Why drivers are always wanted?

Our speed limit is usually 70.
But I understand your confusion. You have figured out that I worked for more than 14 hours, even though I drove for only 11. That's easy; I can explain.

I ran illegally. OK, so I didn't really run illegally, I rested illegally if you really want to get down to it! I wasted all that time in the sleeper waiting to be unloaded and that got me screwed up for the rest of the day. And I decided to just go ahead and run since I had not exceeded my 11 hour rule.

If I had been caught - and I might, yet because I have to carry that record around with me for 8 days, right?- I would have been cited for violating the 14 hour rule, but not cited for violating the 11 hour rule.
It's not a moving violation, so I would just pay it and forget it. It happens.

I did get caught once up in New York. The DOT officer noticed that I had only logged 7 hours sleep the previous night. So what did he do? He put me out of service for 8 hours. Made me sit right there at the checkpoint for 8 hours. No citation, no fine.

So I listened to the Cubs game, watched a movie and took a nap.....

Back to the point: Learning this trade is tough! A lot of new guys would have just shut down and complained later. Maybe even quit.

 

:smt102I think this what they call a hi-jacked thread Sail

 

You write well Aligator. It's good to see a driver every now and then with intellectual interests outside trucking. I am wondering if you are a refugee from the writing trade.

 

Sort of. But in order to be considered part of the writing trade one must needs to be published, I suppose.
I have been published, but only in sailing magazines like Lattitudes and Attitudes and some specialized trade magazines.
I wrote a book once, but never found a market; it wasn't really very good, anyway.
I call myself a retired salesman. And that's true, but I also headed the marketing department of a company and have lots of experience writing and speaking in public.
No end to this highjacking, now is there?

 

I believe that moving around is the essence of a wise and judicious driver. We must make every attempt to do better for ourselves and our families. If we don't, then who will? Most truckers want what everybody else wants. We want to be treated fairly, earn decent wages, have peace of mind concerning benefits, and finally have some time off for enjoyment. Mind you, these are basic employee rights. Is that to much to ask from any company..................?

 

Millions of reasons...

Just a couple of weeks ago I recommended a friend of mine to the Port of Oakland to work for cash money... The fool was fired after one week because he didn't have good driving skills.

Some don't pass driving tests, some quit OTR, some get fired, some have too many tickets, bad criminal record, not enough time driving... Etc, etc, etc...

 

In a word ,NO. But bear in mind that what you ask for is subjective to the driver. And as we all know, no two drivers are going to see things the same way.
Not all are going to agree with what you think is a fair wage or good home time.

 

I'm about a week and a half shy of finishing private CDL school and obtaining my CDL so I don't have "years of experience" but I do have basic common sense and I tend to think deeply quite often, so I'll share my opinion. I asked one of my instructors a similar question last week while driving. He told me that only 1 in 4 people will stay in trucking after leaving their school, and it got me thinking. As already stated, I think a lot of people have no idea what to expect when they get into this profession, whether it be from lack of research and understanding, or just simply being naive. Possibly a combination of both I would assume. Which leads to a massive number in turnover from those that become disenchanted very quickly once out on the road.

I also think due to lack of research, and or bad criminal backgrounds etc, people end up only having the option to work from the "bottom feeders" who don't usually have a good rapport in the industry. Leading to frustration and ultimately throwing in the towel.

I also believe with all of the federally funded programs that you're seeing so many more people who have nothing really going for themselves are trying out trucking becasue some social worker or the like, thought it'd be a good idea to "tryout". Leading people with no real interest or desire to get into trucking jumping into a contract deal with a large CDL mill just to ultimately lose interest and quite once out on the road. Not to mention those that are going through said programs just to satisfy their unemployment or the like, that had no real intention of keeping a driving job in the first place.

Now on to my last point which I saw all to regularly last week, and that is the group of folks that WANT to drive a truck for a living but for whatever reason just never quite "pick it up". My small class drove up I-35 about 50 miles to the DPS station where they do the "driving tests" for a lot of the surrounding area CDL schools, to drop off a student who had to stay an extra week in class due to personal reasons so he could test out and get his CDL and my god..... for a few hours I watched student, after student, after student from other CDL schools taking their driving tests after AT-LEAST 4 weeks of driving daily, and it was astonishing how many folks looked like they had never set foot in a truck before. I couldn't help but think that there has to be a significant amount of turnover purely from folks that just flat out, never pick up driving in a proficient enough manner to really "make it out there" and inevitably throw in the towel. Now I know that learning to drive a truck isn't rocket science, but it's one of those things that some people just don't "get", no matter how much you teach them. I know it was long winded but when I have a view I like it to translate well.

Dave

 

First, I don't know how/why a thread from 2007 got bumped up. But it did. So here's a reply.
Turn-over is very high in trucking. That's a fact. And there are many reasons why, but I would say it comes down to this most of the time: Most people don't really know what they are getting themselves into. Simple as that.

To elaborate- To become a truck driver seems easy enough, some schools are just 3 weeks long, others 4 or 6. Even the best community college programs are about 8 to 16 weeks long. But it seems that most OTR drivers come out of the 1-month driver mills. And by the time you get to a trainer you might only have basic skills. Next there is another 3-6 weeks going OTR with a trainer. And this is where things often start to fall apart. Many if not most of these so-called trainers are just trying to get some extra money. OK, fair enough, we all want higher pay. But that doesn't mean they are all that good at actually training new drivers. And when these new drivers do go to their own truck (and by this point many have already quit) they often still lack basic driving skills and the knowledge to do their job well.

This is where the big turnover starts. Trainee drivers now get out on the road alone, and think the money starts flowing in.... But often find themselves with low mile/low pay weeks. Maybe the freight really is slow. Or maybe the dispatcher isn't looking out for them, or the load planner just doesn't care. Whatever the reason, these new drivers see a constant stream of ads about high miles and high pay at some other company... Get the respect and money you deserve! So easy to jump ship. And if the next company doesn't work out as planned? On to the next one.

And the turn-over continues. Grass is always greener on the other side. And add to the above, people being homesick, stress from the OTR lifestyle, truck stop costs, lack of sleep, lack of basic hygiene ( going 3 days with no shower isn't helping keep people in the industry), boredom, DOT inspections, lack of time off etc

All of that and worse for the ability to maybe make $600-800 week for a year or more, if you're lucky. Some weeks new drivers don't even make $500. But the trucking companies keep sucking people in with slogans like: FREEDOM of the OPEN road! Make BIG money drive a BIG truck TODAY!

People keep signing up and the cycle continues.