Getting Off the Road: Why Truck Drivers Quit

With unheard-of growth for online shopping, truck drivers are in high demand. Unfortunately, as more truckers quit their jobs, the industry has a shortage of over 50,000 truck drivers. With salaries that can reach upwards of $80,000 annually and plenty of job openings, you would think more people would be looking at truck driving as an excellent opportunity. If this is the case, why are so many truckers getting off the road? Here is why truckers quit.

Unhappy with Compensation

Although salaries can hit the low six figures, drivers feel this isn’t enough to cover the hours they work and the stress of the job. As well, although many carriers pay their drivers well, many others are at the other end of the pay scale. This means the average salary is more like $45,000 a year. Drivers are away from home for weeks on end, don’t get paid for the long hours they spend waiting for their loads and fail to see a happy life/work balance.

Rule Violations

In some cases, honest drivers are asked to break federal driving rules in order to keep their jobs. Because this is breaking the law, drivers choose to quit their jobs instead. As well, many of the rules they are asked to break put themselves and others on the road at risk. Truck drivers take safety seriously. While some feel forced to break the rules, because they feel they can’t find work elsewhere, rule violations do not sit well with hard-working truck drivers trying to make an honest living.

Equipment and Maintenance Issues

Sometimes, truckers quit because they find their carriers don’t take responsibility for their trucks and equipment. They might be working for a carrier who does provide upkeep, yet expects their driver to sit and wait while repairs are made. They don’t get paid for their time waiting, and could also spend that time with family, or enjoying some well-earned downtime. In other cases, they feel the trucks are not safe or lack updated technology such as truck safety-assisted driving features. In these cases, truckers quit finding a better carrier, as opposed to out and out leaving their careers.

Insufficient Insurance

Drivers depend on their carriers to provide sufficient commercial truck insurance. This provides protection for both the company and the driver in the case of an accident. Without proper commercial truck insurance, drivers can find themselves on the hook for a long list of financial woes. However, insufficient insurance also shows drivers the company does not regard their safety or protection as a high priority.

Lack of Job Satisfaction

With all of the above issues in mind, many truck drivers are just finding they lack job satisfaction. Their pay seems unfair, they feel underappreciated by their employers or even worse, feel their jobs have become unsafe. Too many risks with a lack of vehicle maintenance, proper training, equipment upgrades, and proper insurance just make drivers feel it isn’t worth their effort. Many carriers fail to deliver on the lifestyle or wages promised, making drivers feel they are in a dead-end job and affecting their mental health.

Be a Satisfied Trucker: Become an owner-operator

As an independent owner-operator, drivers have control over how much compensation they earn and determine the level of safety conditions they are willing to accept. Owner-operators conduct their own vehicle maintenance so they can manage their own on-time record and delivery schedules. They make their own decisions about technological advances in trucking and manage their own insurance levels. Being in control of their own work/life balance heightens their job satisfaction level so the independent owner-operator will keep on trucking. Learn more by joining 123Loadboard and speaking to our knowledgeable team.