Is there a Driver Shortage?

If your not making at least $1000/wk your just working for a companys profits not your family and yourself. $1000÷70hr=$14.29 /hr. What most ppl don't realize is you need a retirement package and health benefits. You don't live forever.

 

OMG, don't egg them on!

 

I guess it all depends on where you live and what sort of endorsements you got.
Where I'm at right now, people are always bouncing back and forth between the various milk hauling outfits they have here in town and the next one 20 miles south.

 

Sit at the truck stop entrance. You can spot a professional by the way they dress, groom, carry themselves, interact with others..etc. there's not many professionals left.

 

That made me think of something. Now that I have lost over 80 lbs, I'm gonna start tucking my shirt in.

 

I just realized, that was a reply to my reply. Do you have any specific info on how to get more miles/day. That is what I'm talking about. I don't want to be a driver who is only grossing $500/wk.

Looking neat and clean with a little spring in your step is great and professional looking. I want to be paid like a professional.

I will add that I am not very professional looking on my way into the truck stop after waking up on my way to the shower. I am kind of rumpled and unpleasant looking!

 

Experience is what and how you deal with situations on a daily basis. Some are able to handle day to day better than others.
Trucking you are not in a hurry, 85% of loads are set up so you average 55 mph. From pickup to drop, unless it's a special load.

It's the driver who isn't at the lunch counter talking about his "black helicopter" ," ex- Navy Seal" or " I got a DOT fired". He's the one how kept his door shut, drove to his drop. Ready for the next load.

 

Is it really about time management then more than anything There are so many things a driver cannot control. Is it simply about controlling the things he/she can?

When I did my year with Schneider, I did learn a few things. I was bellyaching about how I would arrive 7 hours before my pickup time at a backhaul. One of the veteran drivers on that account told me to look at my paperwork. He said there is a phone number on there, call and see if you can move your appointment time up. I did call and gave the woman my pick up number. Acting like I was not a driver, but some kind of cubicle person, I requested to change the pickup time. It worked! I got loaded seven hours earlier and down the road a few hours, till my 10 was up. Is it that kind of thing you guys are talking about?????