National Ads Would Benefit Trucking, If It Could Afford Them

(Provided) On occasion, ATA places image ads in key newspapers, such as this reprint from 1942 (above), which appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post and Newsweek in February.

More than two decades after the federal government reopened trucking to free competition through deregulation, the industry suffers from a negative image problem.

For many in the motoring public, trucking is a necessary evil. Truck drivers, once seen as heroes and knights of the road, today too often are viewed as speed demons more concerned with getting from point A to point B than with safety. Truck grilles filling rearview mirrors exacerbate the negativity.

Industry groups, including American Trucking Associations and a few of its state counterparts, other national groups and some of the larger, wealthier motor carriers make efforts to combat stereotypes with image enhancement campaigns. They attempt to get the public to recognize the industry’s improving safety record, as borne out by the declining rate of fatal accidents. They also simply attempt to show truck drivers as the good guys.

For the full story, see the Sept. 23 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.