Starting in 1910, the development of a number of technologies gave rise to the modern trucking industry. With the advent of the
gasoline-powered
internal combustion engine, improvements in
transmissions, the move away from chain drives to gear drives, and the development of the tractor/semi-trailer combination, shipping by truck gained in popularity. By 1914 there were almost 100,000 trucks on America's roads. However, solid tires, poor rural roads, and a maximum speed of continued to limit the use of these trucks to mainly urban areas.
World War I The years of
World War I (1914–18) spurred rising truck use and development. During the busy war years, the increased congestion of railroads exposed the need for alternative modes of transporting cargo. It was during these years when
Roy Chapin (working with a military committee) began to experiment with the first long-distance truck shipments, and
pneumatic (inflated) tires capable of supporting heavier loads were developed which enabled trucks to drive at higher speeds. By 1920 there were over a million trucks on America's roads. the standardization of truck and trailer sizes along with
fifth wheel coupling systems, as well as power assisted brakes and steering. By summer of 1933 the code of competition was completed and ready for approval. The two organizations had also merged to form the
American Trucking Associations. The code was approved on February 10, 1934. On May 21, 1934, the first president of the ATA, Ted Rogers, became the first truck operator to sign the code. In September 1938, a
truckers strike began in New York City and shut down the city for weeks, demanding lower hours, as one of the biggest strikes that year. Based on recommendations the ICC issued, in July 1938, which were modified after pressure from labor groups. The first
hours of service regulations were enacted in October 1938, limiting the driving hours of truck and bus drivers. In the late 1950s, the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) conducted a
series of extensive field tests of roads and bridges to determine how traffic contributed to the deterioration of
pavement materials. These tests led to a 1964 recommendation by the AASHTO (to Congress) that the gross weight limit for trucks should be determined by a
bridge formula table based on axle lengths, instead of a static upper limit. (and this stereotype persists even today). This was due in part to their use of
citizens' band (CB) radio to relay information to each other regarding the locations of police officers and transportation authorities. Plaid shirts,
trucker hats, CB radios, and using
CB slang were popular not just with drivers but among the general public. In 1976, the number one hit on the
Billboard chart was "
Convoy," a
novelty song by C.W. McCall about a
convoy of truck drivers evading
speed traps and
toll booths across America. The song inspired the 1978 action film
Convoy directed by Sam Peckinpah. After the film's release, thousands of independent truck drivers went on strike and participated in violent protests during the
1979 energy crisis (although similar strikes had occurred during the
1973 energy crisis). The year 1977 saw the release of
Smokey and the Bandit, the third-highest-grossing film of that year, beaten only by
Star Wars Episode IV and
Close Encounters of the Third Kind. During that same year,
CB Bears saw its debut; a Saturday morning cartoon featuring mystery-solving bears who communicate by CB radio. By the start of the 80s the trucking phenomenon had waned, and with the rise of
cellular phone technology, the CB radio was no longer popular with passenger vehicles (although truck drivers still use it today).
Deregulation The
Motor Carrier Act of 1980 partially
deregulated the trucking industry, dramatically increasing the number of trucking companies in operation. The ensuing expansion of the trucking workforce depressed wages and job popularity. However, deregulation increased the competition and productivity within the trucking industry as whole, and reduced prices for the American consumer. The
Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 established a federal minimum for truck weight limits, which finally standardized truck size and weight limits across the country for traffic on the Interstate Highways (resolving the issue of the "barrier states"). ==21st century==