I occasionally receive emails from truck drivers who point out that my posts are too hard on members of their profession. To be fair, I recognize that truck drivers work hard under difficult conditions, and most truck drivers are conscientious about safety. I represent some truck drivers too, and recognize that reckless conduct is far from universal. As in my profession, it is the renegades who give the good ones a bad name.
This weekend I ran across an insightful article analyziing the causes for the shortage of qualified truck drivers. Currently there are 1.3 million long-haul drivers, 20,000 short of current demand. Over half of drivers on the road are between 35 and 54 years old. Some trucking firms are reporting driver turnover rates of 100% or more.
One big reason for the driver shortage is poor pay and the lifestyle. Long-haul trucking leaves little time for a quality family life because drivers are away for long periods of time and have non-routine schedules. For many the pay is not enough to support a desired standard of living.
Approaches to meeting the demand for more drivers include improving quality of life by scheduling drivers for more time at home, recruiting women, minorities, older and younger drivers, and improving the process of loading and unloading.

The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to the multijurisdictional practice and pro hac vice rules in each state. Ken Shigley was designated as a “SuperLawyer” in Atlanta Magazine and one of the “Legal Elite” in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and former chair of the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck wrecks and accidents (tractor trailers truck wrecks, semi truck wrecks,18 wheeler truck wrecks, big rig truck wrecks, log truck wrecks, dump truck wrecks).