Driving for free

ok, so I know I'm the new guy and all... but there are more driving jobs then there are drivers... arn't THEY the ones that are lucky to have a DRIVER?!!

 

Well yes but theres so many people trying to get into trucking that don't have any experience, that the training co's just don't about most drivers and your replacement is right around the corner according to them...Problem is that most don't make it a year OTR and there's the empty seats in trucks...Oh well

 

Swift doesn't. They probably charge for actual miles.

It's the drivers that get shorted.

And I really doubt they calculate from zip code boundries.
If they did we would see a bigger % on short runs.
As it is, you can pretty much count on an average of 10-15% across the board.

Zip to zip on a 1000-2000 mile run should not be more than 50 miles or so, yet we often run an extra 100-250 miles on those runs.

I usually calculate the route by feeding it in to my GPS. I use the GPS miles and times to determine if I can do the run within the pplan times, and respond accordingly.

Trouble is, once I accept the pplan, I am sent a route that both takes longer and uses more miles.
Sometimes it is just to fuel me at a station that is 1 or 2 cents cheaper - even though the extra miles would burn that fuel savings into the ground.

Or it sends me the shortest way, even though it is on the slowest back roads - which makes me do a Mac 22 because it takes so long to get there.


And with this Plus-1 JIT planning, I always feel like I am on the brink of being late if I stop for a pee break.
Not to mention time for a shower, or doing laundry, or stopping in at a Walmart to get supplies, or...

 

If you check fleet size of OTR carriers at safersys.org for the past couple of years you'll see most fleets have the same number of trucks or less than they had a couple of years ago . The number of jobs isn't increasing . The number of wannabes is.
CDL mill graduates that can get hired and not get rejected at orientation or by a trainer are the lucky ones if you consider getting 1500 miles at 26 centsa mile lucky

 

What Rick said. Look people; the typical truckload carrier that hires newbees is in most cases, is NOT a company you would want to stay with. They are taking advantage of the newbee's desire to enter the industry. They are simply a stepping stone in the path to a really good job. Get hired and hang in there. When you reach that magical 'two years'; many more options will be available. Be patient and protect your record.