Industry News

The public perception of professional truck drivers is not consistent with reality. Instead of hard-working, family men and women who are away from their families for long stretches of time, professional truck drivers can be seen as dangerous and an unwelcome highway hazard. The truth, however, is that today’s truck driver is a skilled professional who follows stringent safety guidelines and is experienced with the new and improved technologies that make trucks smarter, more fuel-efficient and safer than ever before.

In making the push for his group’s joint effort to build a new trucking and driver image initiative, Todd Spencer of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said while dealing with the issue of “driver image,” the industry as a whole needs to “deal honestly” with issues that impact drivers’ negatively, like pay and treatment by shippers and receivers.

ACT 1 officially unveiled a new image campaign for the industry aimed at attracting drivers, educating the public about the industry’s ubiquitous role in American life and the U.S. economy and changing policy makers’ perceptions of trucking. The Trucking Moves America Forward campaign was announced March 26 at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky.

The trucking industry announced Wednesday the launch of an industry-wide image and education campaign, Trucking Moves America Forward, at the Mid-America Trucking Show with support from a diverse group of industry influencers including leading executives, professional truck drivers and technicians.

The trucking industry announced today the launch of its industry-wide image and education campaign “Trucking Moves America Forward” at the Mid-America Trucking Show with support from a diverse group of industry influencers including leading executives, professional truck drivers and technicians. “Trucking Moves America Forward” is an industry-wide image and education initiative informing policy makers, motorists and the public about the benefits of the trucking industry to help build a ground swell of political and grassroots support necessary to strengthen and grow the industry.

The road is long and the country is big. And on any given day an estimated 3 million over-the-road truckers are traversing the nation’s highways. When one of those truckers turns up missing, finding them can be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.