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Younger truck drivers on road prompt safety concerns

Some truck drivers, who make sure basic items like food and clothes get to local stores, are considering their next steps as they deal with surging fuel prices.

It’s one factor causing some drivers to leave the industry. But a solution, has some safety advocates concerned.

Before the pandemic, Kai Desilus worked as a sous chef and for Amazon. But she said it was never enough to compete with the rising rental prices in Charlotte, so she became a truck driver.

“It’s one of the jobs you can get that pays a decent amount,” said Desilus. “Something you can live on with no college experience.”

She recently passed the test for her commercial driver’s license (CDL). Desilus is among thousands joining the trucking industry, which is desperate for drivers.

“Feeling a sense of peace, knowing that I’m helping transport much needed freight from state to state, things that people need,” said Desilus.

The U.S. faces a shortage of 80 thousand drivers. This past year exposed the country’s fragile infrastructure and dependence on truckers to get gas to the pump, food on the shelves and products in the stores.

It’s forced trucking companies to offer more.

“You’ve got companies out there doing $10 thousand signing bonuses,” said Roscoe Meeks, a driving school manager.

Meeks said he’s seen the demand for classes double, with twice as many students signing up.

Travis Esgrow is one of those students. He said he had a hard time getting into a CDL class.

“This was one of the only schools I could get into,” said Esgrow. “A lot of the schools are booked out.”

According to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, in 2019 there were 5,638 crashes in Oklahoma, 1,914 injuries and 90 fatalities. In 2020, even during the pandemic, there were 4,784 crashes, 1,563 injuries and 75 fatalities.

The big question is, would an influx of new, “less experienced” drivers make our highways more dangerous?

Meeks doesn’t think so. That’s because this month, as part of a new federal mandate, everyone who wants to test for a CDL must go to an accredited driving school before they can get a license.

“I think it’s going to be better and safer on the road now because you are making them go to an accredited school, when you had a lot of drivers before that didn’t do that,” said Meeks. “They went on the road and got caught in situations they didn’t understand.”

But in an effort to fill the driver shortage, Congress authorized a pilot program. It would allow 18 to 20-year-old truck drivers to cross state lines, something not allowed previously. That has some safety experts pumping the brakes.

“I think we should always be concerned when younger, less experienced drivers drive anything. Big rigs are no exception to that,” said engineer Kevin Lacy.

Lacy has been studying truck crash data for 30 years. He’s less concerned about “new” truckers than he is about younger ones driving longer distances.

“I would have a little bit more concern with an 18 to 19-year-old than I would with a 35-year-old because of the other developmental parts with the noggin,” said Lacy.

Lacy said the trucking industry would argue an 18-year-old can drive from Tulsa to Weatherford, or drive from Tulsa to Wichita, even though that trip is out of state. It’s the same distance, about 175 miles. He said it’s too soon to tell what impact, if any, the changes will have on overall safety.

“It’s in nobody’s best interest to hire an unsafe driver who’s going to wreck your vehicle,” said Lacy.

So far, it’s brought in a new generation of eager, energetic truckers, like Desilus and Esgrow, who say they’re in it for the long haul.

“I’ll feel like I have job security for many years to come,” said Esgrow.

Some experts say the federal pilot program for 18 and 19-year-olds also presents challenges for companies they work with because they can’t get insurance for younger drivers.

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