I'm thinking about a career as a truck driver cdl-a. do I have to do OTR starting out or can I run a regional or dedicated local route?
Also the turnover rate from a number of sources is at around 97% why is this? Thanks in advance
I have to do OTR starting out?
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Greenhorn23, Jan 27, 2020.
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More than 97% forget numbers.
100 wanna drive, 50 cannot. Medical reasons, Drugs etc. 50 got a job. 25 left in 6 months. IF they survive school and training. In 5 years we are down to about 10. A variety of problems kill off hires. Prreventables. Service failures etc.
Not to mention a small percentage killed, prison, medically disabled or maimed and so forth.
One company had me at 226 people me bottom man when I hired on, 6 months later they were 236 drivers me high 30's, top 15 or so have tenure and will die there.
Only the company had only a year left to live before they too died.
Finally but not least. When I was in school instructors told us we have one body. It will break by 55 for some of us. I was finished OTR at high 40's I managed to work with trucks another 10 years as a crew boss but I was finished. Took what appears to be about 220,000 in medical care so far to fix some of the issues with another 110,000 potential expenses togo. I just finished watching insurance pay off 14000 just last three weeks.
And earnings? Inflated away from 80's money to 2010's worthless dollar. HA....Cabinover101 and rpad139 Thank this. -
Depending on where you live, otr is not always necessary. Many food service and soda distributors hire new drivers and it is local. As far as the turnover it isn't the whole industry with this crazy number. The mega training carriers find it cheaper to have the turnover that to pay drivers a decent wage.
Cabinover101, slim shady, Texas_hwy_287 and 1 other person Thank this. -
Where is your location?
Depending on your location; maybe some local/regional/dedicated runs.
A lot of that turnover is simply going from one trucking company to another.
Some drivers think the grass is greener somewhere else.
The grass is also greener over the septic tank.Cabinover101 and Texas_hwy_287 Thank this. -
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While OTR experience comes highly recommended by yours truly, I have found that most LTL companies will hire new CDL-a drivers with hazmat, tankers and doubles/triples endorsements with little or no experience. You will, however, be starting from the bottom of the pool, as far as available work/shift preference, and probably a few months of training/probation before you get your road legs.
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I know lots of drivers with over a decade of experience that have never spent a night in the truck. I live in a large city so there’s plenty of options for those not going that route. But no, OTR is not an industry job requirement.
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All the other guys answered appropriately, but OTR is really not bad. Me personally, I prefer OTR to local. You hear more negativity than you do positivity. I like it because of seeing different scenery, meeting cool people, eating great unique food lol. Either way, it is a long day. If you go OTR, you'll be able gain the experience necessary to make yourself a hot commodity for a local or regional gig. Do one year, itll come and go. Watch a bunch of options open up after.
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