COLUMBIA, S.C. — From the ice cream in your freezer to the clothes on your back, a truck driver was likely involved in getting those goods to the stores and into your homes.
Carl Risinger knows a lot about that after 36 years in the trucking industry.
“There’s nothing you can think of that didn’t get delivered by a truck. Everything our clothing our food your makeup, everything by a truck.”
He’s using his experience training up the next generation of drivers at the commercial driver's license day at the state fairgrounds.
The SC Department of Motor Vehciles (SCDMV) hosted a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Day at the state fairgrounds on Tuesday. The goal was to offer free access to a written and driving test for prospective drivers.
Since the pandemic started in 2020, the industry has struggled with hiring enough drivers to get supplies to stores.
According to Kevin Shwedo with South Carolina DMV, it’s not that they can’t find people willing to drive, it’s more about qualifications like age.
“The problem is these kids are 18 years old and they’re going to have to wait until age 21 to get their driver's license. If we could get them at 18 there’d be a lot more truck drivers,” Shwedo said.
In order to drive a truck outside of South Carolina a driver must be 21 or older.
Another concern with hiring drivers goes back to the pandemic and economic recovery. Risinger said we’re not as bad off this year as in years passed.
“Being the situation with our economy now, all business is down a little bit the freight volumes are down. We were at the highest we’d ever been for the past two years and now it is slowly dropping back,” Risinger said.
Rick Todd is with the South Carolina Trucking Association. He said CDL Day at the fairgrounds has made a difference combined with legislation that helps the DMV.
“The legislature decided to allow the DMV some extra funding so that they could do some consolidating so they can approve services and be more efficient. Getting our guys licensed more quickly,” Todd said.
Todd added this isn’t an instant solution as it will take years.
This was the second pop-up CDL event of its kind in South Carolina.