Despite Attacks on Industry, Public Thinks Well of Trucking

Philadelphia – A new national poll released today found the public continues to believe truck drivers are among the safest on the road and that the industry is essential to the American economy. 

The poll, the second commissioned by American Trucking Associations, was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies between August 30 and September 1, surveyed 800 registered voters on their attitudes about politics, the trucking industry and the state of infrastructure.

“Our industry invests more than $7 billion each year in safety tools, technologies and practices, and this poll tells us those investments are working,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “Americans believe trucks move the most freight and that our drivers are safe and getting safer. Those facts beliefs are not just correct, they are important to keep in mind when debating important safety issues.”

Among the poll’s findings were:

• A majority of Americans, 63%, believe trucks move most of the nation’s goods – a three-point increase from 2014.
• Sixty percent of respondents said they have a favorable view of the trucking industry, the highest among transportation modes.
• When asked to offer unscripted thoughts on trucking, respondents called drivers hard working, said the industry provided thousands of jobs and trucking was dependable and efficient.
• The majority of Americans, 57%, said trucking’s safety record was excellent or good.
• And 34% of respondents said trucking’s safety record had improved over the past 20 years.
• Ninety-one percent of Americans believe car drivers are more likely to engage in risky behavior on the highways than truck drivers and 70% believe they are more likely to be at fault when a car and truck collide.
• Eighty-one percent of Americans believe truckers are safer drivers. 

The poll also addressed the issue of speeds and speed limits, finding that: 

• Sixty-nine percent of Americans oppose reducing highway speeds to improve safety and reduce pollution, and 63% oppose the installation of speed limiting devices on passenger vehicles, but
• More than half – 56% – of respondents said they favored mandating speed limiters for large trucks. 

“Safety is our industry’s most important calling,” said outgoing ATA Chairman Duane Long, chairman of Longistics, Raleigh, N.C.“I’m pleased that so many of my fellow Americans think so highly of our safety record, but we should not be satisfied. We need to do more to not only improve our safety record, but to tell people about it.”

The poll’s results were released here at ATA’s Board of Directors meeting. A copy of the presentation can be found here.