What makes an experienced trucker worth more than a newbie?

an experienced driver SHOULD BE more valuable than a newbie. we can get the job done quicker, this does NOT mean speeding. it means better routing, better sense of direction, better time management with sleep, eating, driving, looking for "go arounds" instead of stuck in traffic.

but newbies offer the employer MORE opportunities to make cut backs in pay, benefits, home time, holidays, vacations, equipment, time on the road.

 

I seen alot of "experienced " drivers that should be taken off the road .

 

Go too Gary , ind and wacth the exp pro truckdriver crackhead go thru 8 gears thru the ta there, wacthing that is a trip, there's the ones that should be taken off the road before they kill someboby in the truckstop.

 

Small companies hire experienced drivers almost exclusively because you are correct in saying experience pays.

Big companies don't need them. One thing you have to understand about big companies -- they are not in the trucking business -- they are in the brokering business.

Oh, they will take the better accounts, dedicated and what not, then leave the inexperienced, unpaid driver, sitting for days until they need them to move a load they couldn't broker.

Understand? Why use your assets when you can make a profit on a non-asset transaction.

Schneider, Werner, Swift, JBHunt, etc., others, most of the publicly held companies are scamming the stock markets. That's all. They are not in the trucking business. They do not care about you or your experience.

 

Your always going to have a few exceptions. Example: I have seen one or two swift drivers that could drive!

 

I'll never forget a quote from a guy I used to work with, Both he and the fellow beside him had been with the company over twenty years. He said there was a big difference between having 20 years experience, and one year's experience 20 times!

I think a lot of the guys that are perpetual job hoppers will be in the 2nd category. Driver's that stay with a company for a longer time period may have a higher pay rate, and might have earned a higher benefit level, like vacation time, so to the bean counters might seem more expensive to keep than a new hire at lower wages and maybe no benefits.

But I always want to know how much money a company spends on a new hire, in advertising, recruiters, training, etc. And also what a new inexperienced driver's costs are, accidents, claims and performance issues, vs. an more senior driver's.

 

to recruit a new driver, especially a newbie fresh out of school, the 'average cost" to a trucking company nowadays is $6,000.

this told to me by at least 4 different trucking company recruiters my school deals with.

 

It should, because it matters. Example: yesterday in Los Angeles, a rookie police officer fired EIGHT times at a guy who was not the bad guy, and missed every time.

 

That officer is the one I want shooting at me.