Recent news of Trucker Shortages

My thoughts are this. I see hopeful CDL grads who never get day 1 in this industry because they cannot put down weed. They cannot pass a drug test. Others have too many tickets. Out of what’s left, 50% didn’t plan on the isolation and cramped quarters. So they quit.

Would you be willing to be away from friends and family for really long periods of time? Only talk in the phone? Do you like being required to sit and not earn any money for more than half the day? It’s a 24 hour job but you only get paid for miles that you are moving. You sit for free. In parking lots, not like at a park or the mountains..

My answer is yes, I am willing to do all that. So here I am. I have other important reasons for being out here that are bigger than just myself. So I do it. I’m also a bit anti-social so I like the atmosphere.

 

Wait you just posted a glowing article about the $60-70k jobs.. now you see the money isn’t exactly worth it in some cases.

 

which explains the driver shortage..... a large percentage of them make the owners rich. CPM is terrible and my daily pay is just the same crap in a different form.

people wonder why they see speeding trucks...... its the only way we can make money if your not by the hour. speed limit is 55, i do 60-62, drive the speed limit? not if you want to make money. i have had days i made $24-25 per hour...... still i always work 6 days, most sectors of the workforce that means overtime and a jump in pay. no such thing in trucking. overtime???? what's that??

couple of things here
- the companies make their own issues by not paying properly. things like added pay after 40 hours worked, holiday pay, ect ect
- our society IS dysfunctional..... drunks, drug addicts, lack of ability to work with your hands, and just all out laziness

 

Ill be driving all day the 4th. I get paid cpm... I still get holiday pay aswell...

Some company's do there drivers right.

 

how many CDL holders that still have CDL's say no thanks to driving OTR or locally? truck driving in any form?

 

some do, some dont. im going to stay at my current company for a while..... maybe a couple of years because i dont have it THAT bad overall. i need the exp, but eventually there are things i might just leave over.

tomorrow i will work around 8 hours but not a penny more then normal pay. yuk.

 

Just pay drivers for mileage and all on duty time.
14 hour combination each day, 70 per week.
Each driver should make between 70 and 120K depending on experience and specialty fields.

 

While I do agree, @Moose1958 is spot on as well. I actually got a call from a local O/O today who tried to offer me a job. What he was offering was enticing enough to make me contemplate the move from my current company. One thing he said that really stood out to me as we were talking about insurance requirements, policies etc was "man, you just can't get anyone on anymore in 2 or 3 days, it's become a long, drawn out scenario due to all of these #### regulations and the #### insurance companies." I obviously agreed, as I've turned some companies down for exactly that.

Your line of "Some companies make it an act of Congress to get a job there." is just about as spot on as it gets, and it's a real pain in the ###, and that even goes for folks like myself who have clean records etc. I'm at the point where I don't even want to THINK about making a job change in the immediate future, for the simple fact I know it's going to be a real pain in the d i c k just to get on and get a #### start date, and once you FINALLY get cleared and get a start date, you're then looking at a week or two before you even get a #### check. It really shouldn't be as drawn out as it's become, which is why I tend to stick to smaller mom and pop companies. I won't even give the time of day to any companies that call me that are "corporate" and maybe I'm missing out on some gems, but I'm also missing out on a lot pain in the ### moments as well, and that's cool with me.