General job stress question.

I have had lots of stress from flying in the Air Force to running a group of banks in Africa. I drive trucks now because it is one of the most peaceful things you can do. Provided you have the right dispatcher. Traffic you have to deal with but there is only so much you can do. If you are in a car you and weave in and out of traffic. Not so with an 18 wheeler. So real quickly you figure out that it doesn't matter what they do. You simply drive slower and let them fight it out. There is a lot of waiting time in trucking. Climb in the back and take a nap. Relax.

Now about the dispatcher. Most companies have people who are way too impressed with themselves. If you have someone telling you what to do that does not match your personality then as the big boss to find you someone who does. My best dispatchers never called me. I called them and they had my dispatches pre planned.

One of the reasons I got into truck was Ricky Nelson's Garden Party....If memories is all I need, I rather drive a truck. Lots of time to think when you are over the road. Peace.

 

Social isolation, unpaid hours, dangerous conditions due to weather/traffic,14 hour days, moron dispatchers, etc. Buy your own truck and you will have more flexibility.

 

Once you get into the sleep habits of driving at night working a night really is no big deal. I did it for six months and I kind of enjoyed it. As far as traffic you just have to calmly deal with it. There really is no way around it.

 

Hopefully you wont discover the bad places in the USA when you do go on the road.

There is always a certain amount of stress in anything people do. Trucking is not for everyone. Peaceful? Hardly not when you are heading into mountain ice and valley snows on grades steeper than you want to try walking on.

 

Being a trucker is the most stressful job I've ever had. Each day while driving I worry about: truck running well, dot, traffic, time, fuel, time, weather, time, route updates, the next day, the day after, and the delivery day, next load, time, making it back home for the Holiday weekend, time, money, getting paid, time, eating better, sleeping adequately, where to get the truck fixed, where to shower, time, where to stop for the end of the day, dot, time...it's bad. I worry a lot. I don't know if other drivers worry as much as I do but Im always in a constant state of making sure I make my money while I'm out here in the poop.
But be sure that when I go home, I leave the poop out and I don't take it home. That way I can enjoy the good life for half a week at home.

 

The most relaxing trucking job I've ever had was hazmat/tankers. Shippers & receivers are decent people to deal with and usually pretty smart overall. My deliveries were during the daytime so drove at night mostly which is what I prefer. Run all night, make the delivery, go to nearest decent truckstop and go to bed. Attend a good community college cdl school and several tanker outfits will hire you.

 

Nights are the best! No traffic, can blow through cities, just you and other trucks on open road. Best is pulling into an empty truckstop in the morning and getting a good spot close to the wifi and at that time nobody is really using it so u get great connection. Only bad thing is DRUNKS. When your driving in the early morning hours you'll see alot of them. But you can utilize your hours well cause of no backups and 100% guarantee a spot at a truck stop. I've pulled in with less than a minute of drive time left just plan carefully and switch over to on duty post trip once you stop at the ramp to turn. #### elogs. But can knock out 680-700 miles outta the trip in one run.

 

Truck running well equals life in areas like Death Valley, etc. DOT was a liability if something is illegal or broken. I had a inspection once in KY sw of louisville knowing the steering gear is iffy, they found a oil leak. (I should have found same to be fair, but in those days my response to problems was to head for shop.) Traffic was bypassed by running at night or taking US 15 (I know I keep repeating this road... but this has in my time was a literal peaceful ride in the woods across a river) bypassing DC. Traffic also for battle purposes. What time does the American Legion Bridge fillup and stop moving? What deck of the GWB stops moving? Are trucks banned from lower level? Could we sneak across on it maybe or use the upper level and what time? decisions, decisions and more decisions. I watched the NJ Turnpike grow from 4 lane both ways to 6 lane both ways all the way to exit 12 I think it was then morph and construct into like a 52 lane horrow show gridlocked all the way down to the Petro off exit 9 I think it was. Essentially halfway to the Delaware memorial bridge. Next load was a fear. If you are on a good load you stay on it.

I once refused a load into Ontario into the teeth of a winter storm because we as a team just came out of there with 10 dollars in our pocket and 3 days to payroll. On our 5th wheel was a 2500 mile to sunny Phoenix. Sorry Chicago FFE. We are gone. And so we were. Passed off to Phoenix dispatch to run a while when Chicago decided we could not be relied on after that one and only refusal. Then Nogales became a combat posting for me mentally. For a variety of very good reasons you do not sleep down there. No one touches your truck anywhere. This is to make sure no smugglers, no drugs no shootings which was happening in ear shot and bodies being carted. Bam! One gone wail of sirens etc. All routine down there.

You see where Im working down this paragraph and expanding on the issues? That does not even begin to scratch the surface. You have to like yourself in order to be happy in trucking. And being prepared to deal with people who are either predators, mentally unstable, felons, bums, sexual deviants and so on at any time. In addition you needed to preserve your own health by being careful what you got into. Sometimes you get hurt on the road and have to deal with the hospital billing plus all the other bills that pour in. Sometimes you might actually get sick. Sick enough to abandon dispatch, call home 1500 miles away.. crawl half way there based on pure moxie and instinct bobtail and burn for 4 days in the sleeper until your fever either breaks or someone ships your body to the ER dead or alive. Ive been sick a few times and it hurt dispatch, but once they learn that Im sick they move to intercept. And it is good to have friends who care.

Truckers move the Nation. Without us, the Nation simply disintegrates into anarchy and eventually breaks up forever. With the possible exception of the Soviet, No one does trucking like we do.