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Autonomous trucks outpacing self-driving cars, will come to market sooner 7/26/2021 Friday Short Haul - Driver training, driver retention, Safe Trucks Act 7/23/2021 Association launches to take CDL driver training to high school students 7/21/2021 Queen of the Road winners named by REAL Women in Trucking 7/19/2021 Friday Short Haul -- Amazon expands fleet, Dollar General's sign-on bonus, Werner nuclear verdict appeal 7/16/2021 Operation Safe Driver Week is under way, ends July 17 7/14/2021 New blame being named for driver shortage 7/12/2021 Friday Short Haul - America's Road Team, sexual harassment webinar, Knight-Swift acquisition 7/9/2021 Analysis: One third of bridges across the nation are structurally deficient 7/7/2021 Truckers help bring a Vietnam memorial to communities across America 7/5/2021 Friday Short Haul - AB5 discussion, crash scam sentencing, Werner lawsuit 7/2/2021 Training Provider Registry website now taking registrations 6/30/2021 UK driver shortage has some calling for desperate measures 6/28/2021 Friday Short Haul - Minneapolis set to ban big rig parking, WIT Member of the Month 6/25/2021 CTA's challenge of California's AB5 on its way to the Supreme Court 6/23/2021 More guilty pleas in New Orleans staged crash scam ring investigation 6/21/2021 Friday Short Haul - DOT agenda, pay increases, Workforce Heroes, and TuSimple 6/18/2021 ATRI survey points to the need for a nationwide truck parking availability system 6/16/2021 Canada ELD mandate deadline was June 12; won't be enforced 6/14/2021 Friday Short Haul - Driver essay contest, safest fleets, JB Hunt's Waymo, ATA's climate change 6/11/2021 OOIDA aids CTA in its appeal of unfavorable AB5 ruling 6/9/2021 Little for truckers to like in newest highway bill 6/7/2021 Friday Short Haul - TuSimple watermelon run, Schneider diversity, pre-settlement claims 6/4/2021 Latest study released: 25 most-dangerous highways in America 6/2/2021 Survey seeks answers to what drivers want from carriers 5/31/2021 Friday Short Haul - Speed limiters, ATRI research agenda, Pallet shortage 5/28/2021 Some are asking the feds to take another look at twin-33 trailers 5/26/2021 Watch out for increased cargo theft over Memorial Day holiday 5/24/2021 Friday Short Haul - Woman in Logistics award, Brake Check Week, and truckers' COVID shots 5/21/2021 Sides lining up on re-introduced $5 million insurance minimum bill 5/19/2021 Supply chain is in crisis: Is a truck VMT tax the solution? 5/17/2021 Friday Short Haul - Break-away fifth wheel, HP partners with Embark, Texas lawsuit bill proceeds 5/14/2021 Three top carriers sign up for 6,775 TuSimple self-driving trucks 5/12/2021 Drivers come to the aid of crash victims, earn Highway Angel wings 5/10/2021 Friday Short Haul - WIT names finalists, DOL withdraws decision, seat belt enforcement 5/7/2021 Nation catching on to consequences of truck driver shortage 5/5/2021 Inspectors on the road for International Roadcheck this week 5/3/2021 Friday Short Haul - ADAS push, Fiji trucking, gas shortage, and AB 5 becomes law 4/30/2021 Truckers involved in one-third of work zone crashes 4/28/2021 Seven tips for drivers to boost their pay 4/26/2021 Friday Short Haul - Samsung's Safety Truck, insurance minumums increase, COVID shots for Canadian truckers 4/23/2021 TravelCenters names two as 2021 Citizen Drivers of the Year 4/21/2021 Truck Historical Society launches Hall of Fame to honor truckers 4/19/2021 Friday Short Haul - WIT Driver of the Year nominees, FMCSA admin, DRIVE-Safe Act 4/16/2021 League of Cities offers solution to truck parking problem 4/14/2021 Policy brief makes a strong case for commercializing rest areas 4/12/2021 Friday Short Haul - FMCSA's TeenZone, Safety blitz, and Knight-Swift pay increase 4/9/2021 States preparing for another spotted lanternfly season 4/7/2021 Carriers encouraged to hire more entry-level drivers 4/5/2021 Friday Short Haul - Embark AV interface, OOIDA letter, Crete pay 4/2/2021 Website ranks carriers by driver pay - Sysco at the top 3/31/2021 Opponents voice concerns about Amazon's Driveri surveillance system 3/29/2021 Friday Short Haul - Embark and ADOT, Livestock haulers, and truck parking 3/26/2021 WIT honors 73 "Top Women to Watch" 3/24/2021 TCA honors four new Highway Angels 3/22/2021 Friday Short Haul - Truck wings, miles traveled tax, left-lane laws 3/19/2021 Texas doing something about nuclear verdicts against truckers 3/17/2021 First autonomous vehicle program student to graduate this semester 3/15/2021 Friday Short Haul - U.S. Xpress report, DRIVE Safe Act, Illegals 3/12/2021 