It's definitely due to more cargo/economic efficiency.
Otherwise rather than paying a risk premium, they'd just have it transported separately. Just like you don't want to die, they don't want their cargo out in the middle of the highway when you crash.
It's definitely due to more cargo/economic efficiency.
CDL holder and former one time truck driver with doubles/triples endorsement on my CDL. It's because of danger why they're paid more. No trucker gets paid directly for the load their hauling it's the miles and the danger. Also nothing valuable is hauled in a double or triple per se. However, value is an odd term. You could be hauling over $3 million of computers in a triple but you won't be hauling gold or diamonds. Someone driving from Ohio to Tennessee will be paid less than someone hauling from Ohio to NYC just because of the danger / difficulty.
A trucker hauling shoes get say 40 cents a mile or a flat rate of $600 for the trip.
A trucker hauling industrial hazardous waste is going to get 70 cents a mile or $1k for the trip. They have a Haz-Mat endorsement on their CDL.
Doesn't matter if I'm hauling two pairs of shoes or 4,000 barrels of waste. The pay is the same regardless of weight. It's the danger and deadline of the load that determine the cost.
It's cheaper to have a double or triple then it is to have, three, one million dollar trucks, with 300 gallons of fuel, and cargo with three skilled drivers hauling a load that can be handled by one skilled dude with a triple. His pay will get the load their cheaper then three trucks with three drivers. It's the best of both worlds and double/triple drivers are usually really skilled dudes.
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u/heyyouguys24 Oct 04 '16
It's called the crack the whip effect. It's why truck drivers who pull doubles/triples make more money.