Failure, why? How to prevent it?

This question is about failure rate, NOT turnover rate. To those of you in particular who have been or are trainers, or O/Os in the position of also being an employer, or employer but not operator, and those who have been through the Mega mills, and to those who have failed (if you are willing to admit it and why), what are your observations as to the reasons so many fail?

What can one do to better their chances of succeeding?

What common mistakes can be avoided?

What would you do to ensure your success in trucking?

If you had it to do over again, is anything you would do differently coming into the industry?

 

Trucking isn't a last chance effort to make money, get rich, and travel the country. It's WORK. While it's easier than most work, it's still work, and demands your undivided attention for hours at a time. It's more of mentally exhausting than physically. You chance of succeeding is going to depend on why you're coming into it. If your goal is to travel and see the country, you're going to be disappointed when you realize that almost every interstate looks exactly the same. If you're coming into it to work, and maybe take advantage of those little perks, like taking your hometime somewhere you'd like to take a vacation, then you might do great. But don't forget, you're driving. If you're not good at it in your car, if you hate driving your car at night, you're going to fail very quickly.

 

Unrealistic expectations...some expect ONLY the company to be responsible for their success.

 

Im still new so i dont meet your criteria. But from a lot of the seasoned truckers i keep hearing the same things over and over again being the culprit:
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Being away from home/family for long periods of time, being alone most of the time (and you are, and i know first hand that part is hard. But im somewhat of a lonewolf anyways so it didnt hit me as hard as it did the more social types lol), and to a lesser extent dui's/drug charges, accidents while operating cmv, etc etc...

 

How to prevent from failing is simple,do everything that is asked of you and don't complain about it.Alot of complainers in this industry and I am one of those complainers.Anymore its almost impossible not to complain about something.Companies do that to us.Alot of the ones that fail don't know theyre going to fail till it happens.Alaska76,you might very well be one of those that finds out trucking isn't for you.There will be things about your company and the industry you hate.But to succeed you have to suck it up because that's just how it is.Your first yr will determine if trucking is for you.It might get easier meaning you're use to how the industry is but better,that depends on you.

 

Define success. For a company driver? For a person whose business is trucking? Your questions have been asked and answered many times here at TTR. But anyway ... to better your chances ...

--Learn to operate the equipment (it starts there).
--Learn all applicable rules and regulations.
--Read everything about the industry that you can get your hands on: economics, business, culture, history, the technical side.
--Be a sponge. Recognize that you've put yourself in school and that only you can decide to be a good student. Recognize that you will make mistakes.
--Ask questions and weigh each answer--don't discount answers you don't like (seems to me that that's a common mistake); you are not entitled to answers that you like. "Negative" answers are often the true answers; experienced drivers know this.
--Do your homework about carriers.
--Don't waste people's time talking about yourself. You are not the topic.
--You cannot ensure success. Stuff happens--in this, trucking is no different than life off the road.
--No.

 

Trucking may not be for me, but I have always enjoyed driving and my wife told me that can see me being a truck driver, that she think it suitable. Having a "solitary" work environment is ideal for me, I am one of those who can get rather irritated when someone interrupts me in the middle of a task, at least I was at my prior occupation where broken concentration can mean a costly mistake, or at least additional time required to back track verify the step in the process I was at.

Driving at night has its appeal due the fact that there is less traffic to mitigate the "idiot factor" on the roads.

As far as HAZMAT, I intend to get every certification except passenger from the get-go for I plan on going straight into tanker if at all possible. I find tanker appealing because I am highly safety oriented, have excellent situational awareness, am meticulous and have been told more than once that I excel under pressure, also I have a great deal of common sense. I was laden with much responsibility as a young child and due to that I am comfortable with it, of course the times when I can be free of it can be quite liberating.

That being said, I do find the prospect of hazmat/tanker intimidating and that will fuel my awareness and keep me on my toes.

 

That's a bullseye!

One thing I learned very early in life was to ask questions. Don't ask a question, don't learn! The negative aspects are the ones I think are the most important, for often those are the mistakes made by others that one can avoid by paying attention to the answer.

 

The most common mistake that gets people into trouble when new is turning a small mistake into a big one I think.

A common mistake most will make early on is making a wrong turn. The following is an extreme example of what not to do when you find yourself in a place you don't want to be. The point though is that you will make mistakes and how you react is what matters. People get into accidents of all types due to trying to rush things instead of keeping their head. The right attitude and perspective are the most important things.