Professional Drivers are they history ?

The carriers that professionals drive for treat them with respect and the professionals have few complaints . I would hardly consider most of the drivers with the megacarriers professionals . They may have a few but not many from what I've seen . Why do you think these carriers resort to hiring inexperienced people when there are tens of thousands of professionals out of work ? Professionals have too much self respect to be associated with them .

 

I agree

 

A professional driver is not determined by what carrier they work for. They are determined by what they do. I have never been one to believe that self respect is gained by the logo on the side of a truck. It will be gained by your actions and interactions with others. A professional makes no assumptions about ones professionalism until their is a reason to, other than a name on a truck.

So it is written, so shall it be done.

 

Well I'm a professional and I have too much respect for myself and other drivers to fatten the wallets of executives like Chris Lofgren at Schneider who thinks drivers should be paid 80's level wages or replaced by immigrants and Pat Quinn of U.S. Xpress who mouths off about safety as ATA chairman while his company pushes drivers to falsify logs . On September 11th 2006 U.S. Xpress and 8 other carriers filed the Speed Limiter Petiton . Three months later USX was audited by FMCSA and fined for log book falsification . Don't tell me anybody with respect for professionalism would drive for companies like this .
The same with drivers crying about not getting paid for sitting hours without pay waiting to get loaded or unloaded . Don't think your carrier isn't charging detention pay . They just don't want to give you any of it . Professionals know better than to tolerate that .

 

There are alot of drivers who are professional and they may work for the mega carriers.

Just because these companies have been found like you said does NOT mean that all of the drivers are this way.

It is like saying that a company of tanker drivers all drive like the guy who rolled over when he took the ramp too fast.

Blanket comments are wrong to do.

 

There are good, professional drivers for all companys, big or small. The logo on your truck does not determine if you are a good or bad driver. I work for one of the big companys, but i drive for a person that is leased on with them, so my pay comes from the person i drive for. But if i had to deal with some of the stories i hear on this website working as a company driver, i would have been gone long ago. With that said, 80% of what your hear in the "Bad Companys" threads are people not telling thw whole story. I can understand where your coming from with this thread, there are more drivers on the road these days that are just out of truck schools that are not trained correctly, and this is what makes us all look bad. Iam a trainer for a big company and i get hasseled alll the time for not passing drivers, or giving them a low score where they need more training. Sorry, but i will not put just anybody on there own if they do not fully understand what to do. I have let the company we are leased onto know this also. With the economy and the fact there are no jobs, people will work for anything right now, hints the fact why the big companys have the new drivers by the gonads.

 

Another problem is the amount of people wanting into the industry for a paycheck due to the economic meltdown...and the scamming and abuse that goes on with driving schools to get people in the door for the money,so the quality of recruits at
this level is poorer than other times when the economy is better......
Plus in reality, people and especially the younger generation are one that don't care
about anything except themselves....they don't have or give respect, it's just the way things are today...video and fast food junkies........

 

I stated that megacarriers may have a few professionals

. But they don't deserve them . I can understand a professional taking a good dedicated job close to home with J.B. when nobody else can offer anything that comes close to it . I'm particular who I work for . Most of the owners of companies I've driven for still hold CDL's and get behind the wheel from time to time .

 

People become truck drivers for a lot of different reasons. I am a third generation truck driver. I grew-up around trucking. I always wanted to be a truck driver. I had a huge advantage coming from a trucking family.
Some people come to truck driving because they have had a situation in life that lead them there. Such as a job loss that forced them into a career change. Maybe a failed marriage. A need to relocate. Who knows what steered them into trucking.
Here is the problem. Some major trucking companies decided they could profit from driver turn-over. Their attitude of keep new drivers coming,pay them very little, when they can not take it anymore have another new driver waiting to take their place. It is very hard to be a sucessfull driver when you are on this plan.
Trucking is a job that you have to have a desire to do. I don't want to work a 9 to 5 job. I want to work out doors. I love trucks. I like that every load is an adventure. This is why I drive a truck.
Am I happy all the time? NO But,I do not think anyone is.
I really feel the secret to being a happy truck-driver is being content. You have to be happy with your equiptment. Happy with your home-time. You and your family have to have an understsnding of how trucking is going to affect their live. These things are hard to achieve when you are a new driver at a LARGE COMPANY.
My advise is if you have the desire to be a truck driver you can find your place in the industry. It takes time. Keep your eyes open and strive to be a professional.