What would you say is the hardest part about actually driving a truck?

I'm just a rookie (only been driving two months), but I listen to experienced Truckers who really like to share their experience with young drivers. The one thing I consistently hear from them, it this:

THE MINUTE YOU THINK YOU HAVE THIS JOB LICKED...AND THERE'S NO MORE TO LEARN...IS WHEN THE TRUCK WILL TEACH YOU WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW!!!

That's what's really hard about driving a truck in my book..staying humble and staying cautious..aware that ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN AT ANYTIME!!!

I listen to that!!!

 

By far the worst part is being in a densely populated city. It gets easier with time but thats the worst part for me. Also being in a truck stop with a compact parking lot at night with only 1 or 2 spots available and trying to back into one. I GOAL on those moments lik 5-20 times. I dont have issues backing any other time. I think i have such a hard time with this because everytime i am trying to back into a fully packed truck stop its because i have no choice and am dead tired. That plus the fact that it is dark and harder to see and there is so little room to play with in the first place. I will get better at it i got nothing but time on my side.

 

This x1000. I only have 9 months under my belt of safe driving but if the statistics are any indication thats already an accomplishment. Definitely nothing compared to the 5-40 yr experienced drivers out there but still something. I can say with certainty that the only thing that allowed me to make it this far is, well the grace of God, and the fact that i stayed humble. There were a few critical moments in these past 9 months where i almost started getting ####y (maybe comfortable is a more appropriate term) or did for a few days. Then i saw in nebraska and wyoming on i-80 (high winds) 10 SEMI TRAILERS IN A ROW flipped over. Or the few trucks i saw in a ditch. Or that motorcycle in Milwaukee that i saw laying underneath a semi (i googled the story that biker died). Or the 10 vehicle pile up i saw involving 2 tractor-trailers, or the countless truckers i heard of and know who washed out of this industry for one reason or another all boiling down to COMPLACENCY.

So i guess what i am saying is if you PAY ATTENTION the ROAD will keep you humble.

Stay safe my friend.

 

Since I just started I would say going somewhere new and not knowing what's around next corner and backing into places that were never built with a 53 foot trailer in mind.

 

it is not just a job, especially if you sleep in your truck. It is a lifestyle that most will never understand.

 

nothing about driving a truck is hard, each step learned becomes a skill

what HURTS me about driving a truck is watching how a profession that my father and uncles raised their families on being killed by . . . .

1-government overreach
2-politicians catering to numbskulls
3-the ATA and insurance companies
4-all turning this industry into a factory-like "punch your clock" job
and drivers actually submitting to the above four

the craft is dying and we are sinking with it

 

Pretty good post... I have been at it since '91 and things sure have changed, none for the better really. Back when I started, there was still some old school vibes, time sure has altered the industry, made it a dog and pony show for outsiders, whist making it a real back breaker for the people in the industry.

 

Those aren't skills... Come on man...There are 100,000s on the road doing that everyday if not millions...Keep trying...

 

dealing with THIS every day and not choking the living daylights out of anyone

 

and you gotta LOVE THESE