ATA’S DEFINITION OF SAFETY
[CHEAP LABOR]
Today’s Safety Features Aren’t About Safety:
They’re About Replacing Skilled Drivers With Cheap Labor
Let’s stop pretending these so-called “safety” features on modern semi-trucks are really about protecting the public. They’re not.
They’re about replacing skilled drivers with less-trained, cheaper, more compliant labor – and eventually, replacing drivers altogether.
From lane departure systems to automatic emergency braking, radar cruise control to collision mitigation sensors, side radar, inward-facing cameras, orange seatbelts, and bright yellow grab handles – none of this was added to support experienced drivers. These tools were never for the men and women who know how to drive. They were rolled out the moment mega carriers started slashing their training budgets.
These systems aren’t there to make the job safer – they’re there to make the driver less necessary.
The Real Goal: Deskilling the Job
Every year, new trucks are built with more sensors, cameras, and automation systems. But what’s really happening is a quiet transformation – from trained professionals behind the wheel to tech-reliant, entry-level bodies with just enough instruction to get by.
That’s not a coincidence.
These systems are meant to:
• Replace training with technology
• Justify hiring low-skill, low-wage labor
• Shift liability from the carrier to a digital scapegoat
• Control every move the driver makes
Train them less.
Pay them less.
Monitor them more.
Replace them sooner.
The closer they get to making the truck “foolproof,” the closer they are to removing the fool altogether. And make no mistake – they’re not talking about AI. They’re talking about us.
Who’s Behind It? The Mega Carriers – and Their Manufacturers
Let’s name names.
The carriers who first embraced this tech didn’t do it because they care about public safety. They did it to compensate for the fact that they were no longer investing in actual training. When companies like C.R. England, Werner, Prime Inc., CRST, Stevens Transport, U.S. Xpress, and Knight-Swift started putting new drivers behind the wheel with barely a few weeks of instruction, they needed a way to protect their liability and keep their contracts.
So they turned to automation.
They didn’t just cut corners – they created entire training models that fast-tracked CDL holders into trucks without the supervision of seasoned drivers. The so-called “first seat/second seat” model became the new standard – meaning a driver with six months of experience was now training someone with zero real-world driving time.
In some cases, it was less than that.
This wasn’t mentorship. It was peer babysitting. It was a survival tactic – not a training program. And while that was happening, these carriers were lobbying for federal funding, exemptions, and fast-track visa approvals to bring in more labor with fewer questions asked.
Meanwhile, manufacturers like Freightliner, Volvo, and International were more than happy to outfit their trucks with whatever systems would help carriers keep payroll cheap and control tight – lane sensors, following distance alerts, fatigue monitors, and auto-brake systems that treat professional drivers like toddlers with tantrums.
It wasn’t about helping the driver. It was about managing the risk while hiring people who barely understood the job.
CDL Schools Aren’t the Problem – The Carriers Are
Let’s clear something up. CDL schools are not to blame for the lack of training. Their job is to prepare students to pass the test and legally obtain a commercial driver’s license. That’s it.
Real training – the kind that teaches you how to survive on the road, how to handle freight, how to make decisions under pressure – that’s the job of the carrier.
So when mega carriers run their own CDL schools, get drivers licensed, and then immediately put them into a truck with another rookie driver, that’s not a school failure. That’s corporate exploitation.
And they’re using automation to mask that failure.
They’re not investing in skilled mentorship. They’re investing in lane-assist tech and collision warning sensors – because they’d rather have a driver who’s dependent on hardware than one who knows what to do in the moment.
Brokers and Visa Drivers: The Next Phase
This problem doesn’t stop with the big carriers. Just look at today’s lease-purchase programs, broker networks, and platforms like Landstar. Many of the trucks showing up under their banner are now operated by non-domiciled visa drivers, funneled in through legal loopholes, third-party logistics networks, or questionable CDL mills.
These trucks are also outfitted with the same automation systems. The same electronic leash. The same carrier-issued control.
And it’s not a coincidence.
Visa labor is cheaper. Easier to control. Easier to replace. And when you pair it with automation, you’ve got the ultimate corporate dream: low-cost drivers in high-tech trucks who never ask questions and never push back.
This isn’t an upgrade. It’s an engineered collapse of the skilled American trucking workforce – replaced by tech-dependent labor that works for less and disappears on demand.
The Industry Doesn’t Want Skilled Labor – It Wants Control
Here’s what you need to understand:
Skilled drivers solve problems. They think critically. They make calls that save freight, protect lives, and keep this economy moving.
But that kind of independence doesn’t serve the corporate machine.
What they want is control. What they want is submission. And if they can’t get that from experienced professionals, they’ll build a new workforce that does whatever the computer tells them – until the day they can unplug the human altogether.
That’s not safety. That’s surveillance. And it’s not for our benefit – it’s for our elimination.
Bottom Line
This industry is being automated, corporatized, and quietly overhauled – not for the public good, but for corporate gain.
If you think this is about reducing crashes, look around. If you think it’s about saving lives, ask why experienced drivers are being pushed out while carriers promote teen CDL pilots and 90-day trainees. If you think it’s about making trucking easier, ask why more and more truckers are being replaced with app-controlled labor from overseas.
This isn’t progress. This is a betrayal.
The ATA calls it safety. But drivers know the truth:
The safety systems aren’t for us.
They’re for our replacements.
Will Cook | A Driver’s Perspective