Narrative profile of the Independent Driver member of OOIDA

The independent driver member of Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is a driver that is often referred to as a hired driver.  He is an employee of a carrier and does not own his own truck or trailer.  The number of independent drivers in the OOIDA database has grown from 14,595 in 2004 to 15,365 in 2007.  While this only represents approximately 10% of the OOIDA population of drivers it is a representative sample demographically and numerically. 

 

The survey was divided into 5 sections:

 

The narrative will also follow those section guidelines.

 

Back to topPersonal Information

The independent driver is overwhelmingly male (94%), which is consistent with the most current census of drivers in the United States, and is 49 years of age (This again matches the current census of drivers by the Department of Labor and Census Bureau).  The independent driver is 5 foot 9 inches tall and weighs on average 217.9 lbs.  If we break this down by gender the male average weight goes up to 220 lbs.  The average female driver is 5 foot 6 inches and weighs 168.9 lbs.  Unfortunately, this will place the average drivers in the obese category devised by the Department of Health in terms of the Body Mass Index.  There is a strong likely hood that the independent driver is Caucasian (93%), and is a high-school graduate (91%) this percentage far exceeds the national average for high school graduates for that age group.  The independent driver is stable in that he is more likely to own his own home (77%) in a rural or small town (53%) for over 11+ years.  He is more than likely married (71%) and the spouse outside the home (65%).  There are no children living at home (61%) and any grown children do not drive a truck (85%) as the independent driver’s father did not drive a truck (73%).  Most independent drivers plan on retiring at 65 years of age with the largest majority of them expecting social security to pay for their retirement.  The majority of the independent drivers have some form of medical benefits either through the carrier (60%) or they are covered by their spouse’s medical insurance (10%).  While this is better than the owner-operators it still indicates that 30% have no medical benefits when the national average is around 14-15%.  Fortunately most of them do not smoke (62%) or chew tobacco (96%) but the independent driver is not likely to exercise (71%).

 

CBs have long been associated with trucking but the independent drivers either has them on most of the time (34%) or hardly at all (32%).  Satellite radio either XM or Sirius has become extremely popular (75%) with 57% listening to LandLine Now along with their favorite type of music, country.  When listening to their satellite radio the most popular on-air personality is, “The Truckin Bozo”.    The independent driver will likely own a firearm (73%) get a company paid vacation (76%) and has been an OOIDA member for 3.4 years. 

 

Back to topDriving Experience

The independent driver is not a novice driver as he has been in the trucking industry for 20 years and has been with the present carrier for the last 5 years.  Most have attended truck driving school (52%) that lasted for 3-6 weeks.  They get paid by the mile (57%) and average $.36-.45 per mile with a yearly gross income of $54,455 and a net of $41,899.  They drove an average of 114,639 miles in 2007 and were away from home 200-300+ nights a year to make that money.  Computer literacy is more common with 71.5% using a computer to communicate but only 29.3% have a computer in the truck.  Their main form of personal communication is the cell phone averaging $100 per month.

 

Back to topThe Truck You Drive

The truck will probably be a 2003-2004 Freightliner 10speed with a 400-500 Caterpillar or Detroit engine averaging 5-7 miles per gallon.   Only 32% will have an electronic onboard recorder and a little more than a third will have GPS tracking devices on board.  As for accessories the independent driver will not have an auxiliary power unit but will likely have a power inverter.  

 

Back to topThe Trailer You Pull

Most independent drivers are pulling a Great Dane dry van trailer.

 

Back to topPolitical Action

Almost 90% of the independent drivers are registered voters and 77% voted in the last election.  They remain politically active and 62% have contacted elected officials to share their position with 54% belonging to a political party that reflects a conservative outlook.  Most of the times that party is Republican but 28% consider themselves independent.