California's job-killing AB 5 about to go Federal 3/10/2021 Federal speed-limiter mandate up for discussion again 3/8/2021 Friday Short Haul - Florida's SafeDRIVE, hair test update, human smuggler caught with 41 aboard 3/5/2021 Senators propose legislation to promote women in the trucking industry 3/3/2021 Canada is firm on June 12 ELD mandate; but no devices are certified 3/1/2021 Friday Short Haul - Top truck bottlenecks, North Dakota road trains, TuSimple IPO 2/26/2021 Despite benefits, fleets are not embracing lightweighting 2/24/2021 ELD mandate drives telematic and technology consolidations 2/22/2021 Friday Short Haul - Truck stop closures, apprenticeship program, emissions tampering 2/19/2021 Still time to comment on FMCSA's proposed vision rule change 2/17/2021 Red-light and speed camera enforcement on states' legislative agendas 2/15/2021 Friday Short Haul - C.R. England files RICO lawsuit, riskiest states, Walmart bonus 2/12/2021 Controversy continues on under-21 driver pilot program proposal 2/10/2021 WIT honors January and February Women of the Month 2/8/2021 Friday Short Haul - International Roadcheck 2021, Nikola hydrogen deal, OOIDA wants truck stop vaccines 2/5/2021 OOIDA's Lewie Pugh on tap as House transportation committee witness 2/3/2021 Car drivers are schooled about truckers' blind spots 2/1/2021 Friday Short Haul - Human smuggling, DOL rescinds opinion, yard moves comments 1/29/2021 January Highway Angels get their 'wings' 1/27/2021 DOL opinion green lights carriers to implement safety requirements on contractor drivers 1/25/2021 Friday Short Haul - Protests, dark days ahead, TuSimple 1/22/2021 Proposal to hit up SoCal warehouses for truck emissions at their facilities 1/20/2021 Court says interstate drivers are not held to California's meal and rest break rules 1/18/2021 Friday Short Haul - ND's 80mph speed limit, FMCSA advisory committees, precedent-setting lawsuit 1/15/2021 Most states fail to measure up to safety advocate's recommendations 1/13/2021 Road train pilot program approved by North Dakota lawmakers 1/11/2021 Friday Short Haul - Best fleets to drive for in 2021, Feds' final worker status rule, yard jockeys need better training 1/8/2021 TruckPark and FuelMe partnership takes the worry out of parking and fueling 1/6/2021 Clearinghouse deadline, and new FMCSA guidance about yard moves 1/4/2021 2020 closes with probably one of the most bizarre truck crash lawsuits ever 1/1/2021 FMCSA adds underride guards to list of inspection items 12/30/2020 Ex-football player helping truckers get into shape 12/28/2020 Friday Short Haul - OOIDA's letter to Congress, J.B. Hunt's diversity project, major winter storm 12/25/2020 France imposes lockdown on truckers from Britain attempting to cross the channel 12/23/2020 DOT told to assess skills of employees able to meet automation challenge 12/21/2020 Friday Short Haul - New FMCSA final rule, U.S. Xpress MIT study, Triton-EV semi 12/18/2020 COVID blamed for backlog in holiday deliveries 12/16/2020 Rule requiring driver notification of traffic violations is on FMCSA chopping block 12/14/2020 Friday Short Haul - WIT Female Driver nominations, FMCSA HOS Q&A webinar, truckers handle 12/11/2020 House passes federal marijuana bill; won't affect truckers 12/9/2020 Predictive hiring assessments becoming popular recruiting tool. But will it cure turnover? 12/7/2020 Friday Short Haul -- ATA letters about vaccine, FMCSA emergency declaration, UPS steps up dry ice production 12/4/2020 WIT seeks to survey women about driving while pregnant 12/2/2020 Four more drivers join ranks of TCA's Highway Angels 11/30/2020 Friday Short Haul -- TCA's Fleet Safety awards, truck drivers' vaccine, Volvo electric semis 11/27/2020 AI technology is now playing a bigger role in driver-facing camera surveillance 11/25/2020 CDC releases lates COVID-19 guidelines for truckers 11/23/2020 Friday Short Haul - Daimler self-driving Freightliner, driver's ed students, StopTheTires cancelled 11/20/2020 FMCSA shoots down Washington State's more-stringent break rules for truckers 11/18/2020 Two awardees announced for WIT's 2020 Woman of Influence 11/16/2020 Friday Short Haul -- Trucking quilter, Tri-State bets $5,000, and CRST conquers dwell time 11/13/2020 Veterans Day StopTheTires2020 shutdown protest planned 11/11/2020 California voters approve Prop 22 to gain exemptions to AB-5 11/9/2020 Friday Short Haul - FMCSA Pocket Guide, Heartland pay raise, teen trucker comments 11/6/2020 U.S. Senator blasts FMCSA for lack of accountability and increased crashes 11/4/2020 Four-state coalition forms to alleviate I-10 corridor truck parking