Captain of the ship...

Reminds me of a speech, went something like this, " I had a dream ".

 

I got the same message and I believe they were referring to it being up to the driver to make the judgement calls on driving in adverse weather conditions. I've been getting hammered with snow and freezing rain for almost 2 weeks now but I guess your take on it could be different if you've been kept under a bright sunshiny day.

 

That dream turned out to be one helluva nightmare. Just look how it ended.

 

That's why I decided to buy my own truck and I leased to LandStar. It is a world apart from being a company driver. I book the loads I want, and go where I want to go. There are other responsibilities of owning a truck that you don't have to worry about as a company driver, but I would never go back to working for anybody else again.
If you are an intelligent truck driver with experience and you're not afraid of getting your hands dirty sometimes, then o/o is the place for you.
When you book your own loads, as LandStar BCO's do, you have the ability to chose loads of interest to you. If you want to take some time off, you just go home and don't book any loads until you're ready. Since you are paying for everything, you know how long you can afford to stay home. last year, for example, I took off three weeks for gallbladder surgery, and I never called anyone, and nobody from LandStar called me. When I was ready to return to work, I got my physical, faxed the form in, and booked a load.
So, it's up to you, but remember, there's no benefits unless you buy them. No paid holidays, paid vacations, company match 401-K, etc; Plus, you'll make less money until you learn the system and find your niche. Most drivers aren't willing to take the plunge. I know I wasn't for almost 25 years. It's a personal decision. By the way, doing a lease purchase is not being an owner operator, regardless of what they tell you. If you don't have the option of taking your truck with you to another carrier if you want to, then you are really just a glorified company driver, only without the benefits.

 

EXACTLY why there is a such thing as OWNER OPERATOR.........WITH OWN AUTHORITY. But still have deal with shippers and recievers like your describing but you can be making a lot better money doing it. <<< There's your food for thought.

 

Curious how many 3PM and above loads you get with Landstar?

 

If everyone picked their own loads there would be no one to run the crap loads. Everyone has to do their share.

 

Quite a few, actually.

 

That's awesome. Been with them for a while then.