Is going to the northeast mandatory for an OTR driver?

Still researching whether or not I want to get into trucking. I understand that to break into the industry I am looking at going OTR for a period of time to get experience.

That said I do not want to have to go to NY, NJ, or MA. Is it possible to drive OTR and avoid going to these places?

 

Depends on the company...
While many claim no forced dispatch, you may find that turning down a preplanned load to one of thses places means that you must sit an day or two for another load.
I run regional in the northeast...
Most of it, with the exception of about 40 miles in and around nyc is not too bad.
It comes down to mostly planning getting in and out at the right time of day.

 

Depends on the company. A lot of the "mega" carriers do run there pretty often..

 

Maybe if you can get a regional job out of the gate. My first job was a regional job, spent most of my time in TN, NC,SC, Al,MS,GA........but if I ever had to go up 81 to Virginia, there was a good chance I was going up into PA, NJ etc.....and as a new driver you will be force dispatch, which mean if you want to keep your job you go where they say. You never want a company to state "Refused Dispatches" on you DAC....its the kiss of death in this industry.

 

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Just my 2 cents......I'm from new jersey and I could understand someone not wanting to drive here. But I guess it's what you're use to.(it's really no big deal). BQE....LIE....GWB... etc.

It's like me saying.....I only want to drive on flat land...no mountains for me....does that make any sense...????

I think it's better to learn both...and you'll be a better driver for it...!!!!

That being said, I suppose you can find a company that offers western
regional.....but you still have LA, DALLAS..etc. to deal with.

If you got your feet wet here in the northeast...you can use those skills anywhere............again just my 2 cents.

All the best to ya......!!!!

 

What's wrong about going to NJ or MA,NY I can understand but NJ yea you got the nut jobs on the road but that's in any state,heck I think divers in Florida are the worse.

 

Its the toll roads, lack of truck parking,and traffic that many drivers don't like. A lot of drivers don't like going to Calif. I find getting around L.A. or San Franisco a lot easier than the NE. I don't like going to Portland,Or. or the Seattle Wa. area due to the confusing Street names and lack of parking,especially the Seattle area.

 

I know this is not exclusive to the North East, but you ever notice how many tight intersections with telephone poles about 2 feet off the curb in NJ? Its almot like they plan it that way, then you see the snapped off pole stump and the new pole moved back a few feet.

 

NashvilleDriver it seems the entire NE is like that. My best guess is this was done while the old length restrictions were in place and no one bothered to change how they do things there.

 

My co has forced dispatch except nyc, you can refuse nyc loads. But you will have to drive i95 through the bronx up north to ct and ma. Jersey sucks. Truck stops out there are nasty. But being from PA I wind up driving the northeast a lot.