The Truck Driver Shortage Could Increase Injury Risks

There’s been a growing truck driver shortage issue in the United States for a long time now. It’s not a job that a lot of people can do, considering the amount of time they have to spend on the road. It’s also a career path that fewer and fewer young people are embarking on. This means that a lot of older drivers are retiring or leaving the workforce for other reasons, and they’re not being replaced.

This has only been getting worse in recent years, and the supply chain issues in the United States right now are just exaggerating it. One driver estimated that they would need perhaps 50,000 more drivers to fix the problem. Regardless of what the exact number is, it’s clear that there are far fewer drivers than would be ideal, and this shortage doesn’t show any signs of stopping. What impact is this going to have on injury risks on the road?

There may be more inexperienced drivers

For one thing, more of the drivers who are on the road may be relatively inexperienced. As people move to fill these vacancies and seek out these jobs, they’re going to be starting new careers. As any person who has worked as a new employee knows, mistakes are more common right when you start a new job. This is the same for truckers, and that could lead to some car accidents when they make these mistakes.

Companies may push drivers to work harder or longer

Unfortunately, some employers may also encourage truck drivers to take on more work or longer hours. They may ask them to continue driving even if they feel tired or sick, putting pressure on them to get the job done because there’s no one else to pick up the slack. Drivers have rules that they need to follow regarding how much work they can do, but could some of them be influenced to break these rules in order to get certain jobs done and to make more money?

What happens if there’s an increase in accidents

There certainly could be an increase in serious truck accidents in the future. If this happens and you are injured as a result, it’s critical for you to understand how the driver and/or the trucking company may be liable, and you need to know about all of the legal steps you can take to seek compensation.