Consumers Forced to Pay for Truck Driver Shortage
Nationally the job market doesn't seem
to be getting any better, but there is one profession that could use a few more
applicants. And unless people start
filling those out, you'll be digging deep into your wallets. KAMC's Ashley
Hinson reports
By: Ashley Hinson
Updated: August 2, 2012
John Robertson has been truck driving for the past 40 years and it's not the same as it used to be. "All the fun and all the good times of trucking is gone," Robertson said.
The shortage for long-haul truck drivers is growing which is delaying deliveries and increasing shipping costs, ultimately leaving you, the consumer, with the bill.
"They've got to make someway to get that freight and stuff like that into town so whenever they have to pay a higher truck expense for the shipping, then its going to come back to the people that's buying the groceries," said Robertson.
Experts say there are more than 220,000 job openings for truck drivers across the U.S. thanks to expensive training and strict regulations. One of those limitations includes how many hours a day you can drive, and truckers are fed up with the growing list of rules.
"A lot of us older drivers are starting to retire and getting out of the business because of a lot of the restrictions they have on truckers," said Jeffrey Jones, a local truck driver.
"They just keep choking, choking and choking to where there is nothing left to choke," said Robertson. "And you've got to make a decision are you going to stay in it...or are you going to say it's time to give up and get another job."
Even though the strict regulations are keeping the roads safe, Robertson says they're a little excessive.
"You take a person who's been doing it all of his life he knows what he can do," he said. "He knows his limitations.
In an effort to entice people to start driving, industry leaders have increased truckers' average salary by five percent.
