The Big Rig Analysis

In The Big Rig, Steve Viscelli explores the world of the trucking industry and examines how jobs in the industry came to be so bad and why truckers continue to take these jobs in light of the long hours and low pay. Trucking has drastically changed over the decades. What was once a noble and well paying career for the “modern cowboy” is now a trap for those looking to make the most money possible in their situations. But what led to the downfall of the trucking industry? In a nutshell, the trucking industry is the way it is today because of deregulation. Deregulation refers to the deunionization of workers and noninterference of government in the industry. This led to massive wage cuts for and externalization of inefficiencies to truckers, …show more content…
The answer lies in false advertising and the limitation of facts available to the general public about trucking as a career. Going into the industry, many people think they will be able to make large sums of money and be able to advance in the workplace. Most don’t know that trucking is essentially a scam until they are already roped in and tied down to a job as a trucker. Carriers exaggerate the amount of money truckers actually make and downplay the costs and how hard being a trucker really is. Many people don’t realize that as a trucker they will make very little money, be forced to spend extended periods of time away from home, and will even become indebted to the companies. Viscelli predicts that if people knew the actual facts about the life of a trucker, far fewer people would enter the industry. This would be detrimental to carriers, though, hence why they must exaggerate the facts and make the industry look more attractive than it really …show more content…
Many new, inexperienced truckers will work as hard as they can in hopes of achieving the “American dream” that carriers work so hard to sell them. Carriers tell them to hang in there and work harder if they wish to succeed in such a highly competitive industry. Truckers are led to believe that by physically and mentally exhausting themselves for the job they will make more money and be able to further their careers. It often takes months, or even years, for truckers to realize that they have, indeed, been scammed into working as hard as possible for these companies for very little in return. Unfortunately, by the time they realize this they are already indebted to the company and must work for them for at least a year in order for their debt to be forgiven. In conclusion, trucking has become a very unprofitable industry for workers due to deregulation and deception of the part of large carriers. Truckers are led to believe they will be able to succeed in the industry, when in reality they are essentially being hustled by carriers. Workers often find themselves trapped in these low paying, dead end jobs and must suffer through until their debt is forgiven or until they simply can’t take it