Dan Rather Reports Episode 2″ Trucker Talk”

I have said many times that there exists good trucking companies and CDL schools within the United States.  There are also many success stories by both company drivers and owner operators.   When you have large numbers such as nearly four million active truck drivers and about eight million CDL holders, you are going to have success stories.  These successes, however, can and do not automatically strike out the fact that many scams and abuses exist within this industry.   Abusive programs that are specifically designed for the driver to fail.

If the truck driver is the company’s greatest asset, as which they are always advertising, then why are the “handful” of trucking companies and CDL schools which operate in these abusive manners, allowed to continue?   If maintaining the integrity and upholding a positive image for the industry is a primary goal, would bringing a stop to these abusive systems against our drivers not be upholding integrity and improving the industry’s image?

For the past several years, we have been working to expose such scams and abuses being imposed on many of our nation’s drivers.  Suddenly, we are hearing from a few industry leaders that they have been “saying these things for years.” Where?  Where have these things been specifically fought against and more importantly, if so, why do these abuses continue?   Specific scams and abuses such as:

• The abuse of CDL students and new drivers as a means of cheap labor.

• The starving out of veteran drivers by those companies who continually maintain the rotation of newer, less paid drivers into their system.
  
• The driver shortage and driver retention problem that have been purposefully created by the companies themselves.
• The Owner Operator Lease Purchase Program that is used by those companies as a means to a driver’s failure.
• The truck drivers DAC Report which has become nothing more than a retaliation tool by companies against drivers.

I recognize that issues such as the lease programs have seen support by way of utilizing The Truth in Leasing Law for drivers, but where has it ever been exposed before that the leasing program, in many cases, is nothing more than a scam and abuse used against drivers?  Where?    It’s not difficult to find information on how to get a copy of your DAC Report . . . but where has it ever been mentioned that the DAC Report is a tool often used to ruin truck drivers careers?  Where?   Before we publicly exposed these scams and abuses . . . where were these issues being raised?   Furthermore, if so, why after “so many years” do they continue?

Talk is cheap.  Let’s see action . . . action such as bringing it to the public as in the Dan Rather Reports . . . action away from just cheap talk and action that can and will eventually bring change to rid the trucking industry of these scams and abuses that have been going on for years against our men and women drivers in trucking.  Finally coming together, as drivers and industry leaders alike, for the sole purpose of raising the standards of the trucking industry.

Allen Smith

© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.

: abuse, abuses, CDL schools, dac report, Dan Rather, dan rather reports, driver retention, driver shortage, drivers, good trucking companies, media, owner operator lease purchase, Scams, truck drivers, trucking

Related posts

• U.S. Trucking Industry Corruption (7)
• Truth About Trucking “LIVE” Talk Radio Airs Dan Rather Controversy (8)
• Trucking Industry and Politics (0)
• Retaining Truck Drivers Should be No Problem for Trucking Companies (3)
• OOIDA Land Line Magazine Should Hear From CDL Students and New Drivers (8)