Submitted without comment

I don't have a problem with it. But I don't see any brightly dressed dancing guys at the pilot... I feel gypped.

 

That's actually pretty cool, I should have bought a truck stop

 

I could care less how a person looks or dresses anymore. As long as they drive safe, who cares.

I wasn't always this way. But, I grew up.

 

I say this once.

When I was in elementary school at Pot Spring back in the 70's as part of a experiment to see if a Deaf Student can function in public school. Only to learn that Public Schools had their own version of Special Ed programs. (Bleah...) Bear with me...

In that school was a teacher who essentially was a Doctor to her name and title having studied and taught about India to us kids while getting a Doctorate that year. I was treated to 6 months of India as a People, country, the British Rule and so forth so on etc, all the way to the ultimate heavy haul called Jagger-naught which is essentially a nuclear reactor that was set up there. And to increase our awareness of the world out there in something like 5th grade.

Personally I don't believe in a driver shortage. But I do believe in a shortage of pay. .35 cents a mile does not cut it here in America. But you can bring in people willing to work hard for .35 from overseas. We are a immigrant nation and as such for 300 years even before we were America. I believe that if you had a industry wide average of a salary that came out to 1500 net weekly or around say .80 a mile to 1.00 for top hands, you will have NO shortage of Americans willing to grab a CDL for a few measly thousand dollars and hit the road.

Once they rediscover just how easy to make a good living without paying rent or mortgage, utilities and all the other baggage that our Country requires of everyone who is not homeless or a ward of the state. After Tax. They will flock back into Trucking and we will not need so many workers from else where.

Lastly you would think that India and other Nations are lifting themselves out of a third world existence and need millions of trucks to deliver all sorts of goods and so on to do well. I have seen over and over in my life time a people come here, learn something. Work hard and export back to their homeland, wherever it might be and then open schools to teach their own people what they learned here in the USA.

Finally I believe the driver shortage banner is being advertised by the industry as a last ditch effort to keep human costs low at .35 a mile before being forced to buy robot trucks to eliminate the payroll for drivers as a cost item entirely. I understand Amazon and one other company has teamed to run a 600 mile section of I-10 from Texas west with robots now which may or may not be manned. We are already there. When you see the big blue rigs with the Amazon logo on the trailer, that is what they are.

I have been very careful in my post. I have offended no one, did no damage with words other than taking aim at the driver shortage as a ploy to keep wages artificially low to a influx of overseas workers who do not possess a working understanding that we have been paying .30 on up for almost 40 years to top hands. They literally do not know better to understand that they should be demanding 0.80 or more to start.

What does that make us Domestic Citizen CDL Holders who meekly drive at 30 plus or 40 plus cents a mile?

What about me? I would do it for free because that is what I am. But you cannot live on air, you still have to take care of the body, the mind and the food expenses and so on.

There is one other thought I offer you before I finish here. There is a enormous training shortage. I have been watching the towing shows on my satellite that now seems have gone from Jamie Davis to Donner Pass and now focusing on 401 around Toronto that just started showing tonight. Many drivers don't know how to throw chain. Many drivers run on nothing at all. One near Hope was without a clue about his tow hooks, nor did he possess a wrench to get the ones most tractors now have inside the right steer bolted somewhere ready for use. You would think I have been out of the industry for so long I don't know these details. But I do read up and stay on top of the trucks more or less because I always would be interested in what comes with them for better or worse. Those shows are also filled with moments that are unnecessary and besides the OP's topic. But I present that thought as a support to my position that we not only have a proper pay shortage but we also have a very big training shortage.

It takes years to be very good at trucking. Unfortunately you will go through a hundred wanna bes in the first year to find that 10 who will still be running for you or doing well with a different employer into their second year.

That's the third issue. Too much turnover. Students in trucking school are told they can expect a cradle to grave career doing this trucking thing only to discover that it's hard to get that first job and it's REALLY EASY to be fired and sent home for the usual wear and tear on equipment or late 10 minutes to a account or something else relatively minor.

As long we have 50 more people in the Orientation trailer every monday morning this state of affairs will continue to corrupt and corrode our industry.

And the 4th Issue, the States. And the Federal Government. They are adding regulations to dictate how a trucker gets to be one and then follow up with a host of limited PC travel range and so on for example. I know of one road in Colorado where it's no services for 80 miles. They can keep their blessed 60 mile limit on PC in Canada or Alaska or wherever. I see it as a contant chipping and degrading the ability for the