The Dehumanization of the American Trucker

From National Icon to Discarded Commodity

There was a time when the American trucker was a symbol of grit, freedom, and working-class pride.
The open road was their office, the CB radio their lifeline, and the big rig—a home away from home. They were cowboys of the modern world, delivering goods across states and stories alike.

But today? The narrative has shifted. Severely.

Now, truckers are seen not as essential workers but as traffic congestion, regulatory burdens, or placeholders for machines. Once glorified in songs, films, and lore, the Great American Trucker has been systematically removed from humanity—reduced to a number, a cost center, or worse, a liability.

Cultural Shift: From Hero to Hassle

Hollywood once mythologized truckers.

Convoy (1978) made them folk heroes.
Country music romanticized the life on the road.
Even the CB radio had its moment as a symbol of freedom and camaraderie.

Fast forward to now, and truckers are largely invisible in media—except when:

There's a wreck.
They’re blamed for climate impact.
Or portrayed as outdated relics to be replaced by software.

This slow cultural erasure has stripped away empathy. The average civilian doesn’t picture a hardworking person behind the wheel anymore—they see an inconvenience on the highway.

Societal Undesirability and Stigma

Trucking has become one of the most socially undesirable professions in the U.S. despite being essential.

Why?

Because drivers:

Often sleep in parking lots or rest stops.
Work long hours with little human contact.
Are physically exhausted and emotionally isolated.
Are perceived as “uneducated” or “bottom tier” labor—even though they manage complex logistics, legal requirements, and operate heavy machinery with precision.

It’s not that truckers have changed.
It’s that society decided to stop valuing them.

And as the job got harder and more abusive, fewer people wanted to identify with it, further accelerating its fall from public grace.

Systemic Dehumanization in Policy and Practice

Trucking regulations treat drivers like machines.

Hours of Service (HOS) rules force productivity over rest, punishing drivers for delays out of their control (e.g., warehouse wait times).
Lack of access to clean restrooms, showers, and food is widespread—especially for female drivers.
Unpaid detention time traps drivers at warehouses for hours without pay.
Many carriers push exploitative pay-per-mile models, where drivers can work 60+ hours a week and still earn less than minimum wage.

Would we allow this in any other industry?
No. Because those workers are still seen as human. Truckers? Disposable.

Exploitation of Vulnerable Groups

The image of the “grizzled old American trucker” has been replaced—not naturally, but by intentional recruiting of vulnerable workers:

Immigrants promised opportunity but given abusive contracts
Students put into CDL mills with debt and low-pay starter jobs
Older workers with no healthcare options who “have no choice”

These groups are cycled through like raw material—used, drained, replaced.
It’s a system built on the assumption that these lives are less worthy.

Tech's Role in Dehumanization

Tech companies now promise to “solve” the trucking problem by removing the human altogether:

Autonomous trucks are being pushed aggressively, despite limited rural infrastructure and unresolved ethical concerns.
Driver-assist systems are used to monitor, track, and penalize drivers—often making their work more stressful and surveilled.

The industry no longer wants truckers.
It wants data, compliance, and silence.

Even apps built “for drivers” often serve as another level of control, used by dispatchers and corporations to micromanage and commodify labor.

The Consequences for America

What happens when you remove the humanity from a vital workforce?

Mental health declines. Suicide rates among truckers are rising.
Turnover soars. As many as 90% of new drivers leave within a year.
Recruitment suffers. No one wants to join a job they’re told is worthless.

And worst of all?

The public no longer cares.
Because the driver is no longer seen as a person—but a problem to automate, regulate, or replace.

Reclaiming Humanity: A New Narrative is Needed

The truth is: truckers still hold America together.
They deliver medicine, food, baby formula, fuel, and hope.
During disasters, they’re the last ones rolling.
During pandemics, they were essential—but not protected.

Rebuilding the image of the trucker isn’t about nostalgia.
It’s about justice. It’s about re-humanizing a workforce that has been systematically stripped of dignity by corporate greed, policy neglect, and cultural amnesia.

If we don’t change the narrative, we’ll wake up to a country where the human element is erased—and when the system fails, no one will be left to answer the call.