seem more like you’re entering a career with the FBI or wanting to run a daycare center for the President’s children. On top of that, trucking companies are far more strict than they were a few years ago with their requirements, and they certainly don’t treat drivers as good as they once did. Now you have increased enforcement in the way of GPS tracking and Electronic Logs which the DOT can combine to make sure people aren’t cheating – and it’s been very effective.

I believe without a doubt that once the economy is strong again, whenever that might come about, things will go back to the way they were as far as driver demand and treatment. Trucking is one of the toughest jobs you’ll find anywhere. Not only because of the difficulties that the job itself entails, but maybe more so because of the lifestyle and sacrifices that go along with it. By its nature there will always be a lot of people who give it a shot, only to find out they aren’t cut out for it. Even the ones that are cut out for it have a million options as to who they can drive for and what type of trucking job they’d like to have. A person might have to go through 5-10 different jobs just to try out the different types of freight you can pull, find the right mix of salary, home time, and job requirements, and eventually land someplace they’d like to stay – until the grass is greener elsewhere, of course

On top of that, the industry and the economy are so dynamic that companies are constantly changing their policies. It’s always been a running joke that if you don’t like the company you’re working for then just wait six months and it will be a completely different company. Every time a major policy is changed you get a lot of turnover. So I think things will return to what they were before this downturn, but it’s anybody’s guess as to when the economy will be strong enough to allow that to happen.

The standards for hiring drivers has never been higher than it is now. The liability is so high in trucking that insurance companies keep ratcheting up the standards more and more. There are a growing number of trucking companies that will not hire anyone who has ever had a DUI or a felony in their lives. They are also reviewing credit scores and limiting applicants based on body mass index (how fat you are).

This downturn in the economy is giving trucking companies something they haven’t had in decades – a surplus of drivers. So the standards are more strict, the pay is coming down slightly, and the training requirements are tougher. The scrutiny is intense, no question about it. But as is always the case with supply and demand, the economy will recover over time and the driver demand will increase, leading to slightly lower hiring standards by necessity.

One point you mentioned that has always been a problem in the industry is stress. You’re right – truck driving schools and trucking companies that offer CDL training use fear as a motivator. They always make you think you’re one wrong move away from failing. It’s not nearly as dire as they make it seem, and I very much wish they would quit this type of behavior, but they likely won’t. I went to school back in ’93 and it was just as stressful as it is now. Nothing has changed in that regard.

If you go to SAFESTAT and look at the Wal-Mart stats—that is where all trucking companies should be. Now if we could get the rest of the drivers and their companies to do this, the regulations would not be so tight on us. Remember its the actions of the few that brought us all these regulations.

Because of all the current regulations and those that are coming, there will be many drivers leave trucking. I talk to them almost daily. These are drivers who have driven for a few years. And these are the drivers you want on the road with their knowledge and safety record.