Why do new drivers quit?

No need for me to give reasons why new drivers quit,you said it all rr.

 

I agree. you have pretty much said it road runner. no matter what the voting poll does. it won't change anything. drivers will still quit. companies will still continue immoral practices. and drivers will get walked on.

 

I agree with all of the above. What the real shame is the pay for drivers with 1+ years of experience that have demonstrated that they are not temporary, but indeed like the job / work and intend to make it a profession. My thoughts are that if you make it for more than a year, you've pretty much worked out most, if not all, of the aforementioned issues.

The only thing that I would add / include is drivers tired of being the lead in a very obscene industry conga line. While the positions will change of the participants behind him, (carrier screws a vendor, vendor screws the supplier, supplier screws the carrier that brings him the stuff.....and on and on), the driver will always be at the lead of that line being screwed by everyone behind him.

I love what I do. I feel like I wasted half my life doing other stuff and I really don't think I will ever do anything else. But I get tired of everyone having their hand in my pocket. Right now I'm waiting for 4 hours on my own time on a load that was supposed to be ready at 0800.....'should' be ready by noon. I booked this load 3 days ago.....meaning they've had 3 days to figure out how to get this load ready by 0800 Sunday morning. And what started out as a real casual 8 hour daylight trip, has turned into another screwing.....no pay for the wait and one way or another, the freight will deliver on time.

I never felt less regarded as a human being in my life.

 

Cause there are too many wheel-holding nitwits that don't know what they are doing.

 

Watching the newbies come into my company training program (Prime INC) I have found that the following two reasons are the most prevalent. I have seen and discussed cases with other instructors to draw this conclusion. By the end of the orientation Prime sends home about half of that weeks class, mostly due to drug tests, bad background info, or medical issues. During the PSD phase (where they only have their learners permit) they bail because of homesickness and family (spouse) pressures. During the TnT phase (30k miles minimum team driving with a trainer) they are more likely sent home because of the Unqualified driver issues. I may not be considering the low pay issue because Prime is one of the highest entry level companies in the industry (starting drivers at 0.37/mile or 0.43/mile if they accept a lightweight truck).

Failure to Adapt: Individual fails to adjust to the commercial driver lifestyle for various reasons.

1. Extensive time away from home while being on the road (homesick).
2. Has personal issues/responsibilities (i.e. family member in need of care) that need to be attended to which are incompatible with a trucker lifestyle

Unqualified Driver: This driver is not compatible with commercial driving

1. Driver attends company sponsored training but lacks the desire to learn the material
2. Driver has developed poor/dangerous driving skills/habits while operating a non-commercial vehicle over the years and is considered not trainable or is unwilling/unable to adapt to the added responsibilities of operating a commercial vehicle. These drivers may deliberately disregard federal/state laws and will eventually be segregated/terminated after excessive traffic citations/accidents.

The low pay issues are mostly self inflicted IMHO. Poor driving records, bad decisions that resulted in convictions for crimes, and poor work records will steer most newer drivers to those companies with the lower pay scales that will take the risk with the driver backgrounds. I do not think that a new driver with a clean MVR record and zero police records and a good work history should get paid the same entry level pay as someone with MVR tickets/violations, wrecks, police records, or spotty work history (getting fired/quitting all the time). Personal responsibility is a very big issue in this industry and is often overlooked when talking about pay rates and companies risks in hiring those with a record that indicates a lack of personal responsibility.

As far as the Fleece to own issue: PT Barnum said it best: "there's a sucker born every minute" This is a self inflicted issue also. Anyone who wants to go into business for themselves assume ALL responsibilities for researching and entering all contracts. Boo Hoo to anyone who did not take that responsibility seriously.

I came here because of the economy and losing my job as an Instructor for the US Army. I have seen many professionals coming into the industry, changing careers or moving on from a lost job due to the economy. These are the people who might be reviving the professionalism in our industry. They have a good work ethic, positive motivation, self discipline (in most cases) and a desire to make this profession as good as their previous jobs. If I had to choose drivers from all of the backgrounds that have been posted here, I would be looking for these folks first and foremost. They are the easiest to train and require little to no supervision once they know and understand the job.

Bad companies are everywhere. Wal-Mart, the largest company in the world is far from the best. (They just fired a guy for intervening when a woman was being mugged in the wal-mart parking lot) See the Fleece to own comment because that applies here as well. Do your research and choose a company that is compatible with you. If you do come across a bad company doing illegal things, just like in any other occupation, report the illegal activity and save yourself from becoming a criminal inside the company.

 

I'm not so sure. At the rate they are burning through new driver candidates. They may reach the bottom of the barrel soon and once they get there, they will discover they are going to have to do something different in order to shift to a "driver retention" model rather then this "temporary driver" model some mega-carriers are operating on the last 10 years.

 

I only lasted five months OTR before I resigned a month ago.

And while I can blame everyone or anything for quitting, I hold myself solely responsible for not making it to the one year mark. I was well aware of the lifestyle and the pay before I entered by reading the posts on this forum, and it helped me immensely in adjusting to OTR life. I actually enjoyed driving and handled the solitary life pretty well. The company I signed on with was pretty reasonable and I have no ill will towards them. I even have a college degree and had other options lined up outside of trucking, so financial desperation did not compel me to join the industry.

I joined the industry because I enjoyed working alone, and have tremendous admiration for the drivers who are the life blood to the nation's economy and are not thanked for their contributions. Most people don't think about the driver who drove 1500 miles to deliver the groceries that they are purchasing or any other goods. Ever since I was little kid, I would look at the massive behemoths with 18 wheels barreling down the Interstate and wondered "where did they come from?" and "where are they going?" Truckers are a mysterious bunch for those on the outside looking in as you rarely get to see them outside of their trucks. In many cases you don't even see them in the trucks as most 4 wheelers are seated so low that when you look into the drivers window, it looks like the truck is driving without a driver. All of this inspired me to pursue a career in trucking.

Anyways, to make the long story short. I quit not because I hated driving, but because I viewed myself as a unqualified driver. After 4 months of driving, I still had issues with shifting on the low range, and had tremendous difficulty backing into very tight places. I damaged the bumper when I grazed a tree trying to perform a tight 90 degree back one week, and rip off a trailer door the next week, even though I G.O.A.L over a half dozen times in both situations. The company wanted me to stay, but with two accidents I felt that I lacked the capabilities to succeed in trucking and elected to quit.

I harbor no anger or disappointment. I attempted to do something that many wannabes fear doing, and learned that I don't quite cut it. The only way to know if you can succeed in this industry is if you take the plunge. For most people, it will be a learning experience, and for the very few it will be a rewarding career.

Just .02 cents from a newbie driver who quit in less than a year.

 

All of the above, however I believe a large percentage of the fallout is due to guys jumping into something and the only thing they really know about it is what a recruiter told them.