Teen Truckers Spark Worry as Congress Considers Lower Age Limit

[Purveyor]

The trucking industry says there is a shortage of drivers and sees the measure as a way to expand the pool of eligible operators.

Jul 23, 2015 5:00 AM EDT

Drivers as young as 18 years old could be allowed to drive 80,000-pound trucks between states if Congress goes along with a proposal backed by the U.S. trucking industry that safety advocates say would be a disaster.

The plan, part of highway legislation that’s before the Senate, would greatly increase the number of teenagers behind the wheel of big rigs.

“We should be considering how to limit teen truck drivers rather than expanding them into such a dangerous program,” said Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

Many states permit 18-year-olds to drive the big trucks, but federal law prohibits them from operating across borders. In those states, younger truck drivers are four- to six-times as likely as 21-year-olds to be involved in fatal crashes, Gillan said.

The trucking industry says there is a shortage of drivers and sees the measure as a way to expand the pool of eligible operators. By 2017, there could be more than 250,000 unfilled trucker jobs, according to a forecast by FTR, an industry research firm.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-23/teen-truckers-spark-worry-as-congress-considers-lower-age-limit

[haikugal]

1. Just NO!

This is a very bad idea, very bad.

Thanks for the post...what are they thinking?!

[Downwinder]

2. Don't see a problem. I was driving

a fire engine when I was 18.

Unless you are saying it is safer to drive in a war zone than in the US.

[tkmorris]

3. And maybe YOU would have been fine

But the law isn't about just you. A blanket change allowing this is the issue. From the article: "younger truck drivers are four- to six-times as likely as 21-year-olds to be involved in fatal crashes", a statistic I have not personally verified but which aligns closely to my personal experience, anecdotal though it may be. And therein lies the problem.

[Anansi1171]

6. This stat is overwhelming. Heard it said another way...

...with respect to actuarial data in auto and health insurance.

Seems that society is held hostage by bad male behaviour until their mid-twenties, when testosterone levels lower and even out.

[Downwinder]

7. I'll fall back on that old saw.

If they are old enough to drive fuel tankers in Iraq or Afghanistan, they are old enough to drive them at home.

If they can be charged as an adult, they can be treated as one.

[Facility Inspector]

13. 10-4

[NightWatcher]

4. How many hours a day were you doing it?

Truckers spend all day everyday on the roads merging and dealing with the public on crowded highways.

[Igel]

5. Statistics, that's what.

You're an anecdote. The stats come from data.

If my wife's traffic experience was standard, there'd be no need for the highway patrol. 23 years, not a single traffic stop. No flats. No police interaction at all.

If mine were were standard, we'd each be pulled over about every 13 years. And the only reason police come to the door is because they're collecting for charity or have bad news and it's a courtesy call for a police department in another city or state to notify you of a death in the family (not at the hands of the police).

[Brickbat]

8. Oh, well then.

[Lee-Lee]

9. Umm, no. If you can't get enough drivers

Offer the job with better pay and more days home and your more likely to attract mature adults.

[Lulu Belle]

10. They want people who will work cheap with crappy benefits.

Experienced drivers won't work for the pay and off time that these bottom feeder companies offer.
Every driver knows which companies these are.
These outfits have turnover rates that sometimes exceed 100%!

[Rex]

16. YEP, also there is not a shortage of drivers...there are experienced drivers

that expect fair pay. Now they can pay young newbies at pennies on the dollar.

ONCE again Big Biz is looking for cheaper at greater risk to the public. Child labor here we come...again...

[B Calm]

11. There are 18 yr olds driving big trucks in the Army and lots of young men and women driving 18

wheel grain trucks for farmers right now. As a retired truck driver myself, I don't have a problem with lowering the age for a class A CDL.

[Ron Green]

12. I would ask the bigger question:

Why not move toward a system that deemphasizes long-distance trucks and uses rail for long hauls, electric trucks for local?

Let's think about future systems, not just flog what's broken.

[Rex]

14. Welcome to the Jungle, same as it ever was.

There is not a shortage of drivers, they need to get paid fairly. SO now they can hire kids out of HS for pennies on the dollar.

[One_Life_To_Give]

15. Dying Industry shouldn't be recruiting kids at all

The days of needing Truck Drivers are already numbered. Why would we want to encourage young people to take up the profession? In less than 10 years automation will be taking over significant portions of the operations and we will have huge unemployment among those already driving today. This is the equivalent of hiring more teamsters while some guys named Ford and Firestone are starting their factories.