Do I need a brain to drive truck

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Nitemare13, Feb 11, 2017.

  1. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

    18,655
    130,744
    Apr 10, 2009
    Copied in Hell
    0
    You are correct, sir. But the key word you said is DRIVER. The regs dumb everything down. When I started, the average driver in my area, long haul truckers(there wasn't any OTR) ran 5000 miles a week and home on weekends. That was AVERAGE. It was a hard run. You brought home a grand a week net.

    Someone is thinking, "Ummm, thats not that good for the miles."

    You're right. A grand net and home every weekend is not that good. But whats the average now for otr? 600 to 800 a week and home oonce a month, and having to beg for hometime?

    Time is more important. You know how you guys have to be perfect on trip planning and fight for a parking spot? We didn't do that. Run like hell during the week, get to the yard, park the truck and jump into the car and go home.

    This was the AVERAGE driver. You had to be able to truck. This too was in the era of the performance enhancing drugs. I didn't need them, in fact i still have my teeth. Some did. Bunch of the guys had speeding tickets, but no at fault crashes.

    Big R was the biggest outfit on the road. Their drivers ran 8.5 hours a day, then pulled over and a shuttle would bring another driver to finish t h e run. You have 14 hours to drive, and drivers would stop a mile short of their destination because their clock was up. Sound familiar? 30 years ago, that was obsurd. Now, its a regulation. Did it help Big R? Not one bit. Even combined with Yellow, YRC is only a good fraction of the size Roadway was.

    Safer? Debatable. Profitable? Less time at home and less net pay? Definitely not profitable.

    The worse thing about the regs is it creates a job for losers...people with no ambition or brain or a care in the world to qualify to drive a commercial vehicle. And the best thing of all, theyre so stupid that you can pay them less than minimum wage.
     
    G13Tomcat and warrocgman Thank this.
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. rbrtwbstr

    rbrtwbstr Road Train Member

    3,376
    7,796
    Jul 11, 2012
    in the bush somewhere
    0
    That's what smart phones are for.:biggrin_25525:
     
    bigkev1115 and G13Tomcat Thank this.
  4. tscottme

    tscottme Road Train Member

    Car drivers in trucks
     
  5. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

    7,737
    14,422
    May 7, 2011
    0
    Hey, now! I've got a BS degree from a 4-year state university...:mad:

    That being said, I've met a good deal of college educated idiots over the years myself.
     
  6. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

    29,352
    160,843
    Jul 7, 2015
    Canuckistan
    0
    :D
     
  7. Lepton1

    Lepton1 Road Train Member

    12,647
    25,589
    Nov 23, 2012
    Yukon, OK
    0
    Of course. There's an app for that.
     
    Nitemare13 Thanks this.
  8. Nitemare13

    Nitemare13 Light Load Member

    205
    199
    Feb 24, 2014
    Hudson, Fl
    0
    This is exactly why I don't post on here very often. You get attacked. This was a brotha good. Now it's fun to be a Richard to other drivers..... smh
     
  9. turtle1969

    turtle1969 Light Load Member

    246
    232
    Nov 18, 2015
    0
    A brain to drive a truck? hell i thought that was obviously missing when we chose the career of driving a truck
     
  10. Nitemare13

    Nitemare13 Light Load Member

    205
    199
    Feb 24, 2014
    Hudson, Fl
    0
    This forum has two types.....

    The know it alls
    The newbies

    And of course the only cool guy @Chinatown
     
    Chinatown Thanks this.
  11. Surfer Joe

    Surfer Joe Heavy Load Member

    960
    1,089
    Feb 27, 2011
    Cape Ann, Massachusetts
    0
    Eat more beaver.
     
    Lepton1 Thanks this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.