How can I be a better truck driver?

Be intentional. Don’t let the day, the week, the month, the year, your life just happen to you. Set goals for your personal development, your professional growth, your relationships, and your career. Make a plan for your day, your week, your life. Review your goals and adjust your strategy to achieve them periodically. And for goodness sakes, have some fun doing it!

 

Yeah, but you still factor so those forward miles aren’t even all yours…

 

OP, I like your sense of humor.

Most of the advice I would give pertains to actually driving the truck.

Here's one: Figure out what stresses you out and remove it from the equation. To explain, at the end of every day or two, take stock of what really ticked you off, made you lose concentration, frustrated you, whatever that day. It might be a situation in traffic, it might be a general habit of 4 wheelers or other trucks. It might be when your dispatcher or GF call you when you are busy or in heavy traffic. Then try to figure out how you can take that out of your equation, take it out of your day.

When you see it coming, learn to dial it back, turn it off, get away from it. A good example of something that stresses out new drivers (and some old ones) is running in a tight pack of vehicles or other trucks, and most certainly construction zones with narrow lanes, bad pavement, etc.

Teach yourself to slow down and not compete, position yourself where you aren't a danger to others or them to you (usually means slow down), get off the phone! Even if you have a headset more mistakes and laziness happens on the phone. If you don't talk and drive you are either lying or the one trucker in the world who doesn't. It takes away your concentration, guaranteed.

 

Not to mention all this time here I spent reading, editing, reediting, deleting...thinking what would be the best avatar... could be more time than you can imagine.

 

Walmart Drivers are the example of professional appearance and conduct. Never show any aggressive driving. They watch themselves. Their job and benefits are worth too much to risk it.
Not everybody is cut out for the job. All these guys seem to be in their 50s. I think a certain set of behavioral characteristics comes with age. Calmness. Hard to be provoked. Awareness of how easy it is to lose it all, if you are careless.

Imagine this, you buy a new truck and trailer both worth well over $200 000 and you and your family rely on your business. You don't want to jeopardize it with an accident or moving violations. There are too many distractions while you drive... Internet everywhere you go. Unlimited calling time. Apps on the phone. Food on the dashboard. Chihuahuas on lap...Sometimes all of it at the same time. It takes a second to go to a ditch, which could be the best of all the bad things that happen. In which case, when you are, indeed, a company driver and if nobody is injured or killed, then you just walk away from it all and find a job at home at a factory. An owner operator, who already invested chunk of life and money, does know well that watching Netflix app on the phone while driving, may be too stupid a reason to lose it all.

 

Following Distance is King.... It buys you time to react without consequence. Stay right when traveling slower than truck trafffic. Don't flash your high beams when passes ever. Do our business in the fuel island then park or at least pull up. Ask for help when you need it before you back into my hood, I'd rather help you as be towed. And remember thers alot of Jackholes driving, dont takem personal, recognise them and stay away from them.

 

Yes, but one must have their foot on the dash with headphones on to qualify.

 

get a flip phone like I have and you won't have to worry about a lot of the distractions.



keep a laptop for research and such.