Shortage of Truck Drivers Causing Concern in Agriculture

WASHINGTON, DC – With 70 percent of all the United States freight carried by the trucking industry, a nationwide shortage of commercial truck drivers is leading to growing concern by both the trucking industry and the agriculture industry that relies on the transport of crops and inputs. The National Grain and Feed Association along with 117 other stakeholder groups are urging lawmakers to help alleviate the threat posed by the driver shortage by considering the DRIVE-Safe Act, a bipartisan bill that would address the shortage by promoting opportunity and enhanced safety training for emerging members of the transportation workforce. Although 49 states and the District of Columbia currently allow individuals under the age of 21 to obtain a commercial driver’s license and operate in intrastate commerce, they are prohibited from driving a truck across state lines until they turn 21. The legislation allows younger drivers to enter the industry under monitored safety standards including a two-step apprenticeship program requiring candidates to complete 400 hours of additional training. The bill also requires increased truck safety technology, including active braking collision mitigation systems, forward-facing event recording cameras, speed limiters set at 65 miles per hour or less, and automatic or automatic manual transmissions.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)