Truckers need testing, OOIDA president tells CNBC

Truck drivers need access to COVID-19 testing, OOIDA President Todd Spencer told CNBC’s Frank Holland on Monday, April 6.

“We’d like some kind of access for drivers to be tested and results back in a timely fashion,” Spencer told Holland. “Results that come three or four days later simply are of no practical use for people who spend their lives on the road.”

On April 3, OOIDA sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking for “urgent and immediate action” to protect truck drivers as they haul essential freight across the nation.

OOIDA implored the president to do everything he can to provide truck drivers with personal protective equipment, testing, and, if needed, access to treatment. The Association said that truck drivers are the vital link in the nation’s supply chain.

“Every day they are exposed to COVID-19, because of the critical service they provide for all of us,” Spencer wrote. “They run in and out of the hot zones and, without question, they are exposed. They don’t have access to personal protective equipment or any practical means to know when they may be falling ill or any practical solution if they need treatment or self-isolation.”

Spencer told Holland that the national crisis has highlighted how important truck drivers are to society.

“One of the things that has become really clear about dealing with the pandemic as we are is how much we depend on trucks for timely delivery of virtually everything in our lives, including the food and emergency supplies,” Spencer said. “Our members and truckers overall are more in demand now than ever. While that is a blessing and a curse and they are service-oriented people, but they’re going to have a much greater likelihood of being exposed, and they have very few options once that happens.”

Trump letter

In the letter to the president, Spencer said that a plan to keep truck drivers safe must be implemented immediately.

“Access to testing must be available where they are, particularly on busy truck routes,” Spencer wrote. “And testing must show results in hours, not days. Along with that we need a strategy for treatment or quarantine that could take place at nearby motels.

“Right now, professional drivers are busting their butts to care for the nation. Their hard work and personal sacrifice should not include their health ­ or even their lives ­ if at all possible or preventable … We need a plan for them. We need help. Do it.”