Facing truck driver turnover? You’re not alone. No matter the cause, whether it’s a wider truck driver shortage or drivers making moves within the trucking industry, losing them hurts your business. Late 2024 data estimates the cost of losing one driver at $12,799. 

However, truck driver turnover can be prevented. To better retain drivers, you need a multi-faceted approach that shows drivers you care.

5 strategies to keep the best truck drivers on board

1. Fight for your drivers

Your drivers are your most valuable asset, and if you treat them well, they’ll be more likely to stay. Try these proven ways to show drivers they matter to your company:

  • Wages. New research shows that predictable pay is the biggest reason (81.9%) that truck drivers who are looking for a new job value. So paying drivers a competitive and predictable wage may be the key to keeping them around. 
  • Benefits. If higher wages aren’t an option, offer perks like more home time, extensive benefits, or paid time off. Prioritizing benefits like these directly support a driver’s ability to balance professional demands with personal life.
  • Rewards. Offer a mix of rewards for top performers and drivers who show real progress. Even small gestures — like a gift card or a personal note — can reinforce the habits you want to see. Recognize drivers for high safety scores, steady improvement, and the extra steps they take to stay safe. 
  • Protection. Drivers don’t always see what led to a collision — and they can’t always defend themselves when claims are made against them. But AI Dashcams and AI Omnicams can capture what’s happening around the vehicle, giving you valuable video evidence to exonerate your drivers, avoid legal penalties and keep insurance rates low.
11 keys to a successful driver incentive program

We had a safety incident shortly after installing dashcams that would have taken us months to resolve without Motive. With the Motive cameras, it took us about 17 seconds to understand what happened and exonerate our driver. Motive has taken the guesswork out of it. We did change that driver’s opinion. He’s happy he’s got a camera in his truck.

 – Don Penepent, Tilcon, Concrete Division Manager

2. Improve work-life balance

The life of a truck driver has unique challenges: missing family occasions and time with friends, battling fatigue, and experiencing physical strain, among others. You’ll go a long way in winning your team’s loyalty if you show that you understand and care. Here are a few ways to do that:

  • Verbalize it. While it’s not enough to just say you realize the work is challenging, you should still say it out loud and encourage other management to do the same.
  • Offer predictable home time. Erratic scheduling and last-minute changes can make it hard for drivers to plan personal time. Follow through on promises of consistent schedules and predictable home time, even for long-haul routes. Drivers looking for a new job cited better home time as the second highest reason (65.7%) for their search.
  • Provide leave policies that accommodate family responsibilities. When drivers need time off for personal reasons, be as accommodating as you can. Consider offering multiple types of leave (sick, paid, parental). A rigid company policy that doesn’t accommodate drivers’ personal requests can quickly lead to frustration — and that can lead to turnover.

3. Optimize their time

It’s a raw deal for drivers when they have to spend lots of unpaid time on their own dime at shippers/receivers, in traffic, at weigh stations, during breakdowns, or completing paperwork. The more you can cut down on this non-earning time and give drivers more predictable earning time, the happier your drivers will be. Try these strategies:

  • Improve shipping/receiving times. Use telematics data to identify the worst shipping and receiving offenders and average dwell times for specific locations to try to improve coordination. 
  • Prevent breakdowns. Waiting roadside for repairs is unsafe and demotivating. The more you can avoid this with fleet maintenance, the better. For example, fleet management systems like Motive’s help you set up regular maintenance schedules and even predict issues before they occur.
  • Streamline admin work. Help your truckers do admin work faster with user-friendly technology. For example, with Motive’s Driver App, you can help drivers complete required tasks with less hassle or back and forth. They can track Hours of Service (HOS), easily accept new trips, communicate with dispatch, and quickly complete DVIRs and IFTA reporting to stay compliant — all of which gets them back on the road faster. 
  • Plot the most efficient routes. Use route optimization tools to plan better trips for your drivers. Long hours spent stuck in traffic are unproductive, frustrating, and contribute to fatigue. With a better route, they can drive in better weather, get to their destination on time, and avoid the stresses of traffic.
How fleet managers can harness preventive maintenance with technology.

After looking at the weather overlay in Motive, I gave one of our drivers a heads up that he should take cover. That weekend, my driver called to thank me because later he saw the damage from the tornado. He was safe at home at the pool with his grandchildren.

– Tom Grille, All Chemical, Dispatcher

4. Build a fleet culture of safety and positivity

You want your drivers to get home safely, and they do too. So capitalize on programs and technology that reward safe behaviors — which will also help keep the safest drivers on your team.

  • Install dash cams. A dual-facing dash cam in every vehicle provides the crucial data you need to build a strong fleet safety culture. You might worry this will cause driver turnover, however, Motive data shows that since adopting dual-facing dash cams, 91% of customers surveyed reported seeing less than 5% driver turnover. 
  • Reward safe driving. Create an incentive program to reward your drivers for safe and positive driving behaviors. When you use Motive, you can get a weekly Safety Score for drivers, based on telematics data from a vehicle gateway and video footage from a dash cam.
  • Protect drivers with in-cab alerts. Another benefit of the Motive AI Dashcam is in-cab alerts to protect them from accidents. It can detect 15+ unsafe behaviors like cell phone usage, close following, and unsafe parking with industry-leading accuracy. Greg Vander Heide, a driver at Wessuc Inc., put it this way: “This camera’s there for my protection. I can make myself a better driver, and the company’s definitely going to prosper from that too.” 
  • Offer driver coaching. Use data to train drivers, encouraging them about positive habits and giving feedback on behaviors to avoid. This can instill confidence and pride in your team. 
7-step guide: Get driver buy-in on dash cams for fleets

Want to build an unshakeable safety culture that keeps your drivers safe and satisfied? Download Motive’s Ultimate Guide to Fleet Safety.

5. Invest in drivers

Supporting drivers professionally and personally goes a long way toward showing them that you care, and ultimately, increasing truck driver retention. Here are a few ways you can invest in your team:

  • Onboard thoroughly. Treat drivers like new members of a team, and give them comprehensive training. Friendliness and respect will encourage loyalty from their first day. 
  • Provide ongoing training. Offer professional development, clear paths for career advancement, and training in new technologies to make drivers feel like they are building a career with your company, rather than signing on for a short-term gig. 
  • Be responsive to driver feedback. Ask drivers for feedback regularly, and when you get it, make an effort to respond to feedback and implement it when reasonable. 
  • Prioritize driver well-being. Offer wellness initiatives like mental health resources and health screenings, showing that you understand the impact of the job’s challenges on their mental and physical health. 
  • Invest in the latest technology. Get tools that make your drivers’ lives easier and safer. Everything mentioned above is a good place to start: dash cams, electronic logging devices, telematics data collectors, mobile apps, route optimization software, and fleet management software.
Curious about the real-world impact of advanced fleet technology on your bottom line and driver retention? Explore Motive’s ROI Report.

Truck driver turnover is preventable 

The bottom line of preventing truck driver churn is this: look inward. The more you can improve your company’s offerings for, and treatment of, drivers, the better reputation you’ll develop with drivers. Want to learn more about how Motive helps you create a safe, profitable, and productive fleet? Get in touch.