Driver Shortage? Misery?

the shortage is their own making. i think many like myself, get out on the "road" and realize that we have a wife and kids at home that they painfully miss. i think at least for me it was a shock that all of this B.S. of being away from home for an extended period of time, and what was normal for the last 14 years of my life was no longer (that's how long i have been with my wife). the idea of showering at home, and sleeping in my own quiet bedroom (a safe feeling) and not in some strange truck stop or DC in a questionable area of town. all of this shock to the system and adjustment you are required to make, and at the end of the day you discover your earnings are actually only going to be $45K per year...... no thanks i quit the "lifestyle" pretty quick.

i quit the lifestyle after only 3 months, decided 8 weeks during training was enough separation misery from my wife and child..... my son was acting up in school during my absence as well. things were falling apart at home, we have older cars and an old home..... and a driveway that needs to be plowed in the winter. i decided leaving my wife to fend for all of this by herself was unfair.

so i left werner with very minimal experience. i think many people at this point just give up...... i am more persistent then that. i have a family to take care of. i have a home to pay for...... and one more thing, i actually DO enjoy driving truck itself (just not the lifestyle of OTR). with my minimal experience i was able to get a job in a class B dump truck and i did that for the entire summer. work eventually came to a stop, construction is seasonal in nature, so i went on to the next step in my local driving career. i got a job at walton milk hauling driving a class A tanker, unless someone gave me a really good offer on a better paying local job i will stay here a while. im driving a 2010 KW T660 18 speed day cab.

statistically the ATA probably considers me to be another "failure" but i digress. i dont think im a failure, but quite the opposite. i feel like im succeeding in this industry and found my "niche". i went into the industry hoping to get a local job, knowing and having a basic understanding that OTR was going to be hard on my family. i discovered it was worse then i thought. 8 weeks was awful, most lonely most miserable experience of my life..... seeing the country on someone else's dime was the only good part.

im a "redneck" living out in the country. my job is a perfect fit. i go from farm to farm picking up milk.

this is where i am today

 

there are enough jobs in this industry where if you are truly mis-treated you DON'T have to tolerate it. i once had a ignorant boss that likes drivers to take absurd risks. he once called me a dumb mother f'er. i left a week later for another company. there is NO need to put up with that crap. i have a backbone.

 

Today, much of that argument doesn't fly. There's too many local and regional positions that weren't really around 20-30+ years ago. However, I feel all new drivers should do their first 9 months OTR (real OTR as in 40+ states) before they move to local or regional slots. You learn a lot in an accelerated time frame. But I realize that's easy to say, but hard to implement if you have a wife and kids

 

i would consider myself to be a good driver but i dont yet have the experience. i have a spotless record, i have never had an accident. when my job requires a time schedule i keep it, usually i just try to stay consistent. most of the time with milk hauling, you can pickup the milk whenever they are done milking. i still would prefer to be done at a certain time. one thing i will NEVER DO, sacrifice safety in the name of keeping a schedule. if the driving conditions and roads are poor i SLOW DOWN. safety is the ONLY way.

i have never torn up a piece of equipment. allot of this is common sense. use the mirrors, they are not decoration. GOAL, get out and look, never be afraid to do this.

 

I don't know where you learnt how to truck. Where I am, most days are like being on vacation and the money just keeps coming. And in orientation, they said all we had to do was learn the Qualcomm and how to make an 8 minute fueling last 30 minutes

 

The last few jobs.....I interviewed the company. Not visa-versa. But with nearly 40 yrs in and a clean record you can do that. Retired 4 months ago and to be honest I don't miss trucks even alittle.

 

i agree with this, but as you said its extremely hard to implement when children and spouses are involved, its probably better to get into this at a younger age, before you have settled down. i learn everyday but instead of driving 4-500 miles per day im doing 100 miles per day, the learning process takes longer. i would say there is an advantage, not really having to learn the roads. i live nearby so i know the general area, only had to learn the route specifics.

i think constantly going somewhere you are completely unfamaliar with can add to the stress level. i am honestly never more then 40 miles from home.

in the end though, im handling a 100K lb truck on an overweight permit, an 18 speed transmission, steep grades, and a tanker..... not to mention on particular plant i deliver to on occasion that is a real challenge to back into. i take my time when i need to, and im not having any "incidents" or accidents. i think im doing ok