Dan Rather blasts trucking, industry blasts back

That's sort of a sobering story eh?



-H

 

I am not a Dan Rather fan and I think the facts are grossly exaggerated to make the story more interesting. But they did touch on several of the real problems facing our industry.

They need to make the inferior driving schools clean up act and the big training companies need to be more selective in the people they hire. When I started at a big training company I often felt like they would hire anyone who walk and chew gum.

 

Exactly.

Don't portray everyone in trucking to be scammers with fraudulent intentions. If you're going to report on a subject, at least give us a positive perspective with your negative B S - even if it's 75% negative, just give me something positive along with the obvious problems (driver shortage my arse). One woman's story is not every story. (####, this smells kinda *sniff, sniff* sexist.) For all of these terrible CDL Mills, there are legitimate programs at community colleges like the one I attended for 10 weeks.

This alone would make me completely disregard Dan Rather.

 

Ditto on this but also, I am appalled at the people who are actually in other good paying jobs. Like the US President, ok ok, just kiddin But I mean like at the positions that are supposed to be about "helping" people. The other day I heard this gal that works at DMV be so rude to this guy. Told him she wasn't a mind reader and would he complete some sort of form correctly. I mean it was just wild she was so loud. It sure isn't just the trucking industry that has some bad apples. Plus, who is Dan Rather to talk about driving when I'm sure his butt his hauled around by a limo What a pinhead

 

Blaming CDL mills for the quality of new drivers is like blaming the drug dealers for this country's drug problem! Both are just responding to a demand!
If it's true that up to 75% of trucking schools grads wont last 1 year and the turnover rate at most trucing companies is double or triple digits, then it must be something else that is causing ALL these people to be so unhappy in a truck! And what do all these people have in common??? It's way past time for the industry to take a lonh, hard, and honest look at how they treat and pay the driver! When this many people tell you to take your job and truck and shove it, they are trying to tell you something!
As to a driver shortage, there may not be one now, but in the next 3-4 years, with the ever increasing medical card disqualifications, I see 15%-25% of today's drivers forced out, And CSA 2010 will force out another 15%-25% when all the dust settles! Add to that the very limited productivity of the drivers that will be still qualified to drive due to the EOBRs, there will be an EXTREME shortage of QUALIFIED drivers!
Just my .02 cents!

 

The CDL Mills are just one part of the problem.
Kudos for TruckerDesiree to stand up for what's wrong and be the voice for so many innocent and naive people who are being taken and ripped off EVERY DAY. Good for her that she disregarded the threats and attacks to stand up for what is right...for OTHERS! She already went through the knocks and has a job....this was to prevent others from getting caught in the same situation.
If you read the forums, you hear drivers complaining all the time, either about their jobs, the lack of respect, the pay, and every other thing. In my opinion nothing gets done because, when we do have an opportunity to get the national spotlight and change things, we start criticizing our own people who are sticking their neck out and standing up for everyone.
The trucking companies know that all they have to do is sit back and let the drivers themselves destroy one another and everything will stay just like it is.

I believe it was OOIDA who asked once, " What would you do if you had the Medias attention?" Well here we have it drivers!! What do you want to change? Instead of bickering lets get the public attention so that it will be known that it isn't the drivers that should be looked down upon, but rather the conditions and standards which they are subject to;

Dan Rather Reports encourages people on twitter (@DanRatherReport) to write them with and gives their email address to do it. I think we should take advantage of it. viewer@hd.net

There are over 30 comments on the AskTheTrucker blog about the topic and I've been told the video of the show will be put on YouTube today by the Dan Rather group
I do believe in constructive criticism, but lets not throw the baby out with the bath water.

 

Talking and reporting on these schools is good to get the word on these incompetent schools. The problem nobody has the balls to shut
these "rip off" schools down.

Our local and state politicians do not care!

The local business authorities do not care as well, so bad business will
continue as long as these schools are in business to collect thousands of
dollars from unsuspecting new drivers like myself unless they are well
informed.

Maybe the people who are complaining about these schools should take the bull by the horns, and open their own driving schools to train safe and efficient drivers before they get on the road.

I see their are many disgruntled drivers everywhere! The problem is noyt with the trucking companies, the problem is we as truck drivers have been taking the #### to long we ##### and moan about everything under the sun, but what we need to do is form our own grassroots organization and start forcing some of these changes we are all complaining about.

There are some very smart intelligent people who are in our driving ranks, who have master degrees from some very pristine schools. If we can put our efforts together to form a coalition of power to make changes. This will require a large group effort in order to force these companies to change their ways of treating drivers, and force changes in how schools teach drivers.

I think Trucker Desiree had the guts to stand up and speak her mind when the rest of you cowards sat back and kept your mouth shut. This is "why" the industry is so bad at times because we as "Drivers" only hurt ourselves within our own ranks. So, we end up bashing each other over comments, instead of bashing Desiree stand up and speak your mind otherwise "Shut-up" and keep your comments to yourself. You are only hurting the industry by bringing us all down with you.

No wonder trucking companies look at us like dogs ready to lick up any scraps off the floor! There are forces in numbers drivers! Maybe I am speaking to wrong audience, but the way I see it! The only way to make changes is to start this coalition of drivers for a better way of life.

 

Twin Driver: That's exactly what I was saying. As you said in your above comment,

" Instead of bashing Desiree stand up and speak your mind otherwise "Shut-up" and keep your comments to yourself."

We need to stick together and if we disagree, do it constructively.

 

A major part of the problem is that no one wants to hear from a bunch of unskilled, uneducated, unwashed, and uncouth truck drivers who for the most part dont vote! We carry no POLITICAL POWER! So we are marginalized or just plain ignored!

 

Look around you on the highway! There are so many poorly trained idiots that have no business behind the wheel of a truck out here...

Dan Rather might be onto something here!