Knight Transportation

Glad to see some drivers telling these rookies like it is. I started out OTR and ran every load I was given! I submitted all my trips one at a time when scanning them. I carried all the tools I needed plus what the shop provided to us to make small repairs. Also if I did need something from the T/S, I would just buy it and right it off on my taxes if it was something they would not give us, ie. mud flap for the trailer. That all started on 09'. Fast forward to today, I am now a local driver on a dedicated account and I am home everynight. The people in my terminal worked with me because I worked with them. You have to give a little to get a little.

 

PEANUTS?

No sir, not me. I run regional with Knight and make a nice living.

 

Ya know, with all words that my "opposition" is throwing around out there, have you noticed one little detail? Well, kiddies, that little detail is the fact that no one mentions actually physically going to a truck stop of ones' choice and personally speaking to as many drivers for the mega carriers as possible. Notice, I almost always include that one little bit of advice while the other "posters" do not. There is a reason for this and the reason, of course is, I am telling the truth here, as can be verified by speaking with other drivers in person. The truth here is that these large trucking companies are ALL taking advantage of their drivers by paying poverty level wages; and whichever "line" on your elogs that you are on, you will be working 100 hrs a week to be paid those terrible wages. If you are considering going to work for ANY large, mega carrier, DONT! As long as a driver puts up with these lousy conditions, said companies will continue to dish them out. Why anyone would choose to stay, let alone defend, these conditions is anybodies' guess. Perhaps the late, great P.T. Barnum said it best when he was quoted as saying, "There's a sucker born every minute".

 

C'mon man, cheer up. It's not that bad. We all have jobs, working good, and this makes the visits home a whole lot sweeter.

 

not everyone on this site needs a giant paycheck. Some of us have a significant others that may make more than enough to support their family. I know that I don't make near what I should but given the area I live in, plus the economy, I am content with what I make. Plus I don't work near 100 hrs a week. Peak season is over that won't come till October again!

 

I work for a smaller carrier that's owned by a "mega carrier" (not Knight) and we share terminals, trailers, and just about everything else you can think of. The pay is the same, the trucks are the same, the freigh is the same, our solo guys repower their team loads and vice versa, and just about everything else outside of dispatching.

I get the point you are trying to make but I just don't see it in practice with my company. I signed on to do this job after listening to someone tell me about the company and they gave me a handbook to refer to anytime I needed it. As long as they do what they say they are going to do I'll keep driving their truck and pulling their freight. I've been at it for a little over two years and I think I've turned down two loads because I was somewhere on the road sick and needed some sack time. It usually all comes out even in the end.

And I don't mean to be rude, but the last place I'm going to start talking to a bunch of people I don't know is a truckstop. Unless its someone from my company, someone I know, or someone that truly needs help, then I'm not interested in career counseling. It's the same reason why my grandfather won't answer the phone- I'm too old to be making new friends

 

I'm glad there's so many guys (and ladies) who are doing well, and making what they perceive is decent pay. Power to ya and I wish them safe and long careers. I met plenty of terrific folk when I was out there. But let's remember, it's called making a LIVING. If it's costing someone more to be out there than it's paying, it misses the point entirely. WORK isn't FUN. No one does it cuz it's FUN. Given what one has to deal with out there, it's not unreasonable to expect to make enough for it to be worthwhile. The fact so many just defend what (some) companies do just shows how they can get away with doing it. There's a reason for the critical driver shortage, and it's not just 'regulations', though it is a factor. One should not have to A: break the law, B: go hungry, or C: risk their lives for a check. They're not MARINES or COPS. You're hauling STUFF. Just STUFF. If it's not human organs or food relief, it's not worth it.

It made NO sense that my wife had to send ME money to eat when I was out there. The idea was to MAKE money, not spend it. I worked just as hard as anyone here. You dunno how hard someone else works unless you are in the cab with them. Long as they can find people willing to enable their own abuse, they industry doesn't have to change. Well fine. THEY gotta figure out how to solve the shortage. Soon or late they will run out of willing dupes. THEN WHAT? No one is gonna work for FREE. If that's the plan or the mentality, the industry deserves it's problems. No sympathy. Callousness and indifference is a two-way street....

 

And I'd add if it's that much FUN for em, do it for FREE. Put your money where your mouth is, or quit judging people who actually NEED money to, you know, eat and pay bills. It's not a character flaw to want to have something to show for your efforts. What exactly is wrong with that? I need to know.

Some of yall talk like everyone has plenty of money in the bank and can survive on crap pay. I'm here to tell you, they don't. I know it's a shock, but some people actually are broke for real. That's the point of having a JOB, so they can not be broke. It's not volunteer work.

They really played your minds. Scary to see.

 

This MACHO mentality is what's destroying the industry. You can't treat people like machines and expect them to love you for it. It's the same mentality that keeps abused women with their men. "He hits me cuz he loves me." Right up to the part where he kills her.

You want Marines? Hire Marines. There's plenty who need work. The rest of us are just regular folks. Wouldn't it be easier just to hire combat soldiers, since you have to be one anyways? No? Explain it to me. I'm stupid that way.

http://www.hirepatriots.com/

 

That's why Knight works for some and not for others. I don't need a giant paycheck either but I'm going to earn one. By simply quitting Knight I gave myself an $18,000 dollar raise. I performed my job there flawlessly and the people at the Katy terminal were okay people but you just can't make good money there because the 30 terminals are constantly back stabbing each other. From a drivers perspective it's a pi$$ poor company.