How much should an OTR driver earn? Here's my opinion!

I would love to see the industry move toward hourly pay! It would be a much more attractive industry if that were the case resulting in more competent drivers.
Why so opposed to paying people for the time that they actually work? You're clearly posting from the perspective of someone that benefits from the current system, whether it's percentage or mileage. By paying that way, you reduce a lot of your risk when you book a load by putting a cap on how much a driver can make on that load, no matter how long it takes him to run the load. If he sits in traffic, or a snowstorm, or breaks down, etc., for several hours, you still pay him the same as if that had never happened. Its a way for you to transfer a portion of the cost of running your business to your employee.

 

If it did move toward hourly pay (as it should-everyone should be paid for ALL their time) all the other issues like logbook cheating, fatigue could be addressed. I cannot and will not understand why anyone would so little value their working time that they would think it "normal" to give said time away. I have never nor would I ever work a job where "free time" was considered the norm. It's a JOB, not a lifestyle..

 

My company has the policy that whenever possible the driver will bring the truck home loaded. That way the driver has his load ready to go and deliver on the day they get back, and are planned accordingly.
They do not sit around the house waiting for a call. Or checking the qualcom.
The only time I go home empty is when I have a load set up for pickup on Monday morning, and home is basically in route.
So that means that even though I am not under load. I am under dispatch.
Loads getting stolen or broken into is part of trucking. And the number of reported stolen loads is way way up the past few years. And will probably continue to rise.
Organized crime has gotten into the game, since they can make just as much money as with drugs, and have almost no chance of serious jail time. As long as they do not use weapons. Or hurt anyone.
Until the laws are fixed to make this a more serious offense I believe the numbers will continue to rise. And it does not matter if that truck is at home or on the road.

 

I think that for the most part, most drivers are fairly compensated for their effort. It would be great if all drivers were paid $1,000/week. The problem with ALL drivers being paid that much money is that some are not worth $1,000/week. Others are worth more. Not all drivers have the same skill level. Paying mileage or percentage has proven to be the most fair way to compensate otr drivers. Paying drivers by the hour to drive over the road will not work. Some will do their best no matter how much or little they are paid. They just have a good work ethic. But, I have seen too many drivers over the years who will sit at a truck stop and blow their entire paycheck playing video games or slot machines. When they blow all their money they go crying to the company to send them money so they can get their load delivered. If they were being paid by the hour, the company would be paying them to play games rather than drive a truck.

Paying drivers mileage or percentage has proven to be the best way to compensate over the road drivers. If carriers were forced to pay hourly we would see a dramatic drop in productivity. If you doubt what I say then look at any union company. The more the hourly rate they receive the less they want to work. When a driver is paid mileage all he has to do to give himself a pay raise is to drive a few more miles. If he is being paid percentage, then he only needs to haul better paying loads. It is the whiners and the unproductive who want to be paid by the hour. If they are paid hourly then there is no need to produce. It won't work in the otr part of this business.

When you take a position in this business you are told what you will be paid. Carriers know the average miles a driver should be able to drive, on average, each week. The carrier will also tell you the rate at which you will be compensated.

This industry does reward longevity. The higher earners tend to stay with the same carrier for a number of years. Most carriers will raise drivers as their time with them expands. The whiners will move around every few months and then complain that they are not making enough money or find some other excuse whey they move around. They never make it into the niche markets where they can earn the higher rates. The productive drivers will continue to learn and hone their skills which will result in higher income for them.

The productive drivers wil find a way to work out their differences with their dispatcher or driver manager. The whiners will walk out, quit and not try to work out their differences. They will look to the government or union to beat up on the carrier because they don't get their way. Rather than looking to themselves to see what they can do to improve their skills or work out any differences, they blame everyone else.

 

Everyone benefits when people are paid based upon their productivity. From the shipper to the driver, everyone benefits. If a driver does his job then he is well compensated. If he sits in a truck stop playing video games then he isn't makiing any money nor is he costing the shipper or carrier any money. If he sits around playing games and is being paid by the hour then the driver makes money but everyone else loses. When a driver is paid percentage or mileage you are not transferring the cost of running the business to the driver. In order for the driver to share the cost then he would need to pay money out of his pocket. Paying percentage or mileage holds the driver more accountable. If he does his job then he makes money. If he doesn't do his job then he doesn't make money. That is very fair.

 

Okay G/Man if the weather is bad enough to chain up you shouldn't be driving right? Well who is getting paid to sit at the side of the road?

 

So according to you, the guy who parks the truck and goes into the casino is on line 4 of their log book? Sure. And if there are drivers dumb enough to operate like this they won't last long.

Line 1 = no pay, and nobody here is suggesting otherwise.
Line 2 = sleeper berth = on call and also a max of 8 hours a day.

 

Oh brother. According to you, all but the most productive drivers love to waste their time playing 'Great White Hunter 3' in the game room at the J. Delays have nothing to do with shippers/receivers, traffic, weather, construction, accidents, breakdowns, etc., and everything to do with drivers' inability to resist T/S video games.

I work local and am paid hourly. The trucks don't have elogs or any tracking devices, but drivers that waste time get fired. It's not hard for the bosses to tell who's working hard and who isn't.

When you pay percentage or mileage, you're basically saying to the driver "If you're able to run this load in a timely manner, you'll be well compensated for your time, but if you get delayed through no fault of your own, that's on you." How is that not sharing in the cost? So what if it's not out of pocket, it's still a pay decrease that has nothing to do with the driver's performance.

 

If you don't want to sit then you can chain up and go. There are few times where drivers will need to chain up. There are a few areas more prone to need chains than others. If you don't want to chain up or sit until the roads clear, then you need to take a different route or stay away from those areas when there is a chance that bad weather could set in. It is part of the business. Learn to deal with it or find something that you can do that pays by the hour. It isn't going to happen with otr driving.

 

I doubt that anyone who is at a casino is on line 4. I am sure they are in the sleeper. Of course, with your way of thinking that driver should be paid while he blows his paycheck in the slots. What you have said is that you think you should be paid for every minute you are away from home, whether you are sleeping, eating, taking a shower or going to the toilet. Although you didn't mention casino's until now, I assume you would expect to be paid for that time as well. Even if the guy doesn't last long, it costs his company a lot of money. Multiply that by several thousand drivers and it gets into some serious money. It is dishonest, yet you would want to be paid for that behavior.