Getting burnt out on this OTR trucking thing!

Going a little off topic from where this thread has gone, back on the idea of having to pay your dues and everything driving OTR... Why is driving OTR such a huge deal? A year of driving on interstates doesn't exactly make a good driver. Any idiot can do that. It just really seems like something like OTR would be more of a an option after you have experience since the more miles you drive, is just more opportunities for a bad driver to crash into something.

To me it just seems like having to get experience driving through cities, and dealing with things that are a lot more complicated than being able to drive 500 miles down a straight road, should be a lot more important of something for insurance companies and truck companies to look at.

 

rockstar_nj.......When you get a few more years/miles/experience you'll understand a little better....but look at it like this....A kid want's to become a Dr. So all thru high school he prepares himself for college ...(undergrad) , then once he's there he is told by one professor teaching a course required for the pre-med students that has little to do with medicine , that this course actually teaches the pre-med students how to learn/study and retain lots of info thrown at them in a short time-span with-out it the 1st 2 years of med-school can be really difficult. Once in med-school they are slammed with just that .ll kinds of info thrown at them really fast, for the 1st 2 years then its on the more clinical side of learning...upon graduating they head to a residency program for a minimum of 3 to 4 years and as long as 6 , before they are actually considered true Dr.'s/practicing physicians.....

Now to apply this to truck driving......once you make the decision to get a CDL, go to school , or to a training facility....you really know nothing about truck driving...only the book stuff and a little experience actually behind the wheel...(this would be considered undergrad)....then you go to work with a training company with a trainer for a few week/months....(this is your 1st 2years)...finally you go out on your own and the learning continues, only now YOU are the one responsible for your total actions...(3rd and 4TH YEAR)....After 5 to 10 years driving you can consider yourself a full fledged driver.....only thing is you never, ever graduate from school...you'll continue to learn with every single , solitary revolution of those wheels. Whether your career is 6 months or 60 years...you never finish learning...try and keep that in mind as you go forward in your trucking life....and when you start to ask "why is driving OTR such a big deal"...you'll be able to understand...why it is such a big deal.....Happy trails!

 

A little off topic but that kind of self important bull won't help you. Without the guys and gals who set up the loads the company wouldn't make any revenue. Without the mechanics who keep the equipment up to snuff the company wouldn't be making any money. Everybody plays a part but the planners/dispatchers are the ones who can really make a difference in the success of the company by keeping things running smoothly or really messing things up IMO.

 

True,every body does play a part in making a success out of trucking but who gets the worst end of the success?

 

I imagine it depends on the company. It's definitely not the drivers where I work.

 

What drivers get paid makes some of them less motivated.

 

Other way around for me. I'm getting sick of this ltl gig! I miss OTR, well dedicated OTR. Was so much easier and pay about the same. I didn't have free benefits for the whole family but it's just a matter of time before that's gone anyway. I'm a loner anyway, i don't need to be home but a couple of days a week.

 

Look into Estes, Averitt, and Southeastern Freight Lines. Keep your head up. If you're not afraid of hard work...and I do mean hard work...then look into foodservice companies like MBM, Mclane, or US Foods. You'll make 55k walking in the door and be home 3 or 4 nights a week. Best wishes