Not to denigrate the work those people do,.......but the Dept. of Labor goes out of their way to hide the fact that "Fatal Occupational Injuries" occur more often....in just raw numbers, not "per capita".....in Transportation-related industries.
Plus,....those occupations' fatalities occur on job-sites,....and it's rare that a non-associated third-party (civilians)...cause that fatality. We are in the public domain,...and any drunken fool can wipe out the safest driver in the world.....
Increasing the Hours of Service,...and raising the 80,000 lb. weight limit,.......are the proposed "answers" recommended by the ATA to "fix" the driver shortage.....
A driver on his/her 84th hour pulling a 110,000 Long Combination Vehicle.....is definately not my idea of "highway safety".......
I've always said that overtime is a PENALTY your employer pays ,....for keeping your CDL license at risk longer than 8 hours. If more drivers regarded their time behind the wheel in the same way, instead of regarding overtime as some sort of "bonus" the company allows you, the companies would be forced to alter the way they dispatched.....and abused......their employees.
Lot of coal bucket drivers here in W. Pa.......Constantly bragging about how overloaded they are on the C.B......Ain't that great? They're hauling next week's freight at this week's rates.......Amazing what employers can talk drivers into....There's nothing "manly" about driving 16 hours straight,..or hauling 100,000 lbs. illegally..........In fact....."gullible" "cowardly" "craven" and "stupid" are the adjectives that come to mind, instead of...."manly"......