Why do people keep telling me trucking is not the same?

Most of the grousing has to do with the burdensome regulations. Back in 1992 the Federal government mandated a new program called the CDL. Prior to then the CDL was considered a chaffeurs license by many states. Pretty easy to get a Chaffeurs license back then according to most old timers. The feds decided it was too easy to become a truck driver and wanted to raise the bar for new entrants. Voila' the CDL was born. Many old timers threw in the towel then. Some rode out the "change" and realized it was much ado about nothing.

Around 2000 we had a challenge to the old HOS rules. It seemed that some safety advocate groups believed the regs were antiquated and needed to be revised. The feds agreed and began to look at the old regs more closely. They had been pretty much the same since 1938. Under the old regs from 1938 a driver was limited to driving 10 hours then had to take and 08 hour break. We were limited to no more than 15 hours of driving and on duty not driving (meaning if we spent 7 hrs unloading a truck then we were only permitted to drive 8 hrs at that point and then had to shut down for our 8 hour break). Other than that we were regulated by the 60hr in 7 day rule (for carriers that did not operate 7 days a week) or 70 hrs in 8 days for carriers that operated 7 days per week. We had a split sleeper berth rule which allowed a driver to split his sleeper time in 2 segments neither period could be less than 2 hours but had to equal 8 when combined.

In 2003 the powers that be struck upon a new set of rules. The 14 hour rule was introduced. The driving hours were increased to 11, the mandatory break time was extended to 10 hours, a 34 hour reset was introduced as an "option" while still keeping the 60/7 and 70/8 day rules, and the split sleeper berth was limited to a mandatory 8 hour stint in the sleeper and a 2 hour break off duty.

It was believed that the new rules would provide a more modern approach to trucking and considered a persons 24 hour circadiam rythm in determining the most efficient times to operate. Too bad they had no concept of the flexibility the trucking industry actually needs to satisfy shippers and receivers. By restricting the split sleeper berth time and implementing this bogus 14 hour rule they have in essense put everyone into a rush, rush mindset where we do not have the option of pulling over to take a nap or sit out rush hour traffic without losing some of our "work day."

One of the unintended consequences to the new regs was we actually wound up being able to work MORE hours in an 8 day period (thanks to the 34 hour reset) than we had previously under the 70 hour 8 day rule.

Now fast forward past more legal challenges and the feds are preparing to change the HOS once again.

Add into this mix a new metric for comparing carriers compliance scores and you have more government intrusion. The feds had a safety measurement system called Safestat which will now be replaced by CSA 2010.

Now we have some rumblings from the medical community about limiting the driver pool even further through using mandatory sleep studies for truckers based on body weight, neck size, snoring, and restless sleep. Although nothing has been mandated "yet" there are many Clinics and doctors that have been refusing to issue medical cards to overweight drivers without a sleep test first (I know this first hand as I got caught in this very problem several years back). There is even more talk about limiting the number of doctors allowed to actually issue medical cards to CDL drivers and create a searchable database to verify a doctors credentials (currently drivers can actually make out a bogus Cdl medical card on their own and there is no way for an out of state agency to actually verify the validity).

The feds, lawyers, and so called safety advocates are pressing for even more regs now including mandatory on board recorders and the elimination of paper logs. It is believed (rightly so) that truckers and carriers circumvent the HOS rules on a regular basis through the use of loose leaf log books to "recreate history" in an attempt to make more money and to keep customors happy.

So you see you are entering into an industry that is evolving rather continuosly especially in the past decade. Hang on tight boys and girls 'cause the ride is going to get rough for a while!

 

I always wondered that if trucking was SO terrible now and these old timers are trying to discourage new drivers. Why don't these particular old timers just leave the industry and make themselves happy. They are apparently not happy or enjoying driving any more. If it is so bad, then they should leave themselves.

Just wondering is all. I got to the point after 14 years in another industry of not enjoying going to or doing the work I was doing. So I made the hard decision to leave. Left a VERY well paying job with GREAT benefits. To start over in a completely unrelated field. All the while supporting a family. It can be done, one just needs to be willing to change. Many people are not willing to change or even look at change as being in any way a positive thing.

 

Around 2000 we had a challenge to the old HOS rules. It seemed that some safety advocate groups believed the regs were antiquated and needed to be revised. The feds agreed and began to look at the old regs more closely. They had been pretty much the same since 1938. Under the old regs from 1938 a driver was limited to driving 10 hours then had to take and 08 hour break. We were limited to no more than 15 hours of driving and on duty not driving (meaning if we spent 7 hrs unloading a truck then we were only permitted to drive 8 hrs at that point and then had to shut down for our 8 hour break). Other than that we were regulated by the 60hr in 7 day rule (for carriers that did not operate 7 days a week) or 70 hrs in 8 days for carriers that operated 7 days per week. We had a split sleeper berth rule which allowed a driver to split his sleeper time in 2 segments neither period could be less than 2 hours but had to equal 8 when combined.

Now there is a HOS reg that REALLY makes sense. It actually allows a driver to drive when needed and accounts for shippers and receivers. That is a rule I would be behind to re-implement. But, it makes too much sense for the powers that be to want to put it in place.

 

Not bad jlkklj777, getting rid of paper logs? How are they going to make any money?
Monitoring there HOS is the Guberments goal. The medical cards, Anyone can make one of them, Photoshop, works great. I work for a Company that is Perfect in all DOT regulations, we are a 53MPH company. They say, if you don`t like it, go work somewhere else. I`m very happy. Watch everyone pass me up all day long, but I only ride the right lane. LOL

 

Good answer.Protect yourself and your CDL.Not alot going on for young people anywhere jobwise.If you like your job keep doing it.Knowing what I`ve learned in the last 30 years,and seeing how the world has changed, I think thats the only advice I can give you. Good Luck.

 

The driving side has not really changed that much , yes HOS is different , starting wages are not keeping pace with reality .

Its the OTHER SIDE of trucking thats changed , the sat tracking , the onboard computers , the communications , the fast pace of the paperwork side.

Too much being checkedup on for many of the older drivers and its unnerving for many, they use to feel TRUSTED to do a good job take care of the equipment . Today its this report says this that printout shows that..

 

Glad you said particular. Im one of the OLD TIMERS, Not the particular, but I will retire when I feel like it. The Bottom Feeders are always wanting to move up. I know it is rough right now. So many people want to try and make the BIG MUNEY. I encourage ALL the OLD TIMERS, keep going, don`t stop. We earned the right, and no one will tell us to throw in the towel. Not going to happen.

 

Well, I know for a fact that not every old timer hates their job. I have met and worked with many that still love what they do every day.

Just like, not every new driver is a complete and utter moron. LOL

 

Werner was a test company for paperless logs for many years. The technology is still flawed but it has come a long way. Currently carriers are using on board computers to track and cross check the paper logs. Thanks to pings about every 30 minutes or so Carriers can now track their trucks all over the country.

Can a driver make money with an on board computer? Clearly the answer is yes. It takes more attention to detail than many of us are used to but it can be done.

The carrier I work for has gone to scannable logs. That allows a computer program to scan the logs for violations and can also be cross checked with GPS info from our on board computer to verify compliance. In my case I can still log over 700 miles within my 11 hour drive time but that is becasue I have a truck that will do (at least) the speed limit. So on a good day I can earn about 300.00 as a company driver.

Money will always be made. If the regs get too strict then carriers will simply pair up drivers rather than run them as a solo. The writing is already on the wall for those that want to look.

 

We use the qualcomm. Get paid by the hour. Just look at a post I started, About UPS. and you`ll have an idea of what we make.