Bad mouthing the industry to newbies

I should have asked them to check my transmission fluid dipstick!

 

"What transmission?.."........I bet they'd have tried to find it though, lmao!!

 

04 Accord. Not sure of the model number to be honest. 5 speed manual.

 

Noobs , if you got questions ask away. We have a nice happy thread here. I can't answer anything about truck skools or anything megafleet related, but will try at most anything else.

 

If I may I appreciate a thread that is not bashing the trucking industry. I am new and hoping to start to C1 on 11/14/11. This site is awsome in all of the info that it has but there are so many that are miserable in thier chosen profession. It has been somewhat disheartening. Not to say that I am weak and allow others opinions to sway my decision but if your new and your looking up to all of your older more experienced drivers for you know just support not like best friend support but like you know yeah i been doing this for 20 years and I hate it it sucks and all that what is the point of wasting your life doing something that you hate. Im hoping to start a career get out of the office and gain some muscle, you know get dirty and travel and make really good money. I was told I would gt like 350 a week on road training then once became 1st seat 26 cpm. with usa. I have been super excited about this opportunity but i got called by my recruiter today and was told that they are reviewing my driving record I had an accident that was my fault right at 3 yrs ago so now im afraid that I may not get to go. I was the only vehicle involved and no injuries but alcohol was not an issue. i accidently fishtailed into a ditch and totaled my truck. personal not a commercial. do you think that they will disqualify me???

 

Accidentally fishtailed? How did you accidentally do this? Was weather a factor? Was the pavement dry? Was this in heavy traffic? Yet you say it was your fault, so were you speeding, did you get a ticket?

Those are some questions that they would be asking, to see if you're a reckless driver, or it's just one of those things that can happen on an ice-covered roadway. They could make the assumption that you were driving too fast, following too close, or just not paying attention. They would not want someone that drives like that.

However I really don't see that one accident being a job-breaker, so long as the accident report does not indicate that you were driving in a reckless, careless manner, causing you to loose control.

 

They should, yes. But they often won't know this.

In a lot of cases, no, they don't.

Again, they probably won't (unless they happen to run across this site).

Okay, that part is true.

You're forgetting that a lot of people outside the industry get most of their "info" about trucking from watching too many "BJ and the Bear" or "Convoy" episodes. In other words, no, they don't "already know" a lot of this stuff. I agree, one shouldn't badmouth an industry simply because he or she couldn't hack it. But there is a distinct difference between "badmouthing", and providing a little "inside information" which a recruiter wouldn't dare divulge (lest he scares off some potential hires and misses his recruiting goal).

I don't think most recruiters actually lie; they simply gloss over some of the more unattractive facts about the job. Not that much different from military recruiting, really. I guess that's why it really helps to do your research before diving in headfirst.

 

yes u are new just dont do all the messed up things the vets get away with ie take all of your trash to a trash can i mean all trash . DONT SLEEP on xpress way ramps on /off sooner or later this will get you killed .. always use your common sence and if the cb rambo is to ruff on you turn your cb off... if there is no place to park your rig at trk stop /rest area / look for a vacant store/ factory / mill/plant/ mall/ ps keep a care package in ur trk. can opener penut butter crackers/case of water/ some can goods first aide kit ,you never know when you or the big road will breake down. now here is a tale for u you will have to take a new driver and help him..how to do the right thing... move 5th wheel slide tandoms change fuel filter. when i was new i had to learn all of those things. remember dont be so hard on the new drivers we all have to share the same big road. the sooner the better..

 

some people are just stuck....cant do anything else...wont do anything else cause it may require being on their feet longer that it takes to order something at Subway. Some may just hate their job so much that they dont think anyone else woould like it either. I have only been driving 5 years and a piece, and I can say that things have changed alot in just that little of time. A few people that I have talked to thinks driving a truck, is "just driving a truck" I have met quite of few drivers that just turned 21 or maybe just a little older that decided they want to be a truck driver. Generally, not always, but generally flatbedding will pay more, atleast to start out anyway. They leave their mother, (i mean their mother, not momma) at home to venture in this new life. Only to find out it was a hell of alot easier to afford mommys cooking and buying video games with their Burger King paycheck. Most people buy an SUV because they want to have the biggest vehicle on the road. They feel safer. I dont mean to use it for its abilities or cargo space. Just the idea of driving, truely the biggest vehicle on the road is what draws some into thinking they want to be a truck driver. As far as bad mouthing the industry, to many times people judge the book by the cover. Meaning, some drivers just think someone may not be able to handle this life by just looking at them.