Now that school is out, more truck drivers are taking their children along with them on the road. Drivers have noticed an increase in children passengers this summer compared to past years. Despite the heartwarming concept of more family time together, there are serious dangers to consider when bringing a child along for the ride.

We received insight from truckers in the community who were able to further express the dangers they are seeing when on the job.

Allen Wilcher, a trucker of over 30 years, told us “a lot of drivers have their children with them, and they are not keeping a close eye on them”. As trucks are pulling into travel centers, kids are running around not paying attention. Allen has seen “quite a few kids almost get hit by truck drivers pulling in too fast”. There needs to be increased awareness not only from the parents’ end but also from the truck drivers as they are pulling into these travel centers. Everyone needs to be keeping an eye out for children to avoid serious incidents.

Even worse than the travel centers, Henry Albert, driver and owner of Albert Transport, Inc., claims that “rest areas seem more dangerous”.  Many of the kids are not in trucks and are “not aware of the trucks that are in the rest area and moving”. He sees a ton of incidents taking place there.

When his son was younger, he used to take him out on the road, and he always told him “if you can’t see the driver in the seat, they can’t see you”.

In addition to this, Fred Weatherspoon, Overdrive's 2015 Rookie of the Year, confirmed to seeing more kids than usual riding with their dad or mom this summer. He claimed that a lot of the “ones in the back of the truck are not securely fastened”. Many have no buckle option in the back of the cab, so the kids are just sitting on the bunks.

In an effort to improve safety, Idella Hansen, a driver of 53 years, suggests using the bed restraints when driving to keep the children sitting on the bunk safe. There is no reason for the bed restraints not to be in place during these situations.

We urge all truck drivers to keep an eye out for children in truck stops and rest areas, especially during the summer months. Please be cautious and drive slow enough to keep them safe. Beyond that we hope trucker parents will keep an eye on their kids and take appropriate measures to keep them safe on the road.

Join our community of Truck Drivers on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/roadprodriverslounge/