Why Did You Quit- Why Do Drivers Quit

Idle policy, pay, detention, equipment, routes, dispatchers, and hometime are some of the reasons drivers quit.

 

The theme I see that carries through from those who have left bigger companies is the "us vs . them " mentality when dealing with the office people . They ignore the fact that we are the only ones who actually produce revenue with their sorry ### look down the nose attitude . The companies that have a cooperative attitude , like PackRat's retain drivers because they appreciate and take care of them but most of all because they treat them like human beings .

I believe a large part of the turnover problem isn't actually a problem . The majority of drivers who quit go to another company . By changing employers they aren't reducing the number of drivers in the industry but the trucking companies use this turnover number to pinch the Feds for financial incentives or tax breaks to help them do their best to prevent the coming doomsday situation of corn flakes rotting on the dock because there are no drivers to move them to the store . Without sounding like a tin foil hatter we need to remember that numbers can be manipulated to mean anything simply by stating long and loud enough what we want to convince someone else they mean .

 

Schneider Bulk: 2-3k miles/week, out 2-4 weeks, paid only for unloading/det when not driving

Current company (small company, private tanker fleet): 2-3k miles/week, 2-4 tens in the truck/week (home weekends, holidays and sometimes home during the week), paid for all time not driving (except breaks)

 

Survey of many carriers report driver turn over rates for all 90% of carriers show that drivers turn over is 94% to 97% each year.

Did you make this crap ul? All 90%? Really? So is it all or 90%? 97% turn over each by year? Laughable. So your telling me swift which I'm sure has a high turnover is orientating 500 people a week... Not happening

 

First company was medium size reefer-only, 48-state OTR. Said they were "family-oriented" and would do "whatever was necessary" to get drivers home on time when needed. So I advised them when I started that my pregnant daughter was married to an Army sergeant who was going to deploy to Korea for two years after the birth of their child. I kept my (brand new) DM in the loop and eventually gave them 60 days notice after the birth to get me there so I could say goodbye.

When the day finally came and I was on my way there, I was excited and happy. When I was three hours away from the destination, I was told to cancel my time off - and visit - and deliver the load to a completely different state. I missed seeing my daughter before she and my new granddaughter departed for Korea.

I gave them my two weeks notice that day and even then, it took them FOUR WEEKS to get me home.

 

If I ever quit I imagine it will be due to changes that I can't accept. So far the grass is green enough where I am and has only gotten greener as time has gone on.

Other that recruiters creating unrealistic expectations I would imagine the biggest reason for high turnover is due to changes in the way a company does things.

Sure, some people just like to job hop but if treated how expected most people won't be leaving a job as often as the stats show IMO.

 

That may be true and they are not orientating 500 per week, but they only need one to have a turnover of 100%.

Example: Carrier hires one driver and only one driver at the beginning of the month and that driver quits before the end of the month = 100% turnover for that month.

A 90% turnover rate means that for every 100 drivers hired 90 quit and 10 stay. How many drivers can a mega hire per week, month, year? 500? 5000? 5000 drivers hired at ( insert mega here) annually at a 90% turnover rate equates to 4500 quitting in that same year and 500 staying.

 

You sure about that? I don't think turnover rate applies to just new hires. Considering that turnover rates can be more than 100% that makes no sense unless I'm reading your post wrong.

 

When it's over 100% that just means they hired 100 and those 100 quit and so did 1 other that stayed from a previous week, month, year.

Edit: You are correct that turnover doesn't apply to just new hires. My example was just based on that.

Say the very next year the same carrier hires another 5000 drivers with the same turnover rate, only this time instead of 4500 of this round of hires quitting say only 4000 quit, but they still, in that same year had 4500 quit. That just means that 500 driver quit that weren't hired this year in this example.

 

Quit 1st job at Wiley Sanders because 1st trainer was obese , smeel horrible, too lazy do get out of truck too take in paper work or slide fifth wheels and made for some very long nights after being up most of the day, second trainer was worse in other ways. So I moved on too even worse company called Lester Coggins, lasted a few months and moved on. Third company was Western Express, they were good but I had developed a realy bad outlook by then and made it a habit too piss off my overbearing dispatcher and I quit that job within a few months. Sharing a small enclosure with a total stranger got too be worst then a jail cell. In fact, it is.