I’m sure it shocks you, the reader, that those new, fresh adults that like/don’t like to call themselves “Millenials” have less than a piqued curiosity toward becoming professional truck drivers.

Now that you’ve contained your sheer disbelief, why don’t we break down the issue into smaller pieces to make this startling revelation a tad bit more palatable?

The Washington Post states that  “America Has a Massive Truck Shortage” and wonders why no newbies want an $80K/year job.  TheStreet predicts the Truck Driver Shortage could triple by 2026.  And Fox Business decides to remove any semblance of future forecasting by just stating that the shortage is a driver retention problem.  And in the short term, they’re right in that the industry is ALSO dealing with retention issues.

It seems that the industry, stagnant of any fresh ideas, is hoping that the 1970’s will somehow reboot.  Let me remind you how cool truck drivers were in the ’70’s.  They had CB radios.  Drivers had cool handles and their own lingo.  For you younger types who weren’t alive in the Carter administration, let me present to you Exhibit A to just show you how truckin’ awesome big rig drivers were in the day.

Which does remind me that in my future article, Top Television Shows Actually Worthy of a Reboot, Hee-Haw will be on that list.  And I do believe that this video also features the most dancing you’ll ever see Junior Samples break down on the show while facing away from the camera.

The PROBLEM

• Truck driving is primarily the realm of old, white guys.
• These old, white guys used to have a stigma of white-hot cool rebels free from working in factories or offices.
• The same aforementioned old, white guys led into the design of the food and fuel distribution network known as the “Truck Stop”
• While current young adults share the safe affection for Pabst Blue Ribbon, Trucker Caps, and the freedom of the open road, they wouldn’t be caught dead eating Chicken Fried Steak and getting their daily entertainment flirting with a waitress named Laverne.
• While the pay for truck drivers many times exceeds middle management, the typical Millennial, isn’t motivated primarily by money.
• Truck driver stigma sucks.
• Very few females drive because what would convince a single, young female to take a good paying job where their safety could be compromised in a hundred different ways through the course of a day?

And with all of this, you, the reader, may be concluding that there is no solution to this problem.  To which, I, the author, respond that you will change your mind momentarily.

The SUPPORTING FACTOIDS

• Truck driving can, and should still, represent freedom.
• Over The Road trucking can be promoted as an appealing lifestyle to the following types:
  • Writers looking for new mental stimulation
  • Pre-doctorate types needing a great way to take a few year break from the burden of learning who’d like to pay off school while having time to consume thousands of hours of audiobooks.
  • The majority of high school grads who had no interest in higher education because honestly, college is not for everybody and shouldn’t be.
• Trucks now have Wi-Fi, GPS, and yes, Citizen’s Band radio.

With all those little factoids in mind, here is my proposed solution.  This solution has the advantage of also making the instigating organization a 52 foot trailer load of hard cash.

The SOLUTION

To make truck driving not only have a cool factor, and to make it safer for females to join the force, we go buy hundreds of parcels of land directly off Interstate exits in rural areas.

We fence those parcels, gravel-pave them, install amenities, and provide secured, staffed, gated access.

We charge independent truckers and fleets a subscription for access to these safe, pleasant, areas to park, and refresh themselves when the shift is done.

Nope, I’m not kidding.  Imagine you’ve been driving truck for your allocated timespan.  You know that there is a TruckSpa stop coming up shortly.  Using your smartphone app, you open the gate and you or your employer are billed for the stop.  You stop at the guard booth, who greets you by name and confirms the slot for your truck.  You park and immediately take your puppy companion to the dog park so he can play and relieve himself.  Then the two of you decide to go stretch your legs on the walking trail.  Puppy goes back to the truck while you go to the Convenience Station.  There, you present your app to get access to a completely private bathroom with shower.  You cleanse yourself and change into clean clothes.  The Convenience Station features a laundry service and vending with fresh fruits and veggies, beverages, and ready-to-heat meals with the selection similar to a 3-star hotel.  But you decide to head back to your sleeper truck, connect your tablet to the free WiFi, and use the app to both order delivery of Indian food from a nearby town and play a multi-user online game before bed.

In the morning, Puppy gets one last go at the dog park, and you grab a Kombucha from the Convenience Station so you only have to buy fuel when you head down the road to refuel your truck.

The key to recruiting new truck drivers is to provide to them what they want to complete the job, not shoehorn a new generation to use the old systems.

Posted on: August 4, 2018, by : jd