Opinion: Truck Driver Training: The Reality

By K. Michael O’Connell
Executive Director and Counsel
Commercial Vehicle Training Association

This Opinion piece appears in the Feb. 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

We almost made it through 2009 without another national news exposé of the trucking industry, but then came November and December. This time, the focus was on truck driver training and motor carrier employment practices. The series on HDNet TV’s “Dan Rather Reports” featured a woman who was working in the trucking industry and claimed she had not been properly trained by the commercial driver training school she attended.

While the press focused on the training organization (which is not a member of CVTA), they missed the most important question: If she did not know how to drive, how did she get her commercial driver license?

The law establishing a commercial driver license program was passed nearly a quarter of a century ago, and yet we are far from having national uniformity on state testing and licensing programs. It is always easier for the press to characterize our industry as not concerned with safety, rather than questioning how an allegedly poor driver was able to obtain a CDL.

Unfortunately, to many Americans, trucking is a largely invisible industry. As long as the food and merchandise are on the shelf, they don’t question how it got there. The industry draws attention only when there is something sensational to report, and the press then tries to make it seem like the exception is actually the general rule.

Over the past several months, I have had several press interviews where I was asked, “Are there still jobs for truck drivers?” My response: “Have you noted any shortages of food at your grocery store?”

Even during the most recent economic downturn, truck driving jobs have been widely available. Now that most agree we have entered the recovery, the driver shortage no doubt will become an issue again.

Instead of fear-mongering press reports about our industry, I would like to see stories about trucking that talk about the good things the industry does, including:

• Trends such as the rising number of vehicle miles traveled with declining accidents (not crashes, as some like to call them) that involve trucks.

• The relatively small percentage of accidents involving trucks that actually can be attributed to the truck driver.

• The constantly falling fatality rates in accidents involving heavy vehicles.

As for the driver who claimed she was not properly trained, wouldn’t it be great if the press chose instead to report on the tens of thousands of new drivers who enter our industry every year and operate safely, contributing to the improvement in the accident statistics?

Could you imagine a news story that started: “Today, millions of gallons of milk were delivered to stores safely, along with millions of eggs and other food products”? I may be dreaming that such a story will ever actually appear on the air, but that is the real story of our industry.

Truck driving is arguably one of the most secure jobs in the country. I know of no other occupation where an underemployed individual can go through four weeks of training and a driver finishing program and hope initially to earn as much as $40,000 a year, plus (in many cases) benefits.

Furthermore, if the driver maintains a safe driving record, he or she should be able to remain in trucking until retirement, without fear of the job ever being outsourced.

After a few years (if the driver is so inclined), he or she has the chance to become an owner-operator and move from employee to small business owner. From there, the individuals are limited only by the determination and skills they bring to the table. That is how many of today’s larger and more successful trucking companies were started.

The members of CVTA are conscientious small-businessmen and -women who are committed to properly training their students and helping them to be placed with motor carriers where they have the best chance to succeed.

Many motor carriers work in partnership with our member schools to achieve the same objective. The training program includes both classroom and driving instruction, leading to a safe, competent driver. These schools would not survive very long if the student described in the press report was typical of their graduates.

Our industry has a great story to tell because it offers secure employment and great opportunities for those who want to take advantage of them.

I make it my annual New Year’s resolution to tell that story as often as I can.

The Commercial Vehicle Training Association, Washington, D.C., is the national trade association representing private truck driver training programs and motor carrier employers. CVTA members train about 45,000 students per year.