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inability to maintain telecommunication systems and natural gas pipelines, preserve law and order, and keep our financial systems operating. Professional drivers have difficult jobs, and we should appreciate their key role in the American economy and the economies of countries throughout the world. There is currently a shortage of many types of professional drivers—especially truck drivers—and you should consider this career if you enjoy driving, like a job that frees you up from “cubicle life,” and want to keep our economy running. The Work of Truck and Passenger Vehicle Drivers American Trucking Associations estimates that there are 3.36 million professional truck drivers in the United States. There are different types of truck drivers, which are discussed in the following paragraphs. Long-haul truck drivers are the Olympic athletes of truckers. They transport cargo across long distances. In fact, the ATA reports that most long-haul truck drivers average from 100,000 to 110,000 driving miles each year, with an average of about 500 miles a day. That’s a lot of pavement, billboards, and sitting in one spot! Some long-haul truck drivers log a few hundred miles a day and then return home, but most are on the road for one to three weeks at a time, crisscrossing the United States, or even delivering and picking up goods from locations in Canada and Mexico. Most long-haul drivers operate trucks that have a total weight that exceeds 26,000 pounds (11,793 kilograms) (including the vehicle, cargo, and passengers). They are also known as Over-the-Road (OTR) drivers and heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Local drivers operate light, medium, and heavy trucks (classified by the amount of weight that they carry) and deliver loads in a particular metropolitan area or region, which allows them to sleep in their own beds each night. These drivers have more contact with

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Careers in Infrastructure: Truck and Transportation Drivers