Worth it? Regulations and perspective.

Best post on the thread right here....If someone asks me a question about something as serious as the way I'm gonna be supporting myself and my family , I want a answer straight from the hip.....I want to hear the good /bad/and ugly...please don't try and sugar-coat anything. TexTrucker said it right, like him I loved my job , and was one of the lucky one , I had an opportunity that lasted for 30 years with the same folks , was it aggravating sometimes , sure , was it difficult sometimes , you bet , but work is work , you get out of it just as much as you put into it...Alaska76 , most of the vets on this site are straight shooters , but willing to help out anybody they can , be it a fellow vet , or a newbie....some are just more direct than others , you're a smart guy....you can see your way through the bs I'm sure.

 

Business in general is over regulated. This is not isolated to only trucking. Success can still be had in spite of the regulations. You can dream of success, or wake up and achieve it.

I personally feel trucking is easier today than when I began in 1991. The comfort level of the trucks, the superior communication technology, more efficient load planning and routing. One thing that has certainly declined since 1991 is the increased congestion on the roads. The population has grown much more than the network of roads needed to move the freight. I certainly do not wish to go back to the HOS regulations from the 90's and before when you had a 15 hour day that never ended because going off duty stopped the clock, and then only had 8 hours off duty between shifts. The 14 hour on and 10 off works much better and has caused the industry to make more efficient use of time, whereas previous HOS regulations gave no incentive for a shipper/receiver to not hold a truck all day and the carrier expecting the driver to work all night. Personally, I would like the 14 rule to be cut to 12 and force the industry to be even more efficient with the time available to work.

The desire for instant gratification is what plagues a lot of society today. Everyone wants to go from school/college straight to the top with no years of hard work in between. The carriers I drove for in the beginning of my career are not who I would drive for today because I have gained many years of safe driving experience and can command better wages/schedule. When I was working for other carriers in years past, I always gave 150% effort and did my best to represent the carrier to their customers and to the public on the road. I remember the jokes I would hear about who I drove for in years past, which is not much different than anyone who laughs at me for being a Christian. I am not on earth to please people, I am here to please God. From my experience, reading the bible has guided down the path of success not only in trucking, but in the multi-million dollar business my wife and I currently own, which is where I will spend my final years working once I have had enough fun driving.

 

That last statement says it all pal.....you know what they say...garbage in...garbage out....this is so true not just in trucking....our entire nation could stand a few lessons on what a good work ehtic is...

 

First the job is over regulated. All American Jobs are over regulated. All Americans are over regulated. As the saying goes this nation has "Too many Chiefs, and not enough Indians." Government is to large and no one is in charge not even Marge.

I can have almost any job in this country. I have a resume that gets me any interview and I interview well. But I love the challenges that trucking brings to me. I am still able to impress myself when I back across traffic and bump the dock the first time. I know lots of you guys with less experience then I have do it all the time but I am not a natural at it. It is fun.

Does it pay well? I make good money but I don't settle for the first job offer. I understand that there are lots more jobs then there are people to fill them. Therefore wages need to increase. The problem is that many trucking companies have grown too large to be efficient enough to provide for higher wages to the drivers. They have too many people pushing paper. Just like the Federal Governments. Rules provide jobs but not for those who do the actual work that a company or government was meant to do.

Johnie Bryant Hunt was famous for saying that he only had to make a penny a mile to make money in trucking, if he had enough trucks. So trucking companies are swallowing up other trucking companies in an attempt to increase profits. What trucking companies need to do is focus on more efficiency. They need to raise freight rates and stop undercutting each other. Back in the "good old days" of trucking rates were regulated. I do not believe in government regulation of the market but I do believe in companies being able to act with enlightened self interest. Raise the rates. Don't haul cheap. More profits equal better and safer equipment, higher wages, more tax revenue.

See the problem with having a serious discussion about trucking is that it is long and boring. Name calling is easier.

 

Nice post Wooly! For those who never knew Mr. Hunt personally like I did, he is an example of an average guy who only had a 6th grade education, yet hard work and persistence turned into billions of dollars, all while remaining quite humble. RIP JB!

 

After 22 years I still enjoy it. Of course you are going to run into the occasional miserable #### who will never do nothing but complain. I ran into an old fella who complained to a waitress that "his day was "ruined" because she mistakenly brought him sausage patties when he clearly ordered sausage links".

 

I knew there were seasoned drivers out there that actually enjoy what they do! Welcome gentlemen, you experience and advise is greatly appreciated!

Thank You

 

Thing were a lot different 15/20 yrs ago. You can make good money driving a truck if you dont mind sitting a warehouses and not get paid,being away from home weeks on end. Have Government and DOT treat you like serial killers, spending your day being cut off by 4 wheelers, sitting in traffic and eating food worse then what you would feed your dog. If you you can make a good living outside of trucking $500 to $1000 dollars a week. stay away from trucks. Once your in it, its almost impossible to get out.