Serious question

As the saying go's you can't fix stupid. And some people just have no common sense

 

Well, and when you think about it, WE were in charge of the whole 'common sense' thingy.......perhaps some of the blame belongs to us.

 

How can there be common sense when there does not seem to be much commonality between people anymore?

 

Im not an old timer like some here. But id say around the 2008ish era is when things really started to go down hill in a hurry instead of a slow decline. However 2019 and the beer virus caused most people to just flat out stop caring.

So 2008-2019 we went from a slight incline to a 24% grade and 2019 to now we went from a 24% grade to a rocket assisted verticle drop.

 

I’ve been trucking for 11 years, and even just in that time I have seen a noticeable downward spiral. The two big things that really took off in that time that could be to blame are smart phones and automated transmissions.

 

Well, I’ve been out here about 5 1/2 years and just in that time The change that I’ve seen is drastic. When I first started, it was kind of a mix of the old time classic truck drivers with what I call the newer generation of truck drivers. Not gonna go into detail on what the newer generation compiles of, because you’ve all seen it. It really bothers me on several fronts. There’s just no pride in the job. Newer generation has no respect for their fellow driver, it’s all, “me, me me” first. These people seem to only care about a paycheck. No other aspect of the job. As a result, some trucking companies are offering less and less to these type of drivers. And it’s only a matter of time before the remaining good trucking companies have to succumb and offer less benefits and such to be able to compete. That’s the way I see it anyhow.

It’s really bad out there! It’s gotten so bad that I will spent a half hour researching a place to park so I don’t have to park in a truckstop because I feel like there’s about a 10% chance that if the space next to me is open someone’s going to back into me in the middle of the night. I see these drivers at these busy truckstops and I’m just totally blown away with how they can have a CDL. I mean I get new drivers and rookies and all that. We all started somewhere but the stuff going on now is just absolutely ridiculous.

I watched a driver who was bobtailing pull up to the trailer that was parked in the spot next to me. I’m not exaggerating it took him over 30 minutes of pulling up and backing up until he hooked that trailer. I honestly thought I must be in the middle of a prank or something. And then he put the airlines on backwards. After watching that spectacle when he pulled out, he almost took my bumper off. I had to use my airhorn. How can someone like that have a CDL. I watched two drivers basically hold up the fuel Lyle at one of the busiest fueling stations. I’ve been to in months because they were using the water hose to basically take a bath. You can’t make this stuff up if you try. Truck trapped directly behind them for over 30 minutes while they wash their dishes and bathed in the fuel isle. Not a care in the world.

 

I started driving 43 yrs ago. The men weren't exactly welcoming back then but they were not obnoxiously rude and uncouth like they are now. I think it's an ongoing thing with Society hastened by the Advent of social media and the so called influencers. Throw in the government trying to control how parents discipline their children. The additional pressure of society expecting everything to revolve around them on their time schedule with no consideration for their fellow humans.

 

I recently drove a loaner 2020 something or other Ford Escape with the deluxe infotainment crap. Every time I shut the car off, an alarm would go off and a message would appear on the screen reminding me to check if my kids are in the backseat.

So yeah, I’d say we’re pretty much doomed.

 

What factors do you blame auto-trans for in all of this?

 

I don't think there's been a downfall at all.





The same stupid stuff keeps happening, it just happens more because there are more of us.

I distinctly remember a friend of my Dad's who bragged about getting from Hillside to the Old Post Office in Chicago in 8 minutes. Rough math that's 120 mph. Years later he was moaning about his idiot son getting a 15 over ticket. "Kids these days" and "it was better back when" has been a complaint of every generation.




The Pace of Modern Life


If there was a decline, it came about because of the rise in "second career " drivers - guys in their mid 30s and older who for a variety of reasons need a new career. The other thing I'd blame for the current state of the industry is the decline in real wages.

Or we could go back to deregulation and the decline of the teamsters, but that will get this thread locked.