This is what change should look like. Will you do it?

While there is some merit to what you have said, there are a lot of people out here not making that, there are a lot of guys working for next to nothing, and they are driving the rates on freight down. Perhaps this doesn't effect you because you work for one of the mega carriers, and quite frankly their profit margins can be a lot more slim, but when you start talking about those of us who are in the small business end of things, those rates your company is running you down the road for, they are hurting us.

As well there are a lot of guys who are owner opps who are hauling cheap freight, they are working for free, they act like trucking is a paid hobby and not a business. This is why you have those guys who will take that 1.20 a mile load out of Miami because it "Covers fuel" when they don't realize by taking it they are shooting themselves in the foot.

I myself, I am not a first year driver, come September I will have been in the business now for 11 years. I've also found myself a pretty comfortable position, but that is also because I live by a lot of the principals listed here. I don't unload trailers, I don't provide free manual labor when I show up, and I consider my time to be valuable. If you keep me waiting too long, I am going to demand detention pay, if your load requires special attention, that is going to cost you money.

I don't haul cheap, and I don't haul for free. And I stick to my guns on this, I've bounced 800 miles before to get to a good paying load so I could turn the Cheap load down. Even when I have done that I have still come out on top money wise, and I let some other poor sucker go broke hauling the cheap garbage.

As well it is not the couple of hours sitting at a shipper, it is the couple of hours after the couple of hours, and the couple of hours after that. If I am sitting I am getting paid to sit, it is that simple. If I show up and you aren't ready to receive the load you ordered and it is during normal business hours, I am getting paid for your lack of organization.

Broker doesn't want to pay detention, simple, don't haul for that broker, let him deal with the clowns who are working hard at going broke and won't do a good job with the freight he is putting on them, then when the loads get messed up enough, and he looks bad enough, he goes out of business.

Business is about one thing. PROFIT! If it is not making you a profit, don't do it.

Working for a living is the same thing.

 

the average wage in 1996 was 25,913.90. In 2012, it was 44,321.67 we are talking average wage here not what collage compared to non collage the year before I got hurt I made 72k No collage. Collage is nothing but a piece of paper and makes people feel that's what they need to do for the rest of their lives since they paid all that money to get it the whole point is truckers pay has gone from great to barely getting though. You know how most trucking companies got started it was from the truckers pay being high enough above the cost of living they could that could invest into extra trucks, and other investments just now days its enough to make a good living but the investing not so much.
Just stating facts.
48k this year since may home weekends and multiple time though most weeks so I am not talking about me its about most drivers
Just starting out I see so yeah the money is good depending on what you came from doing just wait till you get a few years and see the guy standing on the corner holding a sign for papa johns making your 40-50k while your now at 45-55k which is what will happen this pattern keeps up Min wage going up more than 10x's as fast as truckers.

Plus you have DOT telling when you piss, sleep. drive (most account for all your time) Fineing and calling you unsafe because 1 of the 9 lights on the back of trailer jiggled lose as you hit one of the 5 billion pot holes in I 65 since you did your last load check Ir give you an over weight between the shipper and the first scale to check it.

BTW I have a collage education(network admin) I got during the time as I made the 72k and the two years I had free time after getting hurt Guess what still went back to trucking. so telling me to get an education is rather point less.

 

I find it hard to resist commenting on posts with this kind of irony.

 

lol after your quoting, I read it again and see exactly what you mean.

It must of been one of those small technical "collage"

 

This is ridiculous. If you don't want to be a truck driver then go do something else that pays better. Perhaps he is a truck driver because he is insubordinate, anti-social, doesn't take direction well, doesn't like working in an office, or has no education. Many truck drivers could not maintain the level of cleanliness required to flip burgers at McDonald's, much less take orders from a shift boss who is yelling at you because that Filet was supposed to have no sauce. I suggest that the truck driver is aptly employed otherwise he would be doing something else.

As far as getting paid to pre-trip and secure your load.....if I paid you an hourly rate to do that, you would take 4 hours every day and you still wouldn't do it properly and be OOS at the first scale. How about this driver: I will pay you for the pre-trip and securement but if you get OOS you pay me what it costs in repairs and fines.

Perhaps it's the only thing he can do and he should stop whining and get to work at making himself better. When he is better he will get paid better.

 

holy somokes man. Didnt know you knew so much about me. I couldnt help it but to smile when you I read that. I fit more than one of that criteria
All these thoughts crossed my mind when I got the job offer

 

Figuring out what I make an hour doesn't help me much. Let's say I am making $1000 a week which comes out to $11.75 an hour. I still would have to ask where else I could go and make over $50,000 a year. For most of us the answer is "nowhere".

 

There are drivers out there with an education, I can name one who was in the IT field for years. I also carry a degree and held management positions, some just choose to drive instead.

 

Never said there weren't driver's with post secondary education. I myself am one and spent 17 years in the Engineering Dept as a Designer with the world's largest automaker and then later with the largest defense contractor in the free world. Gave up $80K/year and 7 weeks off. So yeah, it happens.

The question is, which of the other aforementioned qualities do we lack?

 

Yea, there are a few of us. I have a Ph.D. and was a professor for 25 years. Gotta see the other side of life....