With all of the focus on safe driving and massive federal and state regulations on the trucking industry, how can serious tractor trailer accidents still occur with such frequency?   I learned the simple answer in a deposition last week. It is the way long haul drivers get paid. They are actually incentivized to speed, drive longer and harder, and deliver their loads “on time” – no matter what. I’ll explain. In the recent deposition, the driver who worked for a trucking company explained that he gets paid $0.37 per mile driven. He does not own or lease the truck and does not have to pay for fuel. But he only gets paid when he is in motion. At 60 miles per hour, he will effectively be making $22.20 per hour. Not bad in this economy but it only works at that speed for as many hours as possible. When stuck in traffic, delivering loads, or resting, the rate of pay drops sharply or stops altogether. As a result, drivers have to make up the difference by going faster when possible and longer when you can get away with it. Otherwise, drivers are  “losing money” every minute they’re not on the road. Other ways drivers try to improve their pay is to carry as much cargo as possible, often resulting in dangerous overloaded trailers. These practices can cause instability at highway speeds and especially on sharp curves and turns. All of these practices are well known to the trucking companies but are still tolerated if not actively encouraged. After all, their costs have also increased due to high fuel prices and more demanding customers wanting more and more for less. Tragically, the ones who pay the ultimate price are the innocent travelers on our nation’s highways and interstates when the predictable happens. And it is happening more all the time.

So what is the solution to this dangerous and deadly problem? Drivers should be paid a straight salary as part of their job. Such pay scale may not be well received by the industry or even commercial truck drivers but it will eliminate the current perils and incentives to take unnecessary risks. With jobs and costs on the line, it is doubtful that the trucking industry will embrace such an obvious answer. It may very well require new state and/or federal regulations to implement such a sea change. However, such new pay arrangement would effectively and immediately stop a major source of tired, overworked, and hurried drivers and protect families on the road. If you or someone you love has been seriously injured due to the negligence of a trucking company, call our experienced tractor trailer accident attorneys at 877-374-5999.