problem 11/2/2020 Friday Short Haul - Tyson's mirrorless trucks, Brake Safety Week results, 14-hour pilot program comments 10/30/2020 Driver shortage ranks highest in ATRI's latest truck industry survey 10/28/2020 FMCSA criticized for high number of CDL fraud incidences 10/26/2020 Friday Short Haul - Volvo electrics, EPA emission penalties, PA move over law 10/23/2020 Nuclear verdicts get carriers rethinking safety training programs 10/21/2020 SBTC denied request for HOS and ELD exemptions when pets are on board 10/19/2020 Friday Short Haul - Smuggled migrants, Prime settlement, USF Holland lawsuit, truck road damage 10/16/2020 Tank trailers get approved for an additional pulsating brake light 10/14/2020 TuSimple and Waymo go head to head on issues of AV trucking 10/12/2020 Friday Short Haul - Drivers can self-dispatch, driver pay on the increase, Hurrican Delta emergency 10/9/2020 Women in Trucking names Influential Women and top companies for women to work for 10/7/2020 When a social media presence could hurt a driver or carrier 10/5/2020 Friday Short Haul - Walmart buys Tesla semis, FMCSA drivers panel, Pronto.ai is denied request, and Jim Mullen moves to TuSimple 10/2/2020 Machine learning shared truck loads add efficient component to LTL shipping 9/30/2020 New HOS rules in effect Sept. 29; clearing confusion about the new rule changes 9/28/2020 Friday Short Haul -- Schneider's remote orientation, 14-hour rule change comments, license renawal extension, ATA's DOL response 9/25/2020 Feds come out with their own definition of independent contractor status 9/23/2020 Amazon casts around for freight haulers; FMCSA news for drivers 9/21/2020 Friday Short Haul - WIT photo contest, Teamsters challenge HOS, $1 billion for infrastructure 9/18/2020 Speeding was most-cited violation during Safe Driver Week 9/16/2020 Carriers, others, honor drivers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week 9/14/2020 Friday Short Haul - FMCSA wildfire declaration, hair drug testing, shift plus load pay 9/11/2020 FMCSA looking to put under-21 drivers on interstate hauls 9/9/2020 New AB 5 bill specifically targets truckers for enforcement 9/7/2020 Friday Short Haul - AV test tracking tool, split-duty proposal comments, and mandatory hair testing 9/4/2020 FMCSA helps bankroll Trucking Fatigue Meter to fight driver drowsiness 9/2/2020 FMCSA looking at split-duty rule change; extending 14-hour day 8/31/2020 Friday Short Haul - Travel centers announce special offers for drivers in September 8/28/2020 Trucking landscape could look different after Nov. 3 8/26/2020 More indictments in New Orleans area accident insurance scams 8/24/2020 Friday Short Haul - North Dakota road trains, Brake Safety Week, drivers not returning to duty, opposition to Mexican truckers 8/21/2020 Platooning passes real-world tests; new company emerges as leader 8/19/2020 Helping victims of crashes earn drivers Highway Angel awards 8/17/2020 Friday Short Haul - Trucker's last ride, FMCSA extension, autonomous trucks 8/14/2020 Test vehicles did not fare well during AAA's driving assistance evaluations 8/12/2020 Spotted lanternfly sightings on the increase 8/10/2020 Friday Short Haul - JKC Trucking announcement, truck stop break-in, WIT top women businesses 8/7/2020 FMCSA reminds drivers of 'adverse conditions' exemptions to HOS rules 8/5/2020 SmartSense mitigates collision and 'sitting duck' situations 8/3/2020 Friday Short Haul - FBI ELD hacks warning, students hack trucks, OOIDA asks for HVUT suspension 7/31/2020 Women In Trucking announces 2020 photo contest 7/29/2020 California publishes major new freight plan 7/27/2020 Friday Short Haul - Love's requires masks, 10-million-mile driver, brake check blitz, and TuSimple truck incident 7/24/2020 COVID-19 gives the average trucker a chance to attend FMCSA safety summit 7/22/2020 Overdrive honors Small Fleet Champs 7/20/2020 Friday Short Haul - States push for electric semis, fewer student new-hires, troopers in a truck 7/17/2020 Nearly 300,000 drivers would lose jobs if hair testing was mandated 7/15/2020 Trucking Truth owner/founder gets 3-hour spot at Road Dog Trucking Radio 7/13/2020 Friday Short Haul - Operation Safe Driver Week, Canadian border, fuel cell semis hit the road 7/10/2020 Werner, DOE earn FMCSA ELD and HOS exemptions 7/8/2020 TuSimple announces its Autonomous Freight Network to expand driverless freight hauling throughout the nation 7/6/2020 Friday Short Haul - House passes Moving Forward Act, YRC gets a bailout, and trucking jobs on the increase 7/3/2020 Group pens letter objecting to proposed EV charging stations at highway rest areas 