Over the road!

As an independent, it seems to me like most of the OTH hauls I drive are so time constricted that all I do is basically drive 11h/rest 10h (usually getting less than 8h sleep), and never stop. I dislike this. I'd prefer to not drive more than about 500 miles a day, however I suppose the majority like to keep the hammer down for the extra money? Me, I'd prefer to see a tourist site once in a while, take time out for a good restaurant meal or a longer sleep, etc.. But no dice.

 

I'm not OTR, but please don't leave your truck on the scale and walk inside to get your ticket and do some shopping. This actually happened to me yesterday.

Congratulations on your job. I look forward to hearing more about your journey.

 

I second that. I was about to type that.

I never thought I'd live to see the day that needed to be said, but here we are.

Even if you're using the CAT Scale app, please, for the luvva Mike, PULL OFF THE SCALE WHEN YOU FINISH WEIGHING!

 

Sorry.....wrong thread!

 

Now, that's what I want to do!!

 

That's what I plan on doing, drive at night, sleeping during the day, I already stay up late anyway, might as well use it to my advantage.

 

OTR driving is a very solitary thing. I’m home on weekends, which grounds me and lets me spend quality time with my family. On the road, I listen to podcasts or streaming music, and when I’m parked, I keep touch with folks with Facebook and Instagram.

Sure, I do interact with other humans during the day, at truck stops and deliveries and pickups, but those interactions are generally so brief, I’d hardly rate them as “meeting people”.

 

Advice: Hide Your Cards.


If you were dealt a hand of cards and someone wanted to bet you that they could figure out what you held, what would you do? Would you look at your cards or would you watch the person?
Every time you meet a new person, they look at you (your age, race, gender, speech, education, mannerisms…etc) and try to guess the hand you were dealt. A common rookie mistake is to try to be liked. And they share all of their info. Next thing you know, they’re having troubles with the trainer or the travel agent. “My trainer treats me like dirt!” How did the trainer know that you would allow him to treat you badly? “My dispatcher is always talking down to me and forcing me to ______.” How did the dispatcher know that you would cower down when he got to talking tough? No one can treat any way other than what you allow. How did they know that you would allow bad treatment?

The goal of you taking that job is to be good at what you do, not to win any popularity contests. So, keep your business YOUR BUSINESS. Avoid negative conversations. Avoid conversing with anyone who, within the first five minutes of meeting, starts volunteering employment history. Avoid chronic complainers. Avoid indecisive people. Avoid people who try to push buttons. They will still try to figure out what’s in your hand but won’t have anything to go on other than what they can see. You’ve successfully hidden your cards then. Now be better than what they think you are.

Luck in battle.

 

Welfare Express? Did they tell you about the contract?