I just read a report that was commissioned by JB Hunt that says a 16% driver reduction could be the result of the current administration’s immigration/CDL crackdown. I’m thinking that could have huge effects on trucking and greatly benefit legitimate drivers. Has anyone else read about this?
I have and agree that it is about time. No matter what administration is in office it has been a law that anyone applying for a CDL had to read, write and understand the English language so why did it take so long to enforce the laws? A lot of blame belongs on the companies that side stepped the laws and hired these illegal drivers either to save money or keep their equipment on the road. They have caused countless accidents, injuries and deaths.
Agreed!!! We need to work toward getting trucking back were it once was. Safe and reliable drivers earning a decent wage.
I don’t give one iota what nationality, sex, prnoun they prefer or anything else. What I do care about is having safe, clean and reliable drivers behind the wheel of big trucks.
Several places that had extra truck parking banned us because nasty folks littered their lots and caused problems.
Parking anywhere is a privelege, not a right because your out of hours. Some folks with cdl’s don’t get that concept, because they were trained in a culture that put money over anything else, up to and including common decency.
We need to get back to some basics in this industry.
No truer words were ever spolen PJ. We as an industry have allowed this to happen and we need to clean up our image. We can’t blame the truck stops for trying to protect their investment and the general public no longer views us as Knights of the Road.
I hadn’t thought of this, but it does make sense. I’m looking at getting into it (noob looking at getting CDL-A) at the beginning of the new year so perhaps it’s not such a bad time?
Maybe I can help with the image. I do have good head of grey hair and beard with a mild irish-type accent. ![]()
Mark, well educated people who are fluent in English will continue to be in demand as drivers. Getting unqualified or under qualified drivers off the road will only increase the demand for guys like you. Take that from another Irishman.
I am getting reports of OH, Indiana, Louisiana and Oklahoma getting a lot of drivers out of truck. DACA recipients are losing their CDLs also. Prime apparently let go of 200 DACA.
I know for a fact that prime hired a TON of Africans in 2022. Many instructors and dispatchers complained about the language barriers. This will be interesting.
Yes Kearsey, I live in Oklahoma and they are not messing around out here. One weekend I heard about, they pulled 180 out of 500 checked off the road.
Any updates on this? I’ve been avoiding doomscrolling, the ‘news’, and clickbait baloney online so I’m kind of disconnected. Was actually nice, but I’m curious as to if there is a noticeable effect you all may have seen lately.
Has hiring changed or increased? Have the routes/miles for you all increased or expanded? Is there a general feeling that things are, for lack of a better description, getting cleaned up a bit? Or is it like burning coal where it takes some time for it to heat up/cool down?
It’s certainly a big mixed bag right now. DOT in some areas are hitting it hard and some are ignoring ELP all together. Talk is more states are getting into trouble as well. Fed money being withheld should give us a better picture in a few months.