7/1/2020 Carriers' virus response gets kudos at TCA virtual meeting 6/29/2020 Friday Short Haul - Convoy brokerage, CLP waiver extended, $2 million amendment passed, two sentenced for CDL fraud 6/26/2020 Nuclear verdicts strangling trucking companies; not so, say lawsuit attorneys 6/24/2020 Eight carriers in lawsuit for not poaching other companies' drivers 6/22/2020 Friday Short Haul - Post-virus speeds return to normal, $2 million insurance minimum proposed, WIT looking to honor an influential woman 6/19/2020 FMCSA extends 3 COVID-related waiver declarations 6/17/2020 Truckers say they will refuse to enter cop-defunded cities 6/15/2020 Friday Short Haul - Truckers love guns, freight broker leader resigns, avoiding riots 6/12/2020 Cargo theft on the uptick during COVID-19 era 6/10/2020 California voters will get a chance to scrap AB 5 6/8/2020 Friday Short Haul - Prime crash verdict, Teamsters applaud INVEST Act, OOIDA opposes broker bond changes 6/5/2020 Dwell and detention times begin to decrease post-virus 6/3/2020 CRST fighting another battle over driver poaching 6/1/2020 Friday Short Haul - Driver shortage is over, Amazon's brokerage goes national, and lawyers are after carriers for nuclear verdicts 5/29/2020 Freight industry considering post-COVID-19 strategies 5/27/2020 FMCSA to consider increasing HOS for autonomous drivers 5/25/2020 Friday Short Haul - Trimble MAPS, rate of fatalities increase, Comcar bankruptcy, driver pay on the rise 5/22/2020 FMCSA: Long-awaited final HOS revisions announced 5/20/2020 2016 trucking documentary released to YouTube for public viewing 5/18/2020 Friday Short Haul - Reusing morgue reefers, ATRI research priorities, FMCSA HOS declaration 5/15/2020 WIT honors two women in the trucking industry 5/13/2020 Freight brokers push back against "price gouging" accusation 5/11/2020 Friday Short Haul - Tank truck revenues decline, former Arrow CEO gets early prison release, not-preventable crashes 5/8/2020 ATRI and OOIDF team up for comprehensive COVID-19/trucking survey 5/6/2020 U.S. military has unique needs for truck platooning 5/4/2020 Friday Short Haul - Truckers protest low rates, 1 million masks given to drivers, SecurSpace app finds parking 5/1/2020 WorkHound analyses what drivers think about the COVID-19 crisis 4/29/2020 Group pushes back on temporary increased weight limits 4/27/2020 Friday Short Haul - 'Thank God for truckers!' CA state senator proposes bill to suspend AB5, TA furloughs 3,000 workers 4/24/2020 Truckers say distracted driving is on the rise 4/22/2020 Trucking leaders think some recent changes might become permanent in the industry 4/20/2020 Friday Short Haul - "Your papers please," skills testing waiver, masks required in Canada 4/17/2020 Truckers report in on their treatment during these COVID-19 times 4/15/2020 FMCSA acts quickly to keep the new-driver pipeline flowing 4/13/2020 Friday Short Haul - Weight limits increase, food trucks not wanted in rest areas, FMCSA extends HOS exemptions 4/10/2020 Trucking industry concerned about state licensing agency closings 4/8/2020 California AB-5 advocates react to carriers' COVID-19 good deeds 4/6/2020 Friday Short Haul - Schneider's error, Change.org petition, Teamsters Canada demands 4/3/2020 Authors: 'Legacy' carriers ignore autonomous technology at their peril 4/1/2020 COVID-19 scare: State gun laws come under scrutiny 3/30/2020 Friday Short Haul - Inspection blitz postponed, COVID-19 webinar, FHA urges states to keep rest areas open, fewer cars means faster truck deliveries 3/27/2020 DOT and FMCSA issue COVID-19 responses 3/25/2020 Starsky Robotics calls it quits 3/23/2020 Friday Short Haul - Weigh station parking, rest areas reopen, HOS waiver expanded, freight prices increase 3/20/2020 Truck drivers mostly exempt from coronavirus lock downs 3/18/2020 HOS rules relaxed for COVID-19 relief effort 3/16/2020 Friday Short Haul - Western Express recovers from Tennessee tornado, driver involved in two accidents six minutes apart, another carrier quits 3/13/2020 Daimler's electric vehicles and autonomous trucks continue real-world testing 3/11/2020 Predictive technology increases driver safety, benefits carriers 3/9/2020 Friday Short Haul -- Coffee drinking drivers, Amazon coronavirus email, FMCSA safety summit 3/6/2020 AIRman introduces no-crank technology to landing gears 3/4/2020 Roadmaster shows how to reduce driver turnover 3/2/2020 Friday Short Haul - CBD users beware, 8,000 violations revealed in Clearinghouse, laptop theft lands Alabama trucker in prison 2/28/2020 Canada company offers easy access to spare trailers 2/26/2020 Roadcheck could result