OK I'm fed up with the BS and the back and forth.

Yea and then there's the idiots like me that don't know much about anything but talk like they do. There's a whole mix on the forum. Good to hear about the pay raise. Bout time companies started paying more to their drivers. Hope it actually comes through for you and your fellow employees and they're not just blowing smoke up your butts. There's enough of that crap that happens.

 

Sometimes people fail through no fault of their own. It's wrong to insinuate everyone who has failed is to blame themselves. A lot of underhanded things happen in this (and other) industries, especially in this age of high unemployment and companies using people for a hiring subsidy. Some come to these forums as another avenue to put the word out, and not everyone is someone to not pay attention to. Many people have a legitimate gripe, but people who have never experienced what some have don't bother believing people do get rooked over. Some want to ignore that and protect an industry they work in and have been allowed to make it.

 

While you are right that there are underhanded things done, it still comes back to the individual. It comes down to a lack of knowledge; too many fail to understand the business they are undertaking. You should know enough to know that the deck is stacked against you. Is it right for these fleece outfits to make their contracts so onerously one-sided? Of course not, but caveat emptor is still the cardinal rule in any business transaction.

Of course, accepting responsibility isn't necessarily a strong suit of our more self-centered generations.

 

The trick with trucking is start off on the right foot.
Try not to be late to the customers,and make a point out of not tearing up the owners trucks.
if you do that you will become essentially Invisible,and you will never hear from them,and I do mean never.
The pay is not great,and face it,you never really leave work,you live in a tiny truck.
People are generally not very elevating to be around at these companies so if you are the sensitive type you simply keep to yourself in order to survive.You stay out of the offices and out of the "business" at the workplace.
As far as getting home for home time you are usually at the mercy of the freight flow,this can tend to cause some serious butting of heads.

i envy people who can carry pets...they have a friend with them at all times,and that's one thing I doubt you will ever find at one of these trucking companies


good luck

 

Interesting analogy saying that the FAA does not have the regulations this industry does. Oh yes it does, and then some. I happen to know. I have flown planes for a very long time. But using that anaolgy, while inaccurate, does show the level of regulation in Commercial Driving. But of course drivers sidestepping and ducking certain regs and fighting the D.O.T. / F.M.C.S.A. have nothing to do with tighter regs, does it? Maybe CSA would not have happened had it not been for certain people and companies. Sometimes an industry and those who work in it bring things on themselves. This time I am just telling it like it is.

Yeah, I'm in a bad mood at the moment .

 

I detect a subliminal message here. Watch it. Sometimes certain things that should be known are not easily obtained. It's not always the individual who does not want to be held responsible for his / her own actions.

To the OP, I'd say to stay away from the mega-carriers looking for people to use as cattle for a hiring subsidy. Seek out possible smaller companies who might hire new drivers - if possible, BEFORE your training endeavors to get a CDL-A. That might be your best bet, because much of what it seems you heard is spot on.

 

A pilot can fly for 12 hours, if he falls asleep with the auto pilot off 400 people on a 747 die. If I fall asleep at the wheel 400 people are not going to die. Yes the FAA has a lot of regulations that are strict. However look at how many people are on a plane? And what else is on that plane? What's on my truck? I don't haul hazmat, and if a pilot can work 12 hours with all the passengers at risk why am I not allowed to drive 12 hours or more? That is the point I am trying to make.

The FAA does not over regulate especially after 9/11. Trucking is over regulated. We don't need more regulations like everybody thinks. TWIC cards and hazmat fingerprinting are useless. Its for revenue. Yes a truck driver can take narcotics (with a note from a doctor) and a pilot cannot. But the regulation in trucking and the FAA are very close. The saddest part about it is we lost many people during 9/11. Have you ever thought about what would happen if a train with 60 cars with 30,000 gallons of propane was changing tracks in LA and terrorists decided to blow that up? The railroad is the LEAST regulated (out of the 3 major transportation divisions air rail and truck) and the biggest national security threat. You have just got me started on the railroad driver...that's never a good combination lmfao. Your day will get better after listening to me bashing the rails. Its usually some funny ####.

 

http://www.iasc-culture.org/THR/THR_article_2012_Fall_Snyder.php

This does an excellent job of explaining why those of us who have made a career out of this have a problem with the current regulatory environment.

 

Yes, you are correct regarding HOS in aviation and driving - to a certain extent. You need to look a little closer at the regs such as total on duty time.

Yes, aviation can use some more post-9/11 regs in addition to the ones that have been put into place.

One thing I won't debate about is the arrogance of some in this industry, and why tighter regs happen - "let's see how we can save on our 70 by logging in ways not completely honest". Don't get me started on that.

There's room for improvement in both mediums of transportation. I have gripes with both. While a single rig may not kill 400 people, there are a lot more of them than there are aircraft.

 

I think you need to do some thinking on the differences between 'compliance' and 'safety.' I'll take a random group of old school outlaws any day of the week and you'll have a #### hard time finding any other demographic with better safety records. If your experience really is '0-1 year' you don't even know enough to know what you don't know, yet! Geez! "Get you started..."