I'm breakin' in!

Hi all, an open letter:

I'm breaking in- to your beloved industry... And I've had every kind of discouragement; from a non-fault accident 6years and 7months ago pulled up, to the inexperienced recent grad with not enough OTR months card (intrastate does me no good), and all of the other excuses of recruiters (too numerous to count), along with all of the disparaging remarks of this forum (which I have silently admired for the last 4 months)...

And you know what? I'm just crazy enough, and desperate enough, to go through with the giant leap, that is- entering the OTR brethren. No one has given me an opportunity to prove myself, and frankly, scarlet, I don't want one!

Perhaps I am embittered by companies' lack of trust, perhaps I've gone mad with youthful ambition, but lately I've been getting quotes for insurance, reading the FMCSA's regulations on getting a D.O.T. number, MC number, and all my own authority (at 300 bucks a pop for OP-1's, might I add). Yes, it's true, insurance is going to be around $8000/yr, yes, I'm getting a $23,000, 2005 tractor (I guess foreclosures made things cheaper... thank you capitalism, and thanks in part to 8 years of laissez faire government, anti-Keynesian economics, and a crippling recession... there is a silver lining!) Yes, I am taking out a loan that will almost over-expose me financially, and yes, I am stark-raving-mad... all the great ones are (like Einstein said, "If at first an idea is not absurd- there is no hope for it."). But don't be mistaken by my zeal; I value e-v-e-r-y life on the road and am, perhaps, the most safety conscious young fire-brand around.
For you see- I want this. I want this very badly and I want to jump headlong into "battle" (I realize road-warrior has gotten a bad connotation over the years, but... what happened to those stories of, how you olde-timers say, "Knights of the road"? No disrespect intended; I respect my elders [dearly], just a bit of indignation directed at an overall feeling of helplessness and apathy... I digress) I want the difficult, righteous, working-man's lifestyle; with the benefit of long hours, thankless customers, and long open road. Thoreau, Emerson, and Hemingway would be proud!...
So, discourage as you will, nay-sayers; and hold on to hope all you dreamers and optimists. Because, frankly, I don't care anymore how many more rejections I get, or even if being an over-worked, O/O, scratching-the-bottom falls through: I will become a trucker someday, mark my words!

P.S. I love criticism. "If you're screwing up and no one's telling you... you're in a very dark place." -The late Dr. Randy Pausch

 

Bubba, I love asking questions, and before I sign a contract I will ask what they haul and how they pay. Certainly, it will be a consideration.
Thanks for the post.

 

well, chief, I do have intrastate experience, but that's gotten me little more than a seasonal job, soon to end and about all of the money I had originally spent on truck driving school. Lamentable. However, I could hopefully ease your mind with the fact that the major concern of employers is insurance, and that, my friend, I've taken upon myself to cover. The idea is that; while it will inadvertently be expensive for these next 9-15 months to cover myself- it will be one less deduction from my gross pay. I've been asking around (of the places hiring O/O's) and if I can take care of that... well... it'll be my neck on the line, not their's (and they like that idea). Unfortunately, there are only a couple of insurance companies as crazy as me* . Fortunately, there is also an alternative if that falls through as well- self insurance (or bonding)... Now that would be daunting...; to be self-insured. While the financial benefits of self insuring can be a reduced cost (when you include the asset value of the bond itself)... the exposure is greater.
I understand the fallacy of thinking, "I'm a safe driver. Self-insuring would save me money because I won't get in any accidents." The operative word is "accident(s)"... no one plans to have an accident- they just happen. And I've read up on some of the statistics... but all I can say is, "I'll be [darn] sure I'll do everything I can to avoid an accident with my ASSets on the line."

If I can solve this insurance hang-up I'll be able to lease out to a company. I only hope there's a hungry insurance agent somewhere out there who needs a meal-ticket.

*(those actuarial science majors are really doing their jobs... interesting historical side note; did you know the first insurance policy was to insure a daily walk to a mailbox, according to the, very dated, 1994 worldbook encyclopedia? Now, somehow the idea has taken over.)...

...
edit... I find it somehow strange and refreshing that I'm trying to work every angle: going against convention, and paying my dues in an unorthodox way. I absolutely love problem-solving.

p.s. my math is currently telling me this would be a sound investment (expenses and all)... that's what's truly crazy.

And Chief... thank you very much for the post.