in temporarily higher freight rates 2/24/2020 Friday Short Haul - Self-driving yard trucks, Knight-Swift partners with Truckstop.com, Security guard shoots driver 2/21/2020 Training providers offer a diversity of options 2/19/2020 Idaho eases hemp transport prohibition; too late to help arrested drivers 2/17/2020 Friday Short Haul - Tennessee carrier quits, signs a carrier is going down, retaining drivers 2/14/2020 New phone app hopes to alleviate shipper waits 2/12/2020 Senate Transportation Committee gets an earful from trucking execs 2/10/2020 Friday Short Haul - Best fleets to drive for, FMCSA delays ELDT rule, Cold Carriers closes doors 2/7/2020 Baylor Trucking deals with consequences of ELD outage 2/3/2020 WIT announces first-ever Driver Ambassador, names February Member of the Month 2/3/2020 Friday Short Haul - ATA at White House USMCA signing, AB-5 fight continues, toughest jobs 1/31/2020 May dates announced for this year's roadside inspection blitz 1/29/2020 States work to toughen up left-lane-hogging laws 1/27/2020 Friday Short Haul - Pilot Flying J name change, CRST-Swift lawsuit, Schneider named innovator 1/24/2020 Seven drivers named as TCA's Highway Angels 1/22/2020 Travel advisories and restrictions announced for Midwest weekend storm 1/20/2020 Friday Short Haul - Senators demand GPS app updates, Jason's Law survey, ATA applauds USMCA, FMCSA's truck crash survey 1/17/2020 Research group recommends a national autonomous truck policy 1/15/2020 A glimpse into driving long-haul in China 1/13/2020 Friday Short Haul - Court blocks AB-5, SBTC vs. FMCSA, Can Opener Bridge 1/10/2020 Loses appeal: Walmart ordered to pony up $54 million to drivers 1/8/2020 WIT and Walmart seek nominations for Female Driver of the Year 1/6/2020 Friday Short Haul - Sweatshop on Wheels, judge exempts truckers from AB-5, Fleetwood closes doors 1/3/2020 Trucking Truth's top stories for 2019 1/1/2020 Random drug tests of drivers to double in 2020 12/30/2019 Friday Short Haul - New EV semi, tonnage down, turnover up, Grapevine fatality, runaway truck tires demolish car 12/27/2019 Trucking industry goes out of its way for Christmas charitable giving 12/25/2019 Fuel card provider hit with FTC lawsuit 12/23/2019 Friday Short Haul - Driver coercion, zero emissions, driver fatalities 12/20/2019 Hard enforcement for ELD compliance now in effect 12/18/2019 State CDL agencies get reprieve from drug & alcohol clearinghouse deadline 12/16/2019 Friday Short Haul - JB Hunt's Wreaths Across America, Plus.ai butter run, states look for zero emissions 12/13/2019 Carriers muster to pick up Celadon drivers, employees 12/11/2019 Will Amazon's pay-per-day plan influence the industry? 11/27/2019 Freight volume and rates downturn turns into a 'bloodbath' 11/25/2019 Friday Short Haul - Independent contractors getting booted out of CA, winter weather resources, ransomware attack 11/22/2019 Knowing when to say goodbye to an unprofitable shipper 11/20/2019 Schneider donates trucks; Congress considers women-driver-friendly bill 11/18/2019 Friday Short Haul - CTA files lawsuit against California, Highway Hero nominations sought, video of "Move Over" crash 11/15/2019 Tesla announces new electric Semi model 11/13/2019 Not everyone happy with potential FMCSA clearinghouse delay 11/11/2019 Friday Short Haul - AI taking driving jobs, CRV scam, Truckers protest AB-5, ELDs quit working 11/8/2019 Investigators cracking down on truck accident fraudulent lawsuits 11/6/2019 So you want to start your own trucking company? 11/4/2019 Friday Short Haul - FMCSA emergency exemptions, snow plows, FedEx employee bribery charges 11/1/2019 Human smuggling via big rigs on the increase 10/30/2019 Carriers, drivers look at ways to deal with California's AB-5 10/28/2019 Friday Short Haul - Millennials and trucking, Truckers Christmas Group, Navistar settlement 10/25/2019 Too many drivers still don't know to "Move Over" 10/23/2019 Are trucker strikes a thing of the past? 10/21/2019 Friday Short Haul - Passenger car drivers, spotted lanternfly, women drivers 10/18/2019 OOIDA makes final push for better HOS rules 10/16/2019 Car-truck crash fatalities continue to increase 10/14/2019 Friday Short Haul - Amazon's fleet of day cabs, legislator's disclosure, WTA petition 10/11/2019 ATA chief takes on truck-accident lawyers 10/9/2019 Lonely on the road? Get a furry friend 10/7/2019 Friday Short Haul - Lab-grown meat, fraudulent freight brokering, FMCSA HOS committee, FMCSA Clearinghouse 10/4/2019 UPS takes giant leap in its drone delivery program 10/2/2019 Female drivers are safer bet for trucking companies 9/30/2019 Friday Short