Why do so many newbies disappear after they hit the road?

I'm a statistical person-- and you can get quite an interesting feel for a field by looking at statistics. Since this was all about newbies leaving truck driving, I was curious to find if OTR truckers had a higher churn rate than LTL drivers. They sure do.

I found some for turnover rate of truck drivers-- 88% for over the road truck drivers, 50-55% for truck load drivers, and 7% for less than truck load drivers. This is from the Journal of Commerce, August 11, 2012, so it is quite fresh. Strangely the drop to 88% is a "Drop" so it was higher. Apparently with more trucks on the road, and better incentives to remain truckers the turnover rate has slowed some. With more trucks on the road there is more need for new drivers, and as we know, if you are not prepared for the life of an OTR driver, well, it can be hard, so you get out.

This article did not go into "why" but I have a theory when it comes to "young" people vs older people.

I found an article about the differences between boomers and Gen Y workers which said, while boomers tend to be work obsessed, millinials are looking for work that allows them flexibility to pursue interests outside the work place. Other things the article went over was that millinials do not have such an obsession about money or status. (The Fiscal Times, November 11, 2011)

If this is the whole personality type of 20's-30's (gen Y, gen X) young workers, they would simply not be cut out for the life of a trucker anyway. People who were of this personality could not sit in a truck and drive for 10-11 hours, and sleep in a 6X6 box in a parking lot. In other jobs I have seen people who were hired for overnight, weekends, no holiday-type jobs who tried and tried, but after a few weekends, they HAD to attend a party or do Christmas with their family-- they were simply not in a situation where they could back out of it. I don't think these people are "weak" or anything, they are just very social people. Most people need to be, and live around people. In the Briggs Meyer personality spectrum Extroverts need to be around people, and there are more Extroverts than Introverts. Introverts can live in a tiny cabin in the snow and would never feel lonely.

Most people actually do get to go home after work. Even in the Army, you'd go see your friends in the mess hall, and chat over coffee or whatever. (I was in the army). Even if you were on a freight boat going across the ocean, you are not totally alone. Truck driving is more like being in solitary confinement, with maybe 2 days home per month. That is not the type of life many people could realistically commit to for many years.

Also, new truck drivers don't understand that you have to work your way up to the big bucks. (That's what I have been told). I personally do not mind making 25K per year. A lot of people could not live on that.

 

For all the newbies. TMobile cell phones work all over the country, except parts of Montana and Idaho. They have a plan that is unlimited minutes, text, for $50.00 a month. And like Smaggs said getting in good with your dispatcher will keep that truck rolling. If those wheels are hanging out in a truck stop, you are spending money, not making it. For couples, that are new to one member of the family being at home, and the other on the road. You marriage will last longer, as long as the person on the truck remembers that they are not the boss of the house anymore. I drove with my first husband for 5 years, and got off the truck right before I gave birth to our second daughter. I was the boss of the house, he was the boss of the truck. My husband liked being in control of everything. We decided together, that I made all the day to day decisions about kids, family, and household operating budget. We had a rule, no one could just spend $100 or more with out talking about, and agreeing on it. I hear lots of guys say they give all their money to the wife, and she goes thru it like water. We also, decided together how much of each check went into the untouchable saving account. Since 80% of the disagreements between couples are money related, this assisted us.

 

Interesting KateL.... Sociology major? Some really good points there!

 

I'm new here and getting ready to head to orientation for my first trucking job next weekend, I hope to have a great and long career in the trucking industry, but only time will tell. Wish me luck

 

Research-- English degree. CDL-A with Hazmat. And frankly, I would have loved to have had a husband who was a truck driver. I am not a person who is clingy, and wants to be around another person all the time. I'm thrifty, handy, not too bad looking, can use a table saw, as well as drive a truck.

 

When I was in school there were so many Gov. funds giving these guys and gals money. Some I don't think really wanted to drive a truck they were there to only get the Gov. money. The ones that do go out to drive don't last long because they have never worked. The Gov. has always taken care of them.
Then there are others that don't under stand you have to hustle in trucking to make a living. You have to work. Then there are others that miss their Mommy's.
Last but I am sure not the least. Some people get out on the road and just can't make it on the bottom feeder wages some of the carriers pay them.

 

Good thread. We're trucker wannabees and we are very aware of all the things that come with this business. I started a thread on here, telling about our journey from the airline industry to the trucking industry. I promise you all that I will continue to post about our "adventure". And if we make it or don't make it, I will not leave you all hanging. I'm not too proud to tell you if we fail, but failing is not an option for us, we have to make it work. We're going into this with eyes wide open, no rose colored glasses. It doesn't look easy to us at all but nothing in life has ever been easy, why would this be any different? You'll be hearing from us all the way through this journey and I expect I'll have a lot of stories to tell along the way. Stay tuned ...

 

My husband and I decided to go OTR together he's had a CDL for close to 20 yrs... or when ever they granfathered them in. I still have to go to school, as soon as I get out I join him in his truck. But we both know the 1st yr is going to be hard. Actually in a way, I think it's going to be harder than he does, but then again I usually try to think of everything that can go wrong, so that I can make a "plan" for it.

We plan on keeping our rental house ( I think it's a bad idea) but he wants someplace to come home to. But Internet is one of the things that will be turned off. We can't really get out of our phone plan and while it does have internet IF their is a wi-fi service and you can pay for you phone to be a hot spot... we aren't going to add that right way. So it will be awhile before I might be able to post again once I start school.

I can't speak for anyone else but I know that is why I may not post for awhile once I start school. Well plus getting to learn how to live on the road. Hopefully the comment about being in the Military or prison being a helpful experience was only half joking.... I was in the Navy.

 

I road with my husband for a year and may go out with him again later on in the when it gets colder so I don't have to worry about the grass having to be cut.

It is different being in a truck, if you are company you are more constrained to routes and it is not like you can get out and just disappear and go shopping when you want. Sometimes it is even hard to find a Walmart that will allow trucks where you can fill prescriptions or shop a little. Since you will be driving that will be different also, but you still will get to see the countryside (some of it you may even not want to see like NY and NJ areas, even though they are pretty in some places also).

You will have to have an address though at home, even if a relative for the tax purposes. It is a hassle though to some extant to keep up a house, we usually would only come home every 3mo for 2 days. Then when you got ready to leave the house had to be cleaned back up, refrig cleaned out, etc. And then we live in the country so the little mice liked to move in also while we were gone, such a pain. Then winterizing the house and having daughter come over and check on it and keeping the pump with a light on when it was cold. A trial run is what you need to do and see how it goes before giving up your lease on your apartment.

He had a Volvo then that had rooom in it, I had so much stuff on the truck, plus 2 refrigerators, microwave, small tv and vcr, cooking supplies, etc. The truck he has now does not have all that room and storage.

Well good luck with your plan, I am sure your husband will love having you along.