This week John Hill, a contributing writer at Heavy Duty Trucking, wrote an opinion piece about business common sense. Actually, it may be common sense to many truck drivers, but it seems like a lot of trucking company owners and higher ups don’t always make the connection.
It’s about how the trucking industry can build a better future for itself by doing three things, which are:
- Respecting and valuing truck drivers
- Involve truck drivers directly in the company mission and inform them of what they can do to accomplish it
- Build a culture of safety within the company and reward drivers who earn good scores
He drives the point over and over that the single biggest cost saver to a trucking company are drivers who are professional and courteous on the road and at the dock. Unfortunately, from our perspective, not much of the cost savings from a fleet of safe, courteous and dependable drivers flows back to their pockets.
Truck drivers have to deal with more safety regulations than ever, but their salaries have remained somewhat flat for years. Hill acknowledges the effect of the CSA system, but speaks rather timidly about financial rewards for when a driver is able to successfully navigate the rubicon of safety compliance measures without incident during the fiscal year. Shouldn’t this be less a suggestion from Hill and more like a wholehearted endorsement?