Why do most new drivers quit?

And whose fault is that? Your hypothetical person chose to go to college, take on debt, and get a useless degree, how is that anyone elses fault exactly?

 

Don't read to well do ya?

 

Most quit due to a lack of social life. A lot of OTR companies keep their Drivers out for months at a time. It’s not exactly a normal life. The average pay is about 50% of what it should be. A $14 hr. Job w/ OT pays better than a lot of Jobs. That’s why most don’t last long. Can’t blame them. Who wants their whole life micro managed and planned for them?

 

Funny thing is you think YOU were right...….

 

So much negativity in these responses. Especially from the Veteran members of this site.

You can tell a lot about your personality if you read into them a little. Kind of sad really.....

 

The money was why I got out of trucking.

Wasn't enough for my family or the amount of hours. Realized I could make the same or better money staying home. I can't imagine people leaving their families for $1000/wk. You can make that in most major metro areas today doing #### near anything.

Not really speaking for the guys who live in the boonies where local companies are paying $6 dollars an hour. That's no who this post is for. If you are coming from those areas then sure do trucking all the way.

Those of us coming from major/expensive cities. I can't imagine leaving the family for weeks for such little money.

But that was then!

When I returned home from trucking my wife left with my son. So I'm considering getting back into again.

 

They think it will be easy work and turns out they can't handle it. Trucking isn't for everybody.
Some people can't handle the constant stress of traffic.
Some people can't handle being in an unknown location.
Some people can't handle being away from families and friends.
Some people can't handle the variety of weather.
Some people just lack the spatial awareness to drive such a large vehicle so end up having accidents which stresses them out. Spatial awareness is why most people can go from driving a small car to a big pickup truck and not hit stuff. Subconsciously you know how large the pickup truck is and drive accordingly without even having to think about it.

Every job has it's drawbacks that some can't handle. Before I went to work at an amazon warehouse, I overhead somebody at the hiring event saying "it's a warehouse, how hard can it be?". lol. The guy obviously never worked in a warehouse before. I worked in a frozen food distribution center for a few years, it had a very high turnover because a lot of people couldn't handle working in the cold temps all day all year. It was so bad that the first thing they did when going for orientation was give a tour of the warehouse so they wouldn't have to waste time on people who didn't want to deal with the temps.

 

SOme of that has merit yes.

The other side of it is that if someone has done trucking long enough they get damaged. And company bosses do NOT want to deal with such people. WHY? Because the old driver is wise to all the tricks and things that a bad company might pull on him or her. A pimply faced 21 year old fresh from school knowing nothing is the best material for such companies. Once they are out of the industry in 3 months from being ridden hard and put up wet there is 50 more ready to take the place.

My last formal orientation I had to stand on my hands to keep from spontaneously shouting out BS. I was there as a experiment and temporarily even if the company was not aware of that from me. It worked out in the end actually when it got down to it.

Ive learned so much. Forgot most of it and as long the smell of the office is clean things are right with the world.

HOWEVER.

Trucking rolls on money. If there is no money in my pocket after a 6000 mile coast to coast turn, thats my fault. There will be money in that pocket. If the company dithers and puts up BS failing to pay me then I am not going to stay and we will have the Dept of Labor look into that against them.

All about the money honey. Ive gots the time. If not? Forgetit. I am one of those who will be gone like 9 or 10 months and go home for the winter sitting on 20,000 or more after everything is paid for. Do it again next year in the early spring. In 10 years or so the hope is I can pick a ranch and pay cash for it anywhere I choose. No more of that minimum wage or such BS in the boonies.

And there lies the biggest problem with Trucking. They paid .26 to top hands when I grew up in the 70's paid .32 when I started to top hands and still offer .34 today more than roughly 35 years later. Inflation takes the rest and then some. They should be paying either 24.00 a hour or around .80 a mile to solo company drivers now if indexed for inflation to break even the same standard of living one had then to now.

In 2001, wife and I earned EACH 4.52 a hour. (Almost half minimum wage OR... 34000 a year each filing jointly after almost 7600 hours as shown in 306 service days logged that year away from home trucking.

Its literally not worth it. Better to stay home. More profitable too.

 

At the large terminals they do. Jacksonville, Miami, and Orlando are the three big ones near me and they are always hiring.