Trucker pay

Imagine if trucking companies spent as much effort and dollars on RETAINING drivers as they do recruiting them. I know the down side might be a lack of all those shiny magazines in truckstops, but perhaps the turnover rates would fall from unbelievable to merely high.

 

It's cheaper to put the newbies through orientation, buy them pizza or burgers for the week, put them up in a hotel, and then run a bunch of team trucks for the cost of a solo operation for 4 - 6 weeks and then turn a bunch of those newbies loose on their own. Also, a lot of the more experienced guys wander off to greener pastures as opposed to staying and since the big companies basically have people beating down their door to drive for them, it's a no brainer.

 

I highly suggest that if you want to write an award winning story about truck driver pay, and other issues drivers face, take a leave of absence from the WSJ. Then, apply to one of the mega carriers that train new drivers. Spend a year over the road, documenting everything. No one seems to understand truck driving except those who experience it.

I will let you in a a little secret - there is no driver shortage.

 

I'm glad my truck is paid for as well may inactivate my authority at insurance renewal time if rates don't come up. These people are hauling for free now days. Called CHR about a load couple weeks ago twice one guy offered me 800 dollars the other offered 500 dollars they can say the shippers are being cheap but I know it's them being greedy. I had one tell me why pay 1000 dollars when someone will move it for 500.
We have no one but our own brother truckers o blame for this.

You're looking out the same window everyday and spending most of your wake hours in the same truck.
and after some point you will have seen most of every place. And then you will realize you are being paid very little for all the time and effort you put into this job.

 

There are at least two view's in trucking those who think its a lifestyle and are mostly low wages because of there thinking and there are others think it just a job and pray and hope it's get better without doing anything to help improve it. [ just my opinion]
I been in it when it was the wild wild west, drugs given by dispatchers and truck owners telling you to find a bull hauler and get a toothpick from him.
the partying all the time the days of getting lost when no one including the company or your family could get in contact with you for days or even weeks unless you called in.
When hauling produce and scale master pull you in and tell your a crate of lettuce over or about 10 watermelons over.
When truck stops loved you so much that they would fuel your truck,wash your,windows,check your tires,and some would even wash your truck on fuel island ,and if you would buy 100 gals they would give you a steak dinner for free.
When brokers would try to pay you cash for hauling there loads [ cash as in i pay you the driver 50% of what the load pays no telling the company.
Or the days when local sherriffs run the lot lizzards to the truck stops and pull you out of trucks and say the fine is $100 and no have to know what happen.

I been jailed for speeding 5 miles over and had no money on me on a sat and threw me in jail till monday .
Or the days when late at night very few cars on road if any would catch you and in a group speeding about 70 in a 55 ask on the cb if you wanted a escort to the state line and do triple digits with the troopers in front leading the pack.
When you become a driver you transform in to a whole realm of the world, your old drinking buddies no longer know you, your family weddings,funeral,recitals,ball games ,your world outside of trucking goes away because that load got to go or dispatch says you run or your fired .
You give up a lot ,you are enslaved to the industry who could care less about you, you are just a throw away to anybody and everybody in this industry.
If i could go back and talk to a my young self i would most likely break my left leg so i could not use the clutch,or beat me until i came to my senses.
But with all that said would i have a house or cars or anything without trucking ,yes i would ,would i have experinace the views on the road the views of he rocky mountains in the sun ups,sunset,rain,snow falls or the view of the oceans,or the lights ,probably not.
When your young it exciting and thrilling ,but that when you could drive late at night across Wyoming and not see anyone all night .
Would i do it all over again? why would i not

 

Should be an interesting article.
I just got off the phone with Brian after talking for almost an hour and there were some extremely common grievances that kept coming up not only from myself, but others that he had talked to or from emails he received of which there were likely thousands.

 

So first a WSJ reporter asking about E-logs and now one asking about Driver Pay?

 

yea i can honestly say that trucking gave me the largest paycheck weekly of any job i have ever done. but in the same sense, its not a 40 hour week and the hourly pay ratio for the 70 hour week is a less than working at home in a factory or grocery store etc when your miles are down for that week. the owner ops are suffering even more providing cost of fuel, insurance, license, truck breakdowns, but these are only a few of their problems. like several have said, these large companies move freight for nearly nothing. my brother in law is an owner op and he is also thinking about selling his truck if the freight rate stays down. but that may be the whole goal of the low rates. maybe they are trying to get rid of the owner ops so these companies can haul their freight for nothing. they figure that everybody wins that way i guess. cant say i blame the owner ops because i sure wouldnt work for free.

 

don't forget about the 70 hours...those are the hours you log. what about the hours you are doing something job related and not getting paid for..????

like washing your truck as an example. just one of the many things we do, weekly that we simply cannot account for. i'd be surprised if an "average" OTR or regional driver actually puts in an 80 to 90 hour week, but just cannot log it.

 

Just one of the reasons that I thought hourly pay for long haul would work, my guys weren't interested???