Bottom Feeders?

They are seen more like a victim of a system that doesn't care about thier well being, just the company profit

 

NO...

 

These arguments can be made for any industry in the U.S. They're not specific to trucking. Personally, I blame the big insurance companies. Moreover, the ambulance chasing attorneys.

 

So much of WHY the mega (training) companies have a monopoly on new entrants is due to restrictions placed on smaller companies from being able to employ new drivers in the first place.

Let me give you an example.

I went to work for May Trucking right out of truck driving school 8 years ago. I called around and put in applications with smaller companies in my area, no one would hire me because I had no "experience."

The lack of experience limitation for most of those smaller companies was directly connected to their insurance carriers precluding them from hiring anyone unless they met a minimal threshold of 1 to 2 years driving experience, or the price of their premium would increase in such a way (if they did hire a new entrant) that it made it economically infeasible for them to do so.

Therefore, I was forced into going to work (because I needed a job) for a company that is a 48 state OTR company. After 9 days on a "trainer" truck, I was out on my own, which is what I wanted. As such, I was gone away from home for long stretches of time. To the point where I'll be honest with you, I felt like I was losing touch with my family and contemplated giving up after a few mos., sound familiar?

Now, after I put in a couple of years, I could write my own ticket and I did just that. I went to work for a small 100 truck family owned carrier that only runs in my region. I did 70% drop & hook for them, was home 3 to 4 times a week and loved it.

In reality, what I did for that regional company didn't necessitate 2 years experience, no way. I could of done the exact thing for them as I did for May Trucking right out of the shoot. However, they couldn't of hired me in the beginning because their insurance consortium precluded them from doing so.

 

Insurance companies are deffinately to blame more so now then ever before..They are the ones wh makes the call on who a carrier can hire.These starter companies however Rob the already poor newbies.Carriers are making a huge profit they could afford to pay more along with respect then they wouldn't have such a high turnover rate.

 

A lot of the mega companies self-insure. So, they can set their own standards.

 

One of the best posts ever. I really mean that.

 

Why do you insist, employees of the Mega's are scum.
The opinion of most drivers for the Mega fleets are the. Drivers are inexperienced, uninformed and taken advantage of by the Mega's.
The bottom Feeder comment applies to the Companies, to describe their operating habits. Not to describe the nature of their employees/drivers.