I have heard a lot of whining and complaining on this forum...Seems to me that is a prerequisite of becoming a truck driver//How bout' it? Must I learn to whine?? or complain like a two year old cutting teeth???Be indifferent because I love to hate what I do?? Or is it just because truckers have no one else on the road, and misery loves company?? Just seems to me that a industry taht is so screwed up, could be strightened up if those involved would spend half that time being pro-active..AMEN??!! Just remember there is a whole other sect of employment out there called production lines, fabricating shops,retail,factory,factory,factory,!! Truckers are the only ones on earth allowed to complain right?? try hanging wheels on a car on a assembly line for 12 hours.. You will crawl to your truck on your hands and knees and be glad to be there..listeneng to your satellite radio,watching the tube from your sleeper, eating a big ol' Pilot Dog!!!!! Remember next time make it positive!!!!!
We ##### and whine to each other because were the only ones who understand the abuse that we take. Dispatch doesnt care why the shipper is making you wait to bump a dock, they just want you moving, yet at the end of their 8 hours they are going HOME while your still sitting there not making any $$$. Shippers dont care about your next appointment even if it is to deliver their freight, they just want you there at the time they set so they can load you when they are ready to. And they dont care if your not making any $$$. Since your fairly new to this game, tell me how YOUR going to be proactive? Are you going to tell your dispatcher that your tired of waiting for the shipper and that your leaving and tell your dispatcher to go find you another load? Are you going to tell the shipper to get their act together and get you loaded? Let me know how that works out for you!!!
OK Mr. positive, I guess you don't even drive or you wouldn't be posting this. I just love the newbies who tell us to keep it positive. When you get ripped off every single day you would whine too. I am tired of getting ripped off on my rates, my fuel surcharge, tired of working for free, tired of all the stuff that I don't get paid for. When you are working in a factory, would you like it if they told you you had to work half the day for no pay. I don't think so, but it happens every day in trucking. I am not in this to be a paid tourist, I am in this business to make money. I costs a lot to run trucks, and when the money is not there of course I am going to complain. Drivers and owners were making a lot more money 10, 20 years ago, the rates have not gone up since then. Unfortunatly, as long as there are newbies who think making .26 cents or something stupid like that, is good money, rates are going to stay low. These big companies love newbies because they can haul freight for cheap and cut everyone else's rates because they pay you guys peanuts.
It's a catch 22 for new driver just as much as it is for those out there like yourself. I think most new driver except the fact that they will have to put in their dues and work for peanuts so they can gain the experience to move on. How about someone start a company and focus your business plan around paying new inexperienced drivers top dollar... Any takers? I'll be looking for a job come December...
I tried, I had a man who I was going to hire to drive one of my trucks but the insurance company wouldn't take him as he did not have any experience. Its the insurance companies that are the problem
I've heard some companies who self-insure have to have upwards of $5 million per incident to cover their drivers. It's maddening trying to figure out how to explain the low freight cost but blaming new drivers for low freight rates is way off base in my opinion. I think sometimes people put too much emphasis (right or wrong) on the amount of hours worked vs what they bring home and then think they are taken advantage of when you do the math for $ per hour. I'll use myself as an example. I was paid salary at my last job, it was based on 40 hrs/week or 2080 hrs/year. I never worked 40 hours in a week, more like 60-65 and sometimes I would bring work home with me. If I were to take what I made and break it down to a $/hr worked....yikes. So truckers are not alone in thinking they are not making what they should for the hours they've worked. Granted I was home every night but I had to do some traveling. I also didn't have to sleep in a metal box on wheels either or deal with traffic more than twice a day. I admit I thought I was under valued where I worked but I would give almost anything not to have been laid off and unemployed. I chose trucking because it was a profession I always thought was valued, whether the average public considers it to be or not. It's also a tough job and I like a challenge.
