American Transportation Research Institute President and COO Rebecca Brewster harps on it all the time.
If carrier executives are concerned about recruiting and retaining drivers, she tells them, “you’d better understand and care about what drivers say their top issues are.”
In that spirit, for National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, Trucking Dive presents five key takeaways — in no particular order — from ride-alongs and interviews with drivers this year.
1. Drivers are the face of your company. Keep that in mind.
Drivers are the ones who interact most regularly with customers, and whose performance on a day-to-day basis determines a carrier’s success. Meeting with them regularly to listen to their concerns goes a long way.
“It gives drivers an opportunity, if they have concerns or gripes, to take it to the heads of the company,” A. Duie Pyle driver-instructor Jesse Weeks said during a May ride-along. “It makes them visible to people who make the ultimate decisions.”
The benefits aren’t limited to bubbling up good ideas and identifying and addressing any issues.
“It’s a calming feeling to know they take the time out of their day to come talk to the rank-and-file,” Weeks said.
2. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Lack of communication — from dispatchers, driver managers and above — can cost truck drivers time and money every day.
Rosalinda Tejada, a Knight Transportation driver with 26 years of experience, believes those lapses are the main source of high driver turnover across the industry.
“The reason why they're turning over, hate to say it, is the lack of communications,” said Tejada, a Truckload Carriers Association Professional Driver of the Year.
“My company, they are good,” she added, “but they fall in that trap just sometimes, because there's a lot of drivers for one person to handle.”
3. Pay drivers what they’re worth.
Tejada said she runs hard, driving to her hours of service limit, and is dispatchers’ first call when they need to add an unexpected stop near her route.
All drivers should be paid commensurate with the value they provide to their companies, she said.
Monthly driver productivity, fuel and other bonuses too often are one unavoidable traffic jam or sweltering day out of reach, Tejada said.
“I'm away from my family, my friends, my loved ones, my home, my pets,” she said. “And if you're going to keep me away and want me to run ... then pay me what I'm worth.”
4. Show your thanks beyond National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.
Tejada and two other TCA Professional Drivers of the Year, Nussbaum Transportation’s Clark Reed and Big G Express’ Tim Chelette, all complimented their companies’ daily and National Truck Driver Appreciation Week efforts.
The broader industry could do more to show its appreciation year-round, they added.
“Even just a simple call to check on driver and say, ‘thank you,’ not necessarily [money], just let them know they're appreciated throughout the year, would carry a lot more weight,” Reed said.
Helping offset parking is another way to show that appreciation. It goes a long way when parking can cost a driver $20 a night, Reed said.
“If you want your drivers to be a little more secure in knowing where they're going to park and being able to make the most of their day, being able to reimburse parking ... enables me to be more productive,” he said.
5. Stop texting and scrolling while driving.
From their cabs, truck drivers can see you tapping out texts and emails, absentmindedly scrolling social media feeds and even FaceTiming friends or loved ones from behind the wheel.
“You see plenty of people with the phone in their hand,” XPO driver Steadman “Steve” Mitchell said during a February ride-along. “All day long.”
“They’re watching movies,” Knight’s Tejada said in a separate interview this week. “I don’t know how they’re watching a movie while driving.”
Truck drivers want to get home safely as much as you do. For their sake as much as your own, keep the phone in your pocket when you’re behind the wheel.
