Many issues exist within the trucking industry. Unfortunately, as with a number of industries, the flaws within them have come to the surface in big ways in recent years.
The mistreatment of workers is one big issue that continues to crop up. On top of that, incentivization and poor work culture combine to contribute to trucking crashes.
Overworking and undervaluing truckers
Time discusses the issue of truckers feeling overwhelmed in the supply chain crisis. In order to combat the shortages going on across the nation, many delivery companies and trucking companies demand too much from their workers. They require long hours and cram as many deliveries as possible into a workday, leaving workers with hardly any time to recover.
At the same time, many companies wish to incentivize workers into being okay with this on their own. They do this through methods like offering cash prizes or other bonuses and benefits to workers who accomplish a certain amount of deliveries or finish a number of routes within a set period of time. This spurs workers into overworking themselves without the company demanding it, which often leads to fewer complaints or risk of action by a union.
The culture of trucking
And of course, the environment of the trucking company can play a role in crash rates. In many circles, some consider it “weak” or the sign of a novice not to try pushing through exhaustion. They rely on wakefulness tips and tricks which do not actually work in the long term, convincing themselves that it does. This leads to overconfidence in one’s own ability to stay away, which can easily result in crashes.