Possible Solution To Driver Shortage?

I'm curious as to what everyone's opinion is on this topic.

In an effort to help correct the driver shortage congress introduced a bill back in June of 2015 to lower the age of 21 to 18 to cross state lines. Last November it was blocked and will not be passed at this time. According to ATA the current driver shortage is about 48,000 and is expected to rise to 175,000 by 2024. Do you think this is a smart and safe way to correct the shortage problem?

I'm curious as to what everyone's opinion is on this topic.

In an effort to help correct the driver shortage congress introduced a bill back in June of 2015 to lower the age of 21 to 18 to cross state lines. Last November it was blocked and will not be passed at this time. According to ATA the current driver shortage is about 48,000 and is expected to rise to 175,000 by 2024. Do you think this is a smart and safe way to correct the shortage problem?

My opinion is that you shouldn't be able to get a CDL if your under the age of 25. Teens and young adults more likely to involved in car accidents. This is why insurance companies charge more if you're under 25. I think the biggest problem is that some of these companies remove things from their Fleet such as APUs and inverters and then expect the drivers to stay out on the road for weeks at a time all in the name of cost cutting. Some of these companies don't pay very well. One of the new driver companies I called told me the starting pay for new drivers is $0.24 a mile for the first 4 months eventually you would make it 30 cents a mile at the end of your first year. I'm all for companies saving money because a profitable company = job security but they need to keep their employees happy and conferrable when away from home and family for weeks at a time.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

The correction for the driver shortage is higher wages. Simple as that. Hiring in the trucking industry is based upon supply and demand. If a company needs more drivers they raise wages or lower the hiring requirements. If they're looking to slow down their hiring they drop wages or increase the hiring requirements.

Companies walk the line between paying as little as possible and still having enough drivers to keep the fleet moving.

If you increased driver wages to $100,000 per year and nothing else changed there would be no driver shortage. Therefore it's a controlled shortage or self-induced shortage I guess you could call it. Companies are only going to pay enough to get the minimum number of drivers they need.

Oh, I forgot to address the age thing. No, I don't think the age should be reduced to 18 for interstate driving but I also don't believe it should be raised to 25 as Michael suggested. I think it's fine where it's at. Lowering the minimum age would indeed be entirely too risky.

Companies and shareholders want to keep profits up. Customers want prices low. Employees want higher pay. The vicious cycle. We all wanna buy laptops for $200 & big-screen tv's for $500. Then we wonder why manufacturing jobs go overseas.

I agree with Brett. One of the problems with lowering the age is; there's not a shortage of potential drivers in the current age group. Even the government offers grants to get people their CDL and off the unemployment rolls.

The question facing this industry and others is; are we, as a society, willing to pay significantly higher prices for goods and services, in return for people getting higher wages?

My opinion is that you shouldn't be able to get a CDL if your under the age of 25. Teens and young adults more likely to involved in car accidents.

Although I would've disagreed with this when I was younger, I have to say (from personal experience) your correct. Between the ages of (16-24) I racked up 12 traffic citations & 2 fender benders.

I haven't (knock on wood) had so much as a scratch or single ticket since. I'll be 33 next month.

I am 25 been driving since I was 16, I have no accidents citations or anything, so it is possible for us youngsters to drive safe. But hey I live in Oklahoma, young drivers are nuts here so I agree dropping the age would probably be a bad idea. We just had a kid killed last week in a single vehicle speeding accident right here in my county. The driver was 19.

My opinion is that you shouldn't be able to get a CDL if your under the age of 25. Teens and young adults more likely to involved in car accidents.

Although I would've disagreed with this when I was younger, I have to say (from personal experience) your correct. Between the ages of (16-24) I racked up 12 traffic citations & 2 fender benders.

I haven't (knock on wood) had so much as a scratch or single ticket since. I'll be 33 next month.

My opinion is that you shouldn't be able to get a CDL if your under the age of 25. Teens and young adults more likely to involved in car accidents. This is why insurance companies charge more if you're under 25.

I got my CDL when I was 23 and have been driving truck for over a year. I've never been involved in an accident or gotten a ticket since I started driving at 15. Not all young people are careless drivers.

Not all young people are careless but the majority are. I don't think the age should be lowered because of the responsibility and self motivation you need out here. I am thankful my uncle said no to giving me the money for driving school for a few years because of I had come out here when I was younger I would have screwed myself out of a good career. Now that I'm older and more mature I can get things done and not screw up too bad.

Time is a good filter. Let the youngins get their citations and DUIs in their own cars. Then, if they are still qualified to get a CDL after a few years of recklessness, maybe they earned a chance to try. I'd be curious on the statistics of how many are just old enough to get a CDL but no longer qualify because of a bad record.