I visit this site almost everyday, I like to read the post about ones experience. I have no reason not to believe what others post. No two will have the same experience. We hear that the turnover rate is massive, we hear how bad companies are, how the trucking firms try to take advantage of the new drivers, lie to them on a daily basis. The experience drivers are at fault here, where is your backbone? The best thing thats has happened to the trucking industry is the influx of new drivers with some courage, those you have some self confidence, self respect. I have read post that one super trucker that all the problems belong to the inexperience drivers, that just proves the lack of backbone. Anybody with a pulse can learn to drive a big truck, so thinking this is a elite group is wrong. We hear from the experience SUPER truckers, that the new drivers have no respect for each other, show no courtesy on the road. First thing when entering a truck stop, I would shut off my cb, because I was new and needed more time backing the truck into a spot, one time in Rapid City, I got out of the truck 9 times to make sure I was doing it right, a grey beard driver got out of his truck to come and shake my hand, saying he's never seen that before, I explained to him I was new and take pride in my job. We talked for an hour, me being in my 40's when I got my cdl, I already had a lifetime of experience, and wasn't about to accept lies, ######## and incompetence from the trucking firms. I am not dishonest and will not put up with it. Yes the truth does hurt.

JMO here but this statement "Anybody with a pulse can learn to drive a big truck, so thinking this is a elite group is wrong." is way out of line. Sorry to say there are some with a pulse that CAN'T learn to drive a truck. There are certain skills required to drive a big rig and EVEN MORE to be a GOOD big rig driver.

YES the good drivers are an ELITE group, and they deserve some recognition. My husband IS a driver, my dad WAS a driver, and so was my grandfather, how dare you make such an insulting statement about a group of VERY skilled, hard working people? DONT put all "big truck" drivers into one catagory, there are good and bad and it takes more than a pulse to sort them out.

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LuvMyHubby

I've tied a knot in my rope and I am hangin on!

I'm confused, truckinbiker. What do you want the "experienced drivers" to do?

From what I read here, trucking isn't an easy job. You have to make on-the-spot GOOD decisions and pretty much stand on your own two feet most of the times. Perhaps that's what the experienced drivers are teaching the new drivers by letting them learn by their own mistakes. (If I am reading your post correctly... and I'm not sure I am.)

Once the experienced pave the way for the inexperienced, you quickly find that the inexperienced remain that way... having learned only to depend on the experienced. And as the experienced retire? The quality of those now considered "experienced" has diminished because they have very little firsthand experience. It's all been handed to them.

Struggling with a problem doesn't just lead to answers. It also builds strength of character. Maybe that's the real lesson...

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Oh i can't pass this up. Now first thing lets seperate this into the prospective. There are many class of drivers as there are people but the 2 major classes are DRIVERS and steering wheel holders. Now for the details. The steering wheel holder runs down the road from T/S to T/S and plays ever Video game and sets and has coffee and trys to impres the waitress's with his line of B/S that she has heard 1000 time from 10000 truck drivers and complains because he can't make any money and the company mistreats him and he never gets home and he can't deliver on time because he can't trip plan past the net big T/S. Oh and i forgot he has the latest and greatest CB and Linear amplifier in there so he can talk his trash on the radio and let every one know what a jerk he is.
Now to the DRIVER. He is a person who is either an O/O or company driver that takes care of his truck whether it be his or the companies and he does the speed limit or close to it and does his 10 or 11 as it is now and stops for fuel and showers and schedules his stops to coinside with the meals he will eat so he doesn't waste time. He is the one that changes his own light bulbs and goes the extra step to make sure his equipment is in shape be fore he spends a dime in the games. He is allways on time or early and never misses a delivery and if he has a CB its a an old use something he picked up at a swap meet for 20 bucks and he thinks about his family first right behind his equipment. This is the guy that helps the new drivers tie a load down properly and helps him tarp and un tarp in the rain or snow and shows the young guy how to do it right the first time and passes on any info he has to help anyone that ask but unless you ask he want volenteer because he doesn't want to be percieved as a smart #####. He is the one that showers every day no matter what because his apearance is as important as his trucks is. He allways says yes sir/mam or no sir/mam he is polite and allways the proffesional. THese are the differance's so don't lump all drivers together because we are not all alike and we are not all different we are just ourself's and thats the reason most of us are on the road we can be our selves and only have to deal with a few people a day and thats the way we like it.

Oh and some of us came 7000 miles to drive in a war zone to support our troops so we can have these type of discussions so be sure and think about the unarmed warrior when you talk about truck drivers. And the Millitary ruck drivers that are over here doing the same thing for whole lot less and never complain about there loads and they sleep on a cot if they can find it out in the open in the desert with no cover but the stars so think about them and pray for all the men and women in uniform on the front lines.

Here, ya go truckers, the bush admins takes a big dump on you today. so suck it up

Where are the masses of truckers who were gonna strike a while back about the mexican truckers. Didn't show up. Where are the masses of truckers who should be upset about the open borders. Cause like you say, if you eat it, use it or drive it, it got here by truck, so the explosives the terrorist put into the cargo you are hauling to the suburbs, is a real possible threat, where's your gonads. Thats your family remember? Border security should be a top priority within the trucking industry. And its not. I could go on and on about what could happen, we all know that. Oh, by the way I did see A trucker backup today to let another trucker in.

gee, what's new? too bad laura is the only one who's constipated.

I guess this BBR TruckinDiker needs a hug....

Your right about one thing Truckinbiker! I have a pulse and I drive "big trucks". I also have a juris doctorate in law, a pension from 20 plus years as a law enforcement officer and an honorable discharge from the military, after a years tour in Viet Nam. At the age of 56 I'm pretty sure I could choose just about any field out there, from soup to nuts. The wife and I choose trucking though. We love what we do. We have a great admiration for our fellow drivers and don't hold the industry as a whole responsible for shouldering border issues regarding neighboring aliens.

Although I certainly don’t deny you seem to have developed a talent for citing the critics and complainers in our chosen field, I find myself curious as to actual nature of your remarks, or were you just being rhetorical? I guess my question to you is, what exactly is it that you are trying to accomplish here? I’m sure you must have a genuine point in mind, regarding the lack of backbone in the industry, but thus far its eluded me. Would you mind expounding a bit for those of us with less cognitive thought processes?

I (sorta) do understand where truckinbiker is coming from. The fact is, anyone who can see lightning and hear thunder can get a CDL. Once they get that piece of plastic thay have no problem finding someone to hire them; and at that point they are as much a "professional" truck driver as you or anyone else. Like it or not, that's the way things are these days, and any profession for which that is true isn't going to have much of a "backbone."

As far as whose fault that is (old drivers, new drivers, corporations, whoever) I'm afraid those esoteric determinations are best left to those a bit above my paygrade, but it doesn't really matter. The truth is, this profession is headed, at light speed, toward 'least common denominator' status.