I dislike the American Trucking Association and what they DON’T stand for.
If you ever thought the greatest concern of the big trucking companies is the safety of the driving public, think again.
As I was skimming Land Line Magazine recently, I saw an article that caught my attention. It read, “Prevailing common sense, that truck drivers with more experience are less likely to crash ,was confirmed by the FMCSA”. Big surprise. It’s something we’ve known for long time, as truck drivers.
Truck Drivers With More Experience = Fewer Crashes
The article says the FMCSA has found that the more experience the truck driver has behind the wheel, the less likely he will be involved in an accident.
It goes on to say, the highest rate of incidents for truckers involved in crashes, is in the first 5 years of their driving career. When the driver has 10 years of experience, the probability of a being involved in a crash decreases significantly. After 25 years of experience, a trucker’s odds of being involved in an accident, are very low.
No Behind the Wheel Time Required For CDL Driver Training
However, at the same time, the newly released driver training stipulations, state that the newly trained driver, is NOT required to spend any minimum number of hours behind the wheel, as part of their training.
Yet, their survey and report says that experienced drivers, with thousands of hours behind the wheel, are far less likely to be involved in a crash?
The FMCSA also put together a committee made up of a variety of individuals from the trucking industry, to draft new requirements for truck driving training schools and programs.
Money, NOT Safety Motivates the ATA
24 out of 26 members of this committee felt that trainees should complete a set number of training hours behind the wheel. The 2 members who voted against any behind the wheel training? The National Association of Small Trucking Companies and the American Trucking Association.
Here’s hard proof, that the American Trucking Association, is motivated by money. Their goal clearly is not safety.
The ATA in conjunction with the big trucking companies want drivers into the seats as fast as possible, to get those wheels rolling!
It’s a real slap in the face to drivers. It’s an unsafe ruling…. an insult to professional drivers and also to the driving public.
The ATA does not represent the truck driver. The ATA represents the mega carrier owners . They aid these mega carriers, by helping them in making as much money as possible.
They are NOT advocates for safety, as they would lead us to believe.
It infuriates me, that the American Trucking Association does not support the truckers. They have a blatant disregard for their safety, and for other drivers on our highways. Think twice before you take a driving job, working for a trucking company which supports the ATA.
They believe in getting trucks out on the road, with a minimum of training, in order to get that freight moving and generate profit.
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