5 Surprising Trucking Statistics

Did you know?

  • The trucking industry is responsible for hauling over 10.5 billion tons of cargo every year.
  • The trucking industry collects over $650 billion dollars a year, which is  5% of America’s GDP.
  • Over 3.4 million heavy duty trucks and 3.5 million truck drivers are necessary to haul all of the US cargo.
  • The trucking industry is projected to grow 21% over the next 10 years.
  • The trucking sector generates a staggering 83.7% of the revenue in the commercial transportation industry.

Interested in joining this high-growth industry? Apply now to Progressive Truck Driving School!

 

Video: Amazing Truck Driving Skills

These truckers have some serious driving skills. Want to see if you can get to the level of these amazing drivers? Apply now to get your CDL with Progressive Truck Driving School.

New Study Confirms That Veterans Make for Great Truck Drivers

Independent research conducted by Omnitracs confirms that veterans make for excellent truck drivers. The data revealed a few key data points: for instance veterans had 42 percent fewer accidents than non-veteran drivers, veterans achieved 98 percent more miles driven, and veterans had 59 percent fewer voluntary terminations and 68 percent fewer involuntary terminations.

According to the study, veterans’ trucking skill and job dedication can be at least partially attributed to the skill sets that the military brings, such as discipline and understanding of policy and procedures.

“The biggest thing is that the parallels between the trucking industry and the military life are right on point in that veterans are used to being away from home. Their families are used to them being away from home, so on the family side, they have everything in place to handle it when the service member’s away or the professional driver is away from home,” said Rick Bucholtz, associate director of field and government recruiting, Werner Enterprises. “Also, being out on the road, they work under minimal supervision. They’re out there on their own. They have to be able to make decisions. They have to be able to assess and take action without being told exactly what to do”

Here at Progressive Truck Driving School, we pride ourselves on training our veterans and helping them to jump-start their career after the military. We offer veterans assistance, including tuition assistance programs through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). You can learn more here.

To apply to Progressive Truck Driving School, please complete this application.

Progressive Truck Driving School Reviews

Watch video reviews from Progressive Truck Driving School graduates

Founded in 1974, Progressive Truck Driving School, Inc. has grown to become one of the Chicago area’s premier truck driving schools. Progressive Truck Driving School offers training for CDL Truck Drivers Class A, Class B, and Passenger. Courses are a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on training. Interested in becoming a student? Apply here.

 

Trucking is a New Adventure Every Day

At Progressive Truck Driving School, we train drivers for the road ahead. Once our graduates are on the road we often hear feedback about their experiences.

Something we hear often is about the new sights, sounds, and adventures are that our drivers experience once they’re on the road. For drivers that have not traveled a lot in their pre-trucking careers, they’re often excited about the opportunity to see the country, sometimes visiting four or five states in a single day. Truck drivers can leave California in the morning, and find themselves in Wyoming in the same day – that’s an experience that’s very unique to the truck driving industry.

We also hear about how our drivers love the experience of meeting a lot of different people – people that they might not have been able to meet in their prior careers. They meet interesting people in states and cities that they had never visited before. Trucking can give drivers a new perspective on people and on life in general.

Drivers tell us about unexpected, fantastic moment like seeing the sunrise in Utah or seeing Elk graze in Montana – experiences that people pay big money to vacation and see. Drivers who might not have been able to visit the coasts are able to see the Gulf and beautiful beaches.

Truckers get to see and experience things that people in other careers just aren’t able to see and do. For many of our drivers, this is the best part of choosing a career in trucking.

Complete this form to apply to Progressive Truck School!

New Study Confirms Improved Trucking Safety

After a recent analysis from the Department of Transportation, data indicates that in both the long-term and short-term, trucking-involved fatalities are declining significantly. This is welcome news for CDL students and truck drivers.

According to the American Trucking Association’s analysis of miles traveled data from the Federal Highway Administration and highway fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the truck-involved fatality rate fell for the second straight year to 1.40 per 100 million miles traveled. This is great news for anyone interested in a career in trucking, but are concerned over safety.

There’s been a significant decrease in the fatality rate, which dipped 2.78 percent from 2013 and has fallen 4.76 percent over the past two years. More importantly, it has fallen an impressive 40.6 percent over the past decade.

According to ATA President and SEO Bill Graves ,“The short-term decline is welcome news, but the important figure is the long-term trend. Short-term changes, whether they’re increases or declines, can be blips – and just like you shouldn’t track your 401k on a daily basis, they shouldn’t be the primary lens truck safety is viewed through. The long-term trend – in this case, a more than 40 percent improvement – is of paramount importance.”

Great news for our CDL students and future drivers! Complete this form to apply to Progressive Truck School!

Semi Truck Long Jump

How cool is this?

Interested in driving a rig like this? Apply to Progressive Truck School.

Accuracy Is a Significant Issue With Hair Testing

The “Drug Free Commercial Truck Driver Act of 2015” is a bill that would allow the Department of Transportation to authorize hair testing instead of urinalysis.

Critics of hair testing claim that science doesn’t support hair testing, and that it’s simply not as accurate as urinalysis for detecting controlled substances by an operator.

The bill currently is receiving support from bi-partisan co-sponsors, along with support from the American Trucking Association along with some fleets.

According to Dr. Kent Peterson, president of Charlottesville, Virginia Occupational Health Strategies and Former Exec. Vice President of American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM):

“Hair testing has a window of testing for the previous months or weeks. If you take one and a half inches closest to the scalp it will give an indication of drug use for the past 90 days,” he says. “Hair testing may be used for pre-employment screening to show long-term use but it gives no indication of current use or recent impairment.”

Some critics argues that hair testing unfairly biases some drivers. According to Peterson,

“Curly haired and persons of color are more likely to test positive [because they have more melanin in their hair which binds more strongly with markers]. It’s believed that if hair testing were to be used and brought to court, it would be thrown out on that basis alone.”

It will be interesting in the coming months to see if the bill will garner additional support and pass into law, as it seems that the science justifying the bill isn’t concrete.

Interested in earning your CDL? Apply to Progressive Truck School.

Video: Double Trailer Semi Reversing

Now this is an impressive maneuver.

Interested in trying out this maneuver? It all starts by earning your CDL.  Apply today.

Video: Cool Big Rigs

Check out this amazing collection of custom Big Rigs!

Interested in driving one of these awesome trucks? Apply to Progressive Truck Driving School.