Possible New Driver

Yes trucking is not for everyone.

 

Can you delete my post you quoted, that was dumb of me and I don't like all that personal information about my life out there for everyone to see.

 

Ask mods.I can't.
Don't sweat it,nothing to worry in the land of the free.

 

Lol yeah right!

 

This morning at the truck stop in O'Neal Nabraska I witnessed a scumbag trucker throw a bag of trash out his window and a coffee cup full of butts and a liquid that was not coffee. These are your fellow truckers, welcome to the wonderful job that is trucking. These are your peers.

 

There culls in any business. Just seems like trucking attracts more of them.

 

Not my peers.

 

Exact reason why I'm changing careers. I've always had a interest in trucking since I was 6. Working 10 at night to 8 in the morning is a killer.

 

OP, I know you're getting a lot of negative feedback about becoming an OTR driver and I'm sure it seems pretty disheartening to you.

I wish I could tell you that you were reading posts from a bunch of disgruntled jackwagons that hate their jobs because they don't put enough into it and are having a tough time due to their own shortcomings.

But I can't.

The reality is that most of the folks spouting negativity are telling the truth. I am one of them.

I love trucking, but I hate what trucking has become. I got into this biz in 1988 and I love trucks. I love most everything about them. I got hurt and got out of trucking for a few years and became an IT guy. I loved that, too, but, life happens and I needed to make more money to support my family, so here I am, again. Missing out on the important things... again.The difference is; back then I didn't realize what the real important things were. Back then the important things were running triple digits and dodging the scales, running multiple log books because I was playing outlaw trucker with my buddies. Now, the important things are missed holidays, birthdays, BBQs, reunions, et al.. Missed because you didn't get enough miles last week to pay all the bills, so you've got to run a little harder to make up for it.

Today, it's all different. The buddies are gone. Well, the brotherhood is gone, anyway. What you face out here are a huge amount of sniveling, self-involved malcontents with nothing but their wants and needs on their minds (if they're thinking of anything at all), both from this country and from outside. None of which will even bother to move into the left lane when you're broke down on the shoulder, let alone see if they can help. A bunch of nasty, almost subhuman specimens that will soil the toilet seat (among other things) and walk out without a care in the world (and, more often than not, without washing their hands before heading to the roller grill or buffet). You will be on your own. With luck you will find a handful of drivers that think beyond themselves and befriend them.

Don't get me wrong; I still love the essence of trucking. I still get a charge out of looking back in my mirrors and seeing that trailer tagging along behind and listening to my Cat purr and my tires hum. I'm still proud to be a truck driver, even though that term doesn't hold the same meaning it used to thanks to the megas and such. I guess my point to all this rambling is; if I feel that way, a driver with almost 30 years in the business, how do you think you will feel after weeks of no money, being treated like a second class citizen by those you serve and those that are supposed to be there to serve you, long hours, missing sleep and being away from your wife and kids for weeks at a time, paying for a home you never get to enjoy?

Sorry for the rant. I don't think, in all the years I've been a member here, I've ever dragged out a post like this.

TL;DR Version: Stay where you are. You'll be glad you did.