The real reason so many new drivers don't last...

Oh yeah?

Well your feet stink and your toes look funny.

 

Yup that was it.

I need to remove foot from mouth.

 

WOW! That was fun!...Almost like a rollercoaster or sumpin'!!!

 

This post has gotten way off topic. The O/P was "The real reason so many new drivers don't last..."

I don't think we are talking O/O's but rather company drivers. There are a great many reasons for this and some have brought up some real truths.

I have a lot of problems regarding the OTR companies. How they treat their employees and why so many quit. While there are a good many drivers who find OTR a great way to make a living, the vast majority do not. Some consider this a lifestyle. Good for them. I do not. This is my chosen career, not my lifestyle. My lifestyle is how I spend each night and weekend with my family and the activities we do together.

Most OTR companies pay by the mile. The problem is they do not pay for every mile that you drive. It is HHG or practical. That equates to driving for free for a certain amount of time. I don't work for free and neither should anyone else!

Most OTR companies require a driver to give up a portion of their time when they are waiting to load or unload. And those are the good ones. I find it unacceptable that a driver has to do this. The driver is on duty, not driving and yet is not compensated for this time? There are some that will say that you just need to show off duty for that time. Wrong. If you are on duty, you should be paid for that time. If you are legitimatley off duty, you are just that and should not be paid.

There are other times that a driver should be compensated for such as breakdowns, scales, fueling, repairs, waiting for a load etc. If you are on duty, you need to be compensated for your time for anything that you do. That is the bottom line!

Also, there is cost of living on the road. Food, showers (need to take more folks), laundry and toiletries etc. They all add up and yet they come straight out of your pocket. Look, if you are not making that much money to begin with, how in the world are you going to pay for it? What do you have give up?

What about getting a good nights rest? You need to be comfortable to sleep don't you? At least I do. Now that it is summer, my wife turns on the A/C every night at home to make sleeping easier. OTR drivers need the same thing. Yet so many companies have instituted an idle policy. Go over the alotted time and you are punished. If this is a problem, put APU's on the trucks. Funny, the same people that punish for excessive idle are the same ones who, like me, are home every night. Hypocrisy at it's finest.

Benefits? So many companies pay their drivers such a substandard wage, it amazes me that a driver can even afford these. That is, if a company can provide them at all. Benefits should include health, dental, vision, sick days, vacation days and retirement. That is on the short list. There are more.

There is more but dinner is ready.

Drive safe

 

Great stuff guys, I'm thinking of jumping in the industry and this stuff all helps.

 

I think it's only fair if you're going to compare your pay with someone that's driving a truck you should really tell the whole story. When I retired from the service if I wanted to go into the civil service I too could have my time count HOWEVER, you have to give up your retirement pay or you start with no time. And frankly I didn't spend all that time to starve.

Sure driving a mixer truck around in the dirt is tough and so is operating a dozer. But alot of companies will not take that as OTR experience. Just like when I drove an 85' 105,000lbs gasoline tanker around the town going into small old stations. Try that.

You can't expect a new driver to make top pay without putting some time in and if that driver sticks with it it's not hard to make or surpass what you make. After all you took you time in the service and started from there. You could never be at that level if you started at the bottom without putting alot of time in. If a person really wants to drive a truck there's many more chances to make better money than the government has to pay. There's plenty of jobs that a driver can strive for to make more than $1200 a week if he or she wants to. So all in all you're talking about a rare job compared to many.

 

Yes, this is how it should be, but dont cry when you go to the store and spend 3,000.00 for a week supply of food. All this would be great, but it all cost money, alot of money! Alot of people look at those 100k rigs and automatically assume their making all kinds of money. Not the case my friend. If you really think these trucking outfits are doing so well, buy your own and try it out. Before you do that I suggest looking at some of the stocks in these big co's. They ALL show loss even when the economy was booming!!