Program lets young truck drivers steer toward future, helps driver shortage

CHARLOTTE — Right now, the country is facing a shortage of truck drivers. It’s why Congress authorized a pilot program to allow 18 to 20-year-old truck drivers cross state lines. It’s an opportunity for the younger generation to steer toward their future careers at an earlier age.

While young people are excited about the new program, some transportation officials are pumping the brakes.

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 cost of renting in Charlotte.

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

Now, Desilus is steering toward her future career. Last month, she passed the test for her CDL. She’s among the 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,” Desilus said.

The US has a shortage of about 80,000 truck drivers. That deficit and the past year have 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.

At 160 Driving School, Manager Roscoe Meeks says they’ve seen the demand for classes double -- with twice as many students signing up.

“You’ve got companies out there doing $10,000 signing bonuses,” Meeks said.

Travis Esgrow is another one of those students. The 27-year-old lives in South End, and had a hard time getting into a CDL class.

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

North Carolina has seen a rise in truck crashes over the past few years: 10,050 in 2019, and 10,796 in 2021.

So would an influx of new, less experienced drivers make our highways more dangerous? Roscoe Meeks doesn’t think so. That’s because in March, 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,” Meeks said. “They went on the road and got caught in situations they didn’t understand.”

But in an effort to fill the driver shortage, Congress has 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.

Kevin Lacy is an NCDOT engineer and has been studying truck crash data for 30 years.

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

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,” he said.

Lacy said the trucking industry would argue an 18-year-old can drive from Asheville to the North Carolina coast. Charlotte to Norfolk is the same distance.

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,” Lacy said.

So far, it’s brought a new generation of eager, energetic truckers, like Kai and Travis, who are in it for the long haul.

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

(WATCH BELOW: US DOT warns truck drivers to watch out for certain mailing)

US DOT warns truck drivers to watch out for certain mailing

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