Cirillo Lays Blame for Shortage of Drivers at Industry's Door

(Michael James - TT) Julie Cirillo, acting head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The trucking industry would not have a driver shortage if it did more to improve driver working conditions, Julie A. Cirillo, acting head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, contends.

“Industry wrings its proverbial hands” about a driver shortage, but it “has done very little to deal with the problem,” Cirillo said in addressing the annual meeting of the National Private Truck Council, May 22. She said the issue is not one of a driver shortage, but rather of driver turnover, which she said was roughly 60% annually.

On another key trucking issue – reform of the driver hours-of-service regulations — Cirillo told the executives from corporate trucking operations owned by manufacturers and others that the Department of Transportation would wait until the first presidentially appointed administrator is in place before deciding how to proceed with the stalled rulemaking process.

For the full story, see the May 28 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.