I hope you don't believe that, anybody can be taught to drive a truck. Truck drivers are not special or elite, they are usually at the end of the rope job and money wise (not all just 95%). None of the trucking companies are going to tell a drive what is really involved in the job, they would never fill the trucks. The 130% plus turn over rate tells it all, even Mcdonald's turn over rate is less then that.

Mark

Not everybody can be taught to drive a truck nor would everyone in the world want to drive a truck.
TRUCK driver's are special in the sense that they have chosen a profession where little thanks is given for long hard hours behind that wheel.

As far as turn over rate I can only comment where I work which we dont see turnover...our trucker's go to retirement.
AND yes our company is up front with our drivers and tell them what to expect from this job...whether it's city petal to LINEHAUL driving.

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Not everyone can or should drive a truck. Of those who can, many figure out quickly that life on the road is not for them. It takes a special person to drive truck, and do it well. Those turn over rates are more of a by bi-product of the CDL mills, and recruiters that promise too much to people who don't know any better. There are some who look for greener pastures, and a few decide that trucking is not for them. Real "Truckers" are a special breed, and without them our economy would collapse.

I would like to see the ones that say "Well, anyone can be taught to drive a truck" have a taste of my job for a week, or even a day, and see how much complaining they do. I make 24 bucks an hour for a real good reason.

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May I come visit your planet?

Respectfully Weggie, I'm gonna beg to differ with you on this point. I could compare, say, the Law Enforcement Industry with the Trucking Industry. I have had experience in both. When I first started out in law enforcement (before they invented water) I had to have a high school education; take a civil service test (general knowledge test); pass an oral board (why do you wanna be a cop, Terry? "Because I wanna help the children", he remarks (lol)); take a medical physical; and then attend a 4 month police academy. ‘Bingo’, instant Oinker. (It’s been extended to a 6 month academy these days... more calisthenics today). Oh yes, I had to complete a one year probationary period before achieving "civil service" status. One could easily take the position that any biped capable of moving on two appendages can become a cop!

Now compare that to a Trucker. A Trucker take’s a written test (not that easy I might add, for me anyway); takes a pretty complex driving test in a combination vehicle ‘5 times plus’ the normal size and maybe 20 times the weight (loaded) of the vehicles actually engineered for the roads being tested upon; and takes a medical physical. In between the written and driving tests, most of us attended a school, which by the way, we paid for ourselves, in one form or another, as opposed to being paid to go to the police academy, as was my case. Then, the Trucker trains with a company for 3 to 6 months (I’m guessing here, cause I started as an independent o/o and never drove for a company). ‘Bingo’ instant Horn Blower. When you analyze it, not much difference in the two trades, though.

My point is, I knew plenty of cops that had 1 year of experience 20 times (never learned), while others had 20 years of experience 1 time. I also knew plenty of cops who went on to achieve a higher formal education (I kinda over did it with a juris doctorate, but heck, the state and the city paid for it) and some who couldn’t have cared less about formal education, they received their education on the streets (street smarts). To tell you the truth, its difficult to tell the difference between the two. It’s not the qualifications that make a Trucker, or a cop for that matter, it’s the individual, the type of experience (also attitude I expect), and the industry. Actually, Truckers are held to a higher standard than law enforcement officers. DUI for example, is .04 for Truckers and still .08 for the rest of the public, including the cops. Even one of my best friends in the transportation industry, Ken, who captains for Continental Airlines, is not held to the same standards Truckers are. Go figure.

I think your selling yourself, as well as your profession, a bit short Weggie. Trust me, this job isn’t flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s, which by the way, anyone who can see lightning and hear thunder can do (to borrow a phrase from one of my favorite fellow Truckers).

What do you think, any truth to this?

Excellent points Cybergal and Hill-a-Billy!

In matter of fact, you might not be surprised to know, according to an article in ‘Praesidium Respublicae’, authored by Sam Huntington, "The teaching profession has the highest attrition rate among all of the occupations – most leaving the teaching field within three to five years." Not the Trucking Industry.

Moreover, albeit rhetorical I'm sure, the remark regarding a 130% attrition rate in our industry is a bit over stated. Even a 100% attrition rate would equate into the premise that no one ever retires from our industry. This is just not so.

Yeah, I think think there is a good deal of truth (not to mention wisdom) in what you say - but I don't see where it conflicts with what I said...

Besides, isn't comparing truck drivers and cops akin to comparing a dirty left sock to a dirty right sock? (JUST KIDDING - please don't come to my house and kill my dogs.)

As for newbie education, the "mill" I attended spent 4 days going over the manual so that we could pass the written test - and in my view that was more than was necessary. The point is, it's no more than a drill in rote memory that most quadrapeds could successfully acomplish. Then it was two weeks of practice on the exact course on which the driving test was given. I think I could've passed it in my sleep, and I don't think my 'school' experience is untypical. As to your statement that "then, the trucker trains with a company 3-6 months (i'm guessing...)" GUESS AGAIN! Either way, it's (from what I've heard) a far cry from police academy...other than you get to meet a lot of cops - lol.

As for truckers being held to high standards - I suspect most of the seemingly millions of regs we must live by are the result of bad things that have happened. One new law for every wreck...it isn't right, but that's the way it goes these days.

Finally, I didn't mean to "sell" anyone "short." I know that it takes more than a CDL to make a professional driver (in fact, that was sort of my 'tongue-in-cheek' point.) However, I think perhaps you're selling burger flippers short...that looks like hot, nasty work to me. Besides, after 750 miles, that burger flipper is much more welcome in my world than any truck driver.

The idea that anyone can drive a truck is what is ruining it. Just hiring people to turn a wheel even though they dont have the skills is bad. How many poles have you seen with scraps on it when the pole is in a place that is easy to get around.

Think about this, there are only 153,681 OOIDA members. How many trucks on the road ?!?!?!?!!?! anyone can join, owner ops or company drivers.

If we all got together and stayed home ONE day during the week and did not pull any freight, just for ONE day a week we would get attention.

besides, the standards are not held up to everyone. Ever run across a driver that doesnt speak english? Doesnt the standard say you have to know english and speak english?

Sounds like we got someone here with a problem.Although its true that driving a truck isnt all that hard,in my years on the road I have seen all kinds of drivers out there.I have also seen all kinds of people in the other fields as well.I have done a few things in life,production work,maint.work,including machine and motor repair and rebuilding,welding,structural work,etc.Now back to truckin,what I really saw ouy there was a bunch of hard workin people.maybe you can teach anyone to drive a truck,but you cant teach just anyone to be a hardworking succesful driver.To be a succesful driver requires a lot of skill,planning,work ethics,etc.I am retired now,(again),and my hat is off to all the guys,and gals who are out there doing a great job driving.Most of them are not protected by a union,so they have to look out for themselves,and they do a darned good job of it.