Safety-conscious drivers are more valuable to the trucking industry than ever before, and you can take that to the bank.

"Truck fleets are really stressing safety more than ever before," observes Rich Clemente, director of safety and health programs for the Truckload Carriers Association, "and that says a lot, since the industry has always been very safety focused."

While the value of safe drivers is on the rise, it may not be directly expressed in rising driver wages, at least not yet.

Instead, many fleets struggling with quarter after quarter of lower customer demand and higher costs are rewarding their best drivers with performance based incentives for things like safe miles and time with the company.

"Driver wages have been holding pretty steady for some time," says Herbert Schmidt, president of Joplin, MO-based Contract Freighters Inc. (CFI). "The economy has just been slow for too long to permit much in the way of driver wage hikes. At CFI, we have a stair-step wage structure that increases with a driver's time at CFI. We also offer a one-cent per mile safety bonus at the end of the year to drivers who have had no preventable accidents."

For drivers and owner-operators, the message is clear: if you want to improve your own profitability, first work on maintaining a spotless driving record and then look at more than just the base pay rate when you are considering fleets to call home.

POINTERS

Make sure the fleets you are considering know about your excellent driving record by offering to share information and provide references right up front.

Ask fleets about other benefits and incentive compensation programs beyond base pay, including:

• Bonuses for clean inspections

• Hiring bonuses for good driving records

• Wage increases tied to time with company

• Bonuses for accident-free miles

• Opportunity to participate in truck lease/purchase programs

• Availability of time-savers, such as Pre-Pass tags, toll road and bridge passes, cell phones, electronic driver logs, etc.

• Potential to do other valuable work, such as helping to train new drivers.

Also, consider getting involved in trucking industry organizations. It can help you to learn more about the business, enhance your resume as a driving professional and give you networking opportunities with other owner-operators, company drivers and fleets.

FLYING COLORS

If you are an owner-operator, keep your truck in top shape and make sure that it would pass any roadside safety inspection with flying colors. If you are in an accident and there is anything wrong with the truck you are driving, even if that maintenance problem did not cause the accident, you are putting your career and the company you work for at risk. Finally, don't give up on your safety performance paying off in higher wages down the road. New studies are suggesting there may be a positive link between safety and driver pay.

For example, a recent fleet case study conducted by experts at the University of North Carolina and Wayne State University concludes that: "...higher pay rates and getting a pay raise are related to lower expected crash counts and to a higher probability of zero crash counts, all things being equal."

All things being equal, this tough period for trucking may turn out to be the beginning of a new era of reward for good drivers and recognition of their importance to trucking and the community at large.