My first solo run horror story.......

Flat, your profile says you been in this game for 34 years, I've been around for 38, so we're about equal experience. So if you're gonna say you've never done what you're roasting this youngster about I call you (and I will to your face) a #### liar. Lighten the heck up.

No, he should not have run illegal, that's a given. There are many points here where a more experienced guy would have put the brakes on. But this is a Newbie. He has not the bank of experience that you or I have. Basically he's scared and confused. This is his first job and he doesn't want to screw his career by doing the wrong thing. Easy for us to say he should have quit, walked away. But what does that give him? A nice little note in his record, "Quit in the middle of his job for no reason". Now who do you think future employers are gonna believe?

Now if he keeps on doing it with this company, that's a whole nother thing.

 

Read the first poster's story, not really sure if I believe it or not, BUT...

IF it's true, I give you kudos. Yes, a whole lot of maybe bad decisions, but he got the job done. THAT used to be the true test of a trucker. Nowadays, it's "did I do everything legal"?

Legal's fine, and no doubt better in the long run, but truckers used to be a "breed" apart from others, a "breed" that could rightly consider themselves descendants from the old time cowboys (and cowgirls).

Nowadays? Not so much.

 

Kittyfoot , it's not about you me or anyone else , but the way that he GETS encouragement and praise for doing what he supposedly did.

Back when I was new I did things that were not right as did you and most others , but I never drove for CASH.

I checked out the truck / trailers before they moved 1 foot and I have walked away from jobs because I was not RISKING my neck nor the necks of others by driving JUNK.

As for QUITTING in the middle of the job , as others posted he saw what he was getting into before he started , so stop with him being a poor soul who was taken by the mean trucking outfit.


Still say if a MAJOR carrier was named you all would be up in arms that he was FORCED to work under such conditions , but this clown goes with the flow and its all OK.

 

CASH is the culprit? Really? Driving for cash? I've done side work with my tow truck. I've helped buddies move, and only pizza and beer - the horror! No 1099!

I've won karaoke contests and have been paid CASH. I think the cash payments is the least of this carrier's issues... and the young men would do good to move on quickly.

I don't approve of anything this carrier has done, and a bigger company wouldn't have 99% of those issues - and that's why I told him to run like hell - I'm just glad that he completed the run and didn't strand himself somewhere with no money, no way home, and a bad reference.

 

Exactly.

Look, let's not pretend that when we "old guys" started out we did not do things that would not pass muster today. Heck, when I started we had no log books; we ran our guts out because that's what the job was. Stupid? According to today's view you betcha. But you ran like that or you didn't work. Remember West Coast Turnarounds or Bennie is My Co-pilot?? Of course you do. So no, I'm not gonna get all righteous on him. HE knows it was dumb. Now he knows what he should do from this point on.

What we should be outraged at is the fact that this kind of outfit is still out there.

 

But did ya'll not read his other posts??? He is still working for them!!! Thats where I have a problem!!! Holy Crap someone will get hurt if he keeps drivin that kinda junk truck and dosen't have exp to deal with problems that come up....

 

That's why I, for one, recommended that he run hard the other way. If it's not this guy, though, they'll have someone else running that truck - danged shame companies have to operate like that.

 

Im impressed with the years of service with the drivers here. I wouldn`t argue with any of you. Every one of you guys have valid points on this whole ordeal. I just hope he is reading all of your post, and he learns something from this.

 

Ok we have both been out here a looooong time--as for coming up the hard way--Haulin ##### to market for the family farm etc...youngest(@time)put up with more than my share of it all--oldest daycab(running fla-NYC or Windy)that last generation started out in--just the way it was--BUT--when did YOU run without some form of logbook?
Just wondering?