Haul - Embark gets financing, FMCSA announces safety grants, Covenant exits Mexico routes, and trucking statistics 9/27/2019 Emissions standards battle heats up between the EPA and California 9/25/2019 Smog checks in the future for California truck drivers 9/23/2019 Friday Short Haul - Volvo Dynamic Steering, Meals for 18 Wheels, speeding crackdown, OOIDA opposes legislation 9/20/2019 Telematics could be insurance-premium-saving boon for fleets 9/18/2019 54 percent of survey respondents still not impressed with telematics technology 9/16/2019 Friday Short Haul - Walmart video, it's churn, not shortage, California's independent contractor bill, hemp drivers plea 9/13/2019 TCA honors three Highway Angels 9/11/2019 Now they're talking about "smart" trailers 9/9/2019 Friday Short Haul - Detention-time comments, truck orders decline, diesel fuel shortage 9/6/2019 Berkeley study says reducing independent truckers can alleviate climate change 9/4/2019 Clearing up concerns about the drug and alcohol clearinghouse 9/2/2019 Friday Short Haul - Hurricane Dorian, Speed limiter bill, Thank a Driver campaign 8/30/2019 Georgia jury awards $280 million for truck-driver-caused multi-fatality 8/28/2019 Friday Short Haul - New eCascadias, Top cities for truck driver jobs, Push against driverless trucks 8/23/2019 Decision on California drivers' employee/contractor status coming down to the wire 8/21/2019 UPS jumps on autonomous bandwagon with TuSimple investment 8/19/2019 FMCSA publishes proposed HOS rule changes 8/16/2019 Fleets, drivers coming to like automated manual transmissions 8/14/2019 CVSA asks for new truck crash study 8/12/2019 Friday Short Haul - HOS revisions delayed, AEB mandate proposed, Koch sued for sex discrimination 8/9/2019 Kodiak Robotics takes lead in autonomous truck industry race 8/7/2019 New York City combats rash of cyclist/truck clashes 8/5/2019 Friday Short Haul - CRST wins lawsuit, OOIDA opposes insurance hike, UPSNav 8/2/2019 Mechanics shortage equals driver shortage in intensity 7/31/2019 DOT announces almost 1$ billion in grants to fix infrastructure 7/29/2019 Friday Short Haul - DOL on sleeper pay, UPS drone delivery, Geowiz ELDs 7/26/2019 FMCSA takes a look at assault, harassment of female and minority drivers 7/24/2019 It's hot out there, what's a trucker to do? Can't idle. 7/22/2019 Friday Short Haul - Utah truck rollovers, aging truckers, lifetime CDL bans 7/19/2019 Truck-mounted LED billboards coming under fire 7/17/2019 Trucker 'drones on' with unique approach to teaching driving skills 7/15/2019 Friday Short Haul - Rhode Island tolls, human smuggling, contractor vs employee status 7/12/2019 ELD mandate deadline looming, many still not compliant 7/10/2019 New "boot" device being deployed to threaten Walmart overnighters 7/8/2019 Friday Short Haul - Prime Inc vs Amazon, mother fights HOS changes, truck drivers appreciation week 7/5/2019 Proper way to fly the American flag on your truck this Fourth of July 7/3/2019 Roundabouts are becoming popular; but are they best for trucks? 7/1/2019 Friday Short Haul - Skills test proposal, driver shortage, hemp sentencing, driverless trucks 6/28/2019 Experts warn of active wildland fire season 6/26/2019 More states signing on to enlist truckers against human trafficking 6/24/2019 Friday Short Haul - Shippers of Choice, insurance rates, wheel spikes, WIT award 6/21/2019 Freight numbers not holding up to 2018's highs 6/19/2019 Truck safety group urges purges of drug abuse drivers 6/17/2019 Friday Short Haul - Self-driving certificate, truck platooning, trade war stacking up cargo 6/14/2019 HOS waiver coming soon for fireworks haulers 6/12/2019 FMCSA takes a further look at detention time 6/10/2019 Friday Short Haul - Autonomous delivery, HOS rules changes, CDL retest 6/7/2019 Roadcheck 2019 in effect this week 6/5/2019 Hemp arrest prompts USDA memo 6/3/2019 Friday Short Haul - Waymo big rigs, Move over sting, Under-21 comments 5/31/2019 Severe weather prompts renewed emergency declaration 5/29/2019 Memorial Day holiday is prime time for cargo thefts 5/25/2019 Friday Short Haul - Hauling hemp, road rage fatality, new rules for autonomous vehicles 5/24/2019 Autonomous trucks on USPS test run 5/22/2019 Future era of cab-less trucks will be the end of HOS rules 5/20/2019 Friday Short Haul - FMCSA under-21 comments, Tesla autonomous car crash, 24,000 drivers sign contract with YRC 5/17/2019 Under-21 interstate drivers getting serious look by FMCSA 5/15/2019 Trucker Buddy program matches drivers with a classroom; 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New blame being named for driver shortage

Dave Wickenhauser on Mon, July 12, 2021

Last Updated: Sun, July 11, 2021

A new culprit has emerged in trucking-related news lately to blame for the truck driver shortage.

Marijuana.

No. It’s not that impairment from smoking marijuana while driving is causing commercial truck accidents, and trucker fatalities are reducing the driver population.

It’s that, according to a growing number of trucking pundits, too-stringent drug testing is making prospective drivers uninterested in the job in the first place, or that the results of that testing is taking veteran drivers out of the workforce.

Perhaps the most-comprehensive article to date on the marijuana “problem,” was published just last Friday by Business Insider.

According to the article, many of the drivers who have failed the drug test that has become mandatory through the newly implemented Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, fail to complete the “recovery” process in order to regain the right to drive commercially again.

Business Insider reports that in practice the Clearinghouse serves the purpose of being a national database accessible by the trucking industry to thwart job-hopping, drug-taking drivers who have been fired for failing a drug test, thus preventing them from being on the road.

But, the consequence is that even the thought of a random drug test halting their career as a truck driver “would scare off the 22% of Americans under 30 who smoke marijuana.”

And, with many in the trucking industry looking at 18 to 20-year-olds to beef up their driver pools, including the Federal Government with its under-21 pilot program, they believe that the drug test is an automatic deal killer among today’s Gen Z potential drivers.

According to Business Insider, some 73,000 existing commercial drivers have been taken out of the driver pool for failing the drug and alcohol tests for all substances overall. And only a small percentage, about 12,000, have completed the process to return to driver status. Around 63% had not even started to fulfill the return-to-duty requirements.

The thinking held by some in the trucking industry about the “marijuana” problem decreasing the potential driver pool revolves around three key factors:

  • One is that the majority of American’s today have a more liberal opinion about the cannabis drug than the population did only a few years ago.
  • Another is that from a quantitative point of view, only a very small percentage of commercial vehicle accidents involve a driver impaired by marijuana when compared to other drugs and alcohol.
  • And a third is that the cannabis from marijuana can be detected in urine 30 days after its last use, but that drivers are in no way impaired that far out from their last smoke.

Some 68 percent of Americans say they believe marijuana should be completely legal, according to the Business Insider. Even more Americans, 70 percent, say that marijuana use is morally acceptable.

State legislators in 18 states agree, and have legalized cannabis for recreational use, and most states have enacted some form of medical marijuana usage law or another.

Notwithstanding popular sentiment and state regulations, Federal law comes down very heavily on cannabis for safety regulated jobs, lumping it in with all of the other drugs that are tested, like cocaine and meth.

But Business Insider reports that a Columbia University study has found that marijuana has only a 1.8 multiplier effect on fatal car crashes, compared to a 13.6 multiplier effect for alcohol.

The article notes that truck drivers aren’t banned from drinking alcohol while they’re off duty, and asks the question, “Why is weed different?”

The answer lies in the fact that the Clearinghouse relies on urine tests, which can detect cannabis use 30 days prior, but that there is no way to test whether someone is impaired by marijuana. There is no breath analysis test, as for alcohol.

But, given that a truck driver can be booted for testing positive for a smoke 30 days ago without exhibiting any impairment at all, prompted Business Insider to conclude:

“It's not clear how randomly booting drivers who smoke weed is going to make the highways considerably safer. More likely, this new clearinghouse will winnow further who wants to become or stay a truck driver, a problem for an industry with a turnover rate as high as 94%.”

Rachel Premack, the article’s author nailed the marijuana vs. young driver shortage problem:

“Let's say I am a 20-something who occasionally indulges in marijuana. I know that marijuana impairs my driving for at least three hours, so I make sure not to do it when I know I may need to work in that timeframe, but it also lasts in my system for up to a month. Would I pick a job in which I could get booted at any moment because I smoke? Or would I work at, say, Amazon, which just nixed cannabis testing?”

Last month, Amazon published an update to employees announcing it was adjusting their drug-testing policy.

“Like many employers, we’ve disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use. However, given where state laws are moving across the U.S., we’ve changed course. We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation,” the company stated.

The announcement said marijuana would fall in the same category as alcohol for making impairment checks on the job.

Deborah Lockridge, author of an article at HDT online about the marijuana and driver shortage issue, played out a scenario that puts the problem in perspective:

“No one wants an impaired driver behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck. But say you’re an otherwise safety-conscious driver living in a state where marijuana is legal. Instead of a few beers on a Friday night at home, you have a few tokes. A week later, you fail a drug test. Rather than go through the lengthy return-to-duty process, you might look for a job where you wouldn’t be penalized,” she wrote.

She points out that although the National Institute on Drug Abuse states that marijuana does significantly impair judgment, motor coordination and reaction time, “the role played by marijuana in crashes is often unclear because it can be detected in body fluids for days or even weeks after intoxication and because people frequently combine it with alcohol.”

To be clear, nobody is advocating having drivers reeking of marijuana residue from a recent smoke being allowed to sit behind the wheel of a 75-foot-long, 80,000-pound big rig barreling at 65 miles per hour down the highway.

But many, recognizing the changing social dynamic about marijuana, particularly among the younger potential drivers who are being courted by the industry and government, are beginning to want to open a dialogue into whether it is fair to sideline a driver for having smoked marijuana up to 30 days earlier, but who has no present impairment.


Dave Wickenhauser went on the road driving big rigs after retiring from 33 years in newspaper journalism. His trucking novels, Crimson Highway, the first in the Hugh Mann series, and the sequel, Road Test, are available at Amazon as paperbacks, and as Kindle ebooks.

Sources: Business Insider, HDT Trucking Info, NTA, Amazon

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Drug and Alcohol Testing Truck Driving Lifestyle

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