Why do we let these trucking companies treat us the way they do? We need to stand up for ourselves guys!
We are supposed to be professional drivers. We are required to learn and follow at all times an extensive set of rules. We drive 80,000lbs. for long periods of time in all weather surrounded by amateur drivers in 2500lb. cars. If there is an accident with a four wheeler, unless the other driver is blatantly in the wrong, we are almost always cited because we are the professional, not them.
We carry freight worth many thousands of dollars, on a rig worth many thousands of dollars.
So how is it that, we, as professional drivers, entrusted with thousands of dollars worth of equipment and cargo, can't be trusted to shut our trucks off? My last truck had an apu and because it did, they set the truck engine to shut off after 5 mins of idling.
If you can't trust a guy to shut his truck off and not waste your fuel, how can you trust him with all this equipment and freight? As a truck owner, between qualcomm records and fuel usage, you could tell very early on if a driver was idling the truck against your rules. If they can't be trusted to do that, what else are they up to? I was in Chicago about a month ago in -5 degree, very windy weather, and the tri-pac heater failed on my truck. I couldn't leave shipper, as they kept saying my load was almost done, (heard that from 1a till 6a when it actually was done). So I sat up all night, turing my truck on, letting it run for five minutes, it would shut off, let it sit for a minute, it would start getting cold, I'd have to fire it back up then. So I have 2 ways to produce heat on that truck, tri-pac and main engine, but because drivers cant be trusted to follow rules, instead of sleeping until the load was done and leaving, I'm up all night keeping my truck warm. Stupid. If you can't be trusted to follow rules, you have no business in a commercial truck.
Detention pay. In most companies, you have to give the shipper/consignee the first 2 hours. However, if you sit all day while dispatch tried to find you a load, nothing. So let me get this straight....
As a company driver, I have YOUR truck. I am in a town that YOU sent me to to deliver. Now because YOU can't find me any loads, I need to sit there until you do, so I don't waste YOUR fuel. Up until now, I understand the process...here's where I get confused....why aren't you paying ME? I am in the truck for one reason, it's my job. I don't do it for the freedom and love of it. I am in the truck to make money to support my family. People on here say they do it for the love of the road, or the smell of the diesel, I've seen it all. But at the end of the day, it's your job. I am happy you love your job so much, but if you love it so much that you are happy to do it for free, I would say you sniffed too much of the diesel. Why are you not entitled to get paid for what you do? There are a lot of people out there who love their jobs, they still get paid to do it. I look at all these company websites out here promising $40,000, $50,000 a year to drive OTR for them. I have never driven OTR in my life, I am out weekly, home every single weekend. Until this year, when things got bad, I always easily cleared $40,000 gross, usually closer to $50,000. OTR guys say they love to see the country, love getting that long cross-country haul. That is all fine and dandy, but when I am home with my family every single Saturday and Sunday, and you are trucking for 3 or 4 weeks at a time, and then getting 2 or 3 days off and back at it again, shouldn't get paid a little more then me? I mean to each his own, but when you are running more miles, moving more freight, you should get paid more, maybe I'm wrong. I saw Werner has some pro-rated mileage pay where the further out you drive, the less you make per mile. They say that balances things out so you make decent money on a short haul. In government, that would be considered socialism. Why should the guy taking the short haul get paid the same as the guy taking the long haul? How do you think the company got paid? For the most part, the further the load goes, the more the company makes. Yet they want to pay the guy taking the short haul more money per mile? If you wanna make more money, get out and take the long haul. A good company should for the most part try to spread out the worse loads among the drivers so everyone gets there turn, and therefore no one driver has to take a hit, instead, companies are just paying a better rate so it's not a bad load? I will take the short load everytime...call it lazy but I want to make as much money as I can when I'm working, if I can make anywhere close to the same money being gone less, Im on it.
The flat-out disrespect for drivers are the part that kill me. I worked for a company that told me I should be home every night, making x amount of money. Meanwhile, I work 3 days straight and saw the house 0 times. I knew the rates on the load and figured up my pay, it was about half what I was promised. I quit on the spot.
The company I was just at, McLeod Express, had 2 pallets of different drivers belongings on the floor in their shop. Every single item, cb', televisions, etc. gets marked with their 4 digit truck number in permanent blac marker. When asked about it, they laughed and said drivers leave all their stuff all the time, they keep it for 30 days then paw through it and throw out what they don't want.
Fast forward to Christmas week. Freight is completely dead, so after doing only a 9 mile local run for them in Chicago all day, I ask them to let me come home for the holidays, I would return after the holidays. They had a $800.00/wk guarantee, but it was not in effect during the holiday weeks. They say ok, but I need to turn truck in since apparently they would need it for the week and a half I wanted off (freight is dead,mind you). They tell me they will rent me a car to get home. I turn in the truck, and they inform me I will have to take a bus home. I have over $1500.00 worth of gear, it's not fitting on a bus, and I ain't leaving on a pallet with permanent marker all over it in the floor of their garage. I have to rent a car out of pocket the day before christmas ever to try to get the 500mi home to my house....that was fun!($400 by the time it was said and done).
I call them on January 2nd to get a bus back out there to get my truck, they tell me that since I left the truck there(per their request), they thought I quit. They would hire me back on as a rehire, no problem, but they changed their policy and there is no more guarantee until you been there 6 months.(Pay without the guarantee equals about 300 a week with freight being what it is.)
So they wanted me to palletize my belongings, take a bus 500 mi home, then they want me to come back for less then half pay. I obviously didnt, but had I trusted them initially my stuff would be on a pallet and I would be on my own to find out how to get it back...
The bad thing is, the reason trucking companies get away with it is people let them. Saw a thread on here about how long people were getting stranded on the road, it made me sick....Sitting for days with no income, spending truck stop prices for food, why do that? Letting companies treat us however they want, lie to us, etc....they can only do it because we let them. I just read about companies charging upwards of $150.00 to install your power inverter on their truck, are people nuts? Why would anyone pay that? I go to work to make money, not spend it.
The part I find comical is that companies are hurting themselves,too. So many times Ive heard about a driver quitting, and they don't route him in to terminal. So het gets fed up and after a few days of trying to get home he abandons truck. Or parks it at his house and says come get it. So they put truck abandoned on his dac. He goes and gets another job, they ask about it, and if his story sounds ok, they hire him. Now if trucking companies acted responsibly and didn't use dac as a way to get even for a driver who told them to pound salt, there would be no reason to have that on your dac. If it said you abandoned a truck, more then likely you were in the wrong, so no hire. But half the time, the trucking company is to blame, and other companies know that, so who do you believe, the potential hire or the trucking companies, who are known for lying.
I am not ranting because of my dac or anything, it is fine, other the I've worked a few jobs here recently after a few years with one company. I left to try to make more money, and got a taste of how bad the majority of these companies are. I've been lied to a few times, go to work based on these lies, and quit when the job isn't what they say. I enjoy driving but am completely disgusted with all the b.s. to point that I don't know if I will be getting back in a truck. They are very dishonest because when a driver gets screwed, often times they aren't in a position to do anything about it because they need their job. So they stay, and the companies see that and know they can get away with it. If a driver sticks up for themselves, they run them up and put another minion in his seat. I don;t know for sure what the answer is, unity among drivers would be nice but I doubt that will happen.....I guess maybe i need to just hang up my truckin hat, I just hate to after getting my cdl, working hard to do something I enjoy doing, just to have these companies treat drivers like ####......

can you say "long winded?"

He joined in November and this is his first post . I can believe it took a month and a half to put that together .

Now that you got that off your chest grimesjm, Do you feel better? Welcome to the truckers report
I'm not poking fun at you either.

Nah not really. I'm aware it was long-winded, just wanted to get my point across, apparently either wasn't successfull or no one agrees with me. I just woulda thought that people would want a fair wage for what they do....maybe even be treated fairly... apparently I was wrong and that is why it is the way it is.

Since RickG is checking stats....1846 posts since July? I would guess you would be better at writing them then me, until a few weeks ago I've been driving professionally, not writing professionally about driving.

sorry, I couldn't get past your first paragraph. there have been a million other posts on here along the same lines......boohoo I don't make enough money and boohoo I don't get treated right. boohoo. there are MILLIONS out of work right now and trucking companies now have a waiting list for students to get their own truck. trust me, if you won't/can't/don't want to do it, nobody, but NOBODY could give 2 flying fugdes. step out of the way for someone who WILL settle for less than minimum wage AND put up with the ####. the revolving door is turning faster than ever, my friend!

Now that was a mouth full especially for a 1st post. Do you have anymore thoughts that you'd like to share?

Not at all, its starting to make sense now

No , seriously you made some good points . Don't mind us . We take most things lightly around here . But can you offer any solutions to the situation ? The deal is a lot of experienced drivers are doing o.k. and don't have many serious complaints . Drivers with little experienced get abused and that will continue as long as wannabes ignore warnings and jump into trucking . When fresh meat is no longer available the carriers will have to change the conditions . But don't hold your breath waiting for that .