So many new drivers.

"Pushed out"...no.

But we are being put to the test...we best not forget how many students never make it past their first delivery.

Resilience is key...as always. You gotta be a bit tougher than the next guy (a little smarter never hurts either)

 

There are so many newbies because when they had the job and the money and went on that family vacation they saw all the trucks rolling down the highway, parked at the truck stops, etc. and wished they had the "freedom" that the truckers had. Then shows like "Trick my Truck" and "Ice Road Truckers" popped up and triggered that memory of "Smokey and the Bandit" and making trucking look good.

So now fast forward to them sitting at home on unemployment and they see an ad for the truck driving school... "Truck drivers are in demand now, more than ever... Earn $35,000 in your first year... Be your own boss and see the country..." B### S###! So they take that early retirement or buyout money and head off to truck driving school because for some reason trucking became that "fall back on" occupation.

What they don't realize, and this comes from trucking school, company recruiters, etc., is that truck driving is not a job, it's a way of life. Too many of these newbies come into this industry expecting the high paying dedicated run right from the start because that's what they've been sold. They don't understand they need to earn that level by paying their due's.

There are three types of truck driver out there...
1.) Steering Wheel Holders: These are the people who "fell back" on trucking and bought into the B.S. from the recruiters and have no business in this industry. let alone in a truck.
2.) Professional Drivers: These are the drivers who do things by the book. They are pretty good at driving a truck, but they lack the "edge" that comes with experience. They would rather follow the letter of the law and shut down for a 10 hr. break 2 hours from home.
3.) Truckers: These are the rare few ( a dying breed of driver over the last few years) who knows what it takes to get things done... and does them. They know they can't log that load, but it needs to get delivered. They take loads to places people don't want to go because it needs to be done. They can handle their truck in any situation and will never be told it can't be done.

The problem with this industry is, and always has been, that it's too easy to get a CDL and find a job. Anyone that can come up with a few thousand dollars, or agree to sign their butt to a company for a period of time, can get a job doing his. I can shoot a gun, but that doesn't mean I can be a cop. I can hit a hammer, but that doesn't make me a carpenter. Make truck driving a skilled trade, as it should be, and the newbie pool would be cut in half. It would weed out the weak links.

 

Hell, limit the size of a company's fleet to a maximum of 10 or 15 trucks and this industry would be unbelievably better.

We got nothing but a bunch of executive class parasites sitting in an air condidtioned central office all day taking a cut of the 2.00 a mile freight rate they charge the shipper who have an unlimited supply of steering wheel holders who will drive for 12 cents a mile for 3 months and quit only to be replaced by a new CDL grad driving for 12 cpm.

 

You sir are wrong!!!!!!! There are 4 types of drivers out there. Theres the SuperTrucker. Tells you in the first 5 minutes of conversating how many years he's been driving even tho you never ask. He knows everything, seen everything, done everything, the end all and be all of truck drivers. Tells you how hard he's worked today and how grueling the roads are...

...between Cleveland,Oh and Lexington, Ky.

You want to laugh. This guy cant even run 400 miles a day. How the hell can he be the end all and be all done everything and seen everything if he struggled with a 400 mile day?`

Met a guy a year and a half ago, retired airforce, fresh out of trucking school. I worked with him a bit on the logbook and his securements. 1.5 years into the game, he has become a top notch driver. He can pick up an 18 stop load on Friday, look at his bills, stops ranging from Pa to Fla and tell you exactly when he will be empty the following week. The guy can really truck. World class driver in only 1.5 years.

The only thing I need him to work on is his dispatcher skills. Oh, and he still double clutches

Excellent post, BTW

 

I forgot about the "Super Trucker". LOL

As far as your Air Force friend, I didn't mean to come off like there are no good drivers coming through the schools. They are just few and far between. I think it's great that there are some guys and gals that "get it" like it sounds like he does. Wish there were more.

 

Here's the deal. You hit your 50's, and it shows. The hiring manager and HR guy are in their 20's/30's, and ask themselves, do we want to hire some old dude we can't go party with???

We all know the answer.

It's getting real tough to make a living, and increasingly with this economy, older workers are loosing their jobs. Age discrimination??? Nahh! That never happens - NOT!

Always seems to work this way - trucking is a refuge for the not-employed. CDL schools make their money off of students, and many of them could care less if there's any hope of a given student actually being able to drive for a living (as long as the tuition is paid) or whether there really are jobs out there.

 

Not sure of the laws in CA...I know you guys out there are different but in almost every state you must be 18 to get your CDL. How did you get yours at the age of 18?

 

Trucking is the career of choice for the unemployed and the under-employed because it only takes 3-4 weeks to become a highly paid and well respected truck driver. So why waste the next 2-4 years of your life in college or in an apprenticeship program to become a skilled tradesman (plumber, electrician, etc), when you can make the big bucks in only a few weeks?