How to Get Opinions/Advice From Drivers at Truckstops

Umpqua Community College in OR requires the students in its truck driver training program to go out and interview at least one professional driver. The guy that interviewed me in Roseburg said that several other drivers blew him off. The interview took about 30 minutes, he had a list of questions & had to record my answers. I thought the questions were really intelligent. I think it's a great idea that the school was apparently trying to give its students some insight to what they would actually experience after they got their CDL. If more schools did this I believe we would have a lot lower failure rate among new drivers. I'll wager that the guy that interviewed me did not fail either.

 

I've done this...and found VERY FEW drivers in the DINER. I was very surprised. I visited during the week and weekends. This a Hugh Truck stop....and drivers are just coming in the convenience store and buying food and walking back out to their trucks.

I saw one or 2 sitting and having meals, and sat with one. He gave me a SAD and horrible story about he's been driving for years, wife died, kids on drugs back home in Iowa etc. I bid him best of luck and moved over to the Bar-grille area and found more drivers at the counter having a "drink." I spoke with a couple...and some of them were happy to talk.

 

Must of had a really ugly waitress there.

 

what's wrong with beards?????

 

most the time drivers when they are on a 10 are more than happy to talk, gets a little lonley in a truck sometimes. and a lot are happy to have someone to talk to, some a little too happy and wont ever quit talking. id say the counter at a truck stop restaurant is a good place to strike up a conversation.

 

And here I've always wondered how to get truck drivers to keep their opinions to themselves...

 

Theres alot of drivers who forget how it was when they were learning to drive
the truth is when you think you know it all,its time to quit.truck stop would be your best bet for good advice....you can also just sit there watching,your bound to also see stuff not to do

 

You won't have any trouble getting a truck drivers opinion at any truck stop. Getting them to Shut up is the hard part. The majority of truck drivers are "Simple" to put it nicely. What you hear from most folks willing to talk with you or especially those trying to talk to you at a truck stop is whining,BS and ridiculously obvious lies. The conversation will be that of one upsmanship even if you don't try to compete with them they will grossly overstate their situation and capabilities to satisfy their insecurities.

Back when i was in training i couldn't get a driver to leave me alone anywhere i went. If you go into a Truck Stop with a "open" vibe is the best way i can describe it the super truckers will pounce on you like a shark goes to blood. I was very concerned about this being the status quo. Fortunately within 3 months of driving people started to leave me alone and now nobody bothers me.

I'll strike up a conversation in a truck stop once every couple weeks just to maintain social skills as i can go several weeks without talking to anyone outside of commerce EG. customers,company and sales staff. Your personal social skills begin to degrade at that point so i try to give them a little maintenance now and again. I normally regret it and terminate the conversation in the first 5 minutes for the reasons listed above.

The conversations i do enjoy which can go for 4+ hours at a time and be extremely informative is when you get to converse with an experienced specialized driver EG. RGN OD,Smooth bore food grade or hazmat tanker, Bull haulers,O/O's,Flats or steps (maybe). These drivers more often than not are going to be the intellectuals of the industry to varying degrees of course. The freight they haul requires more than just a steering wheel holder so if you do happen to meet one of them that is an absolute incompetent moron he will likely be fired or dead in short order thus minimizing your chances of meeting such a character.

I pick their brains when i get a chance as they have much to teach me and you can even build up contacts for moving up into another section of the industry. However,You have to be personable during the conversation as well to maximize your information collection.

To answer your question though. Sit in the truck driver section of the diner especially at the counter between 4-8pm and you won't have to work at all to get a conversation started. Many of the drivers out here have severe difficulty's handling the social isolation of this line of work and will desperately latch onto you for social interaction.

 

Yeah, if you want to get a drivers opinion at a truck stop, just walk in. If there's someone willing to listen to them complain, they'll do it. Sometimes even when you're trying to ignore them.