Drivers share their top 8 concerns about trucking during a pandemic

A recent survey of professional truck drivers ranked their top concerns about driving in during the COVID-19 crisis.

Workhound, a company that specializes in improving driver retention by helping companies collect driver feedback, recently released a report that analyzed driver comments about COVID-19 that were submitted during the first two weeks of April.

Workhound says that driver concerns in April have significantly shifted from those shared in March. “While Sanitation and Planning were the standout themes throughout March, Pay and Morale have grown to become the top themes so far in April,” Workhound said.

Check out the list below for a ranking of the top eight concerns submitted in the first half of April.

8. Benefits — 2% of submitted comments expressed concern over driver employment benefits such as health insurance, sick days, and the suspension of 401K matching during COVID-19.

7. Necessities — 3% of submitted comments dealt with concern over access to food and drink as the pandemic forced the closure of dine-in restaurants across the country.

6. Work — 12% of respondents say that they are worried about slow freight or that they are having a tough time finding loads.

5. Planning — 16% of comments indicated that drivers were concerned about how to plan for new challenges presented by COVID-19. These challenges include obtaining COVID-19 testing and how to deal with facilities that are closed due to the virus.

4. Risk — 17% said that they are worried about exposing themselves or family members to COVID-19 by picking up or delivering to virus hotspots.

3. Sanitization — 19% of comments addressed the worry over driver access to hand washing facilities and sanitization supplies like cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer.

2. Morale — 21% of comments involved driver morale. Many drivers expressed pride at being able to keep the U.S. supply chain moving, while others said that the virus had given them a more negative outlook on trucking and increased their sense of isolation.

1. Pay — At 26% of comments, the issue that is top of mind for drivers during the COVID-19 outbreak is pay. Many drivers said that they did not feel that they were being adequately compensated for the risks that they were taking during the pandemic. Others mentioned that they wanted relief from truck payments or tuition payments to trucking schools.

Workhound points out that many comments fall into multiple categories, so the percentages listed will not equal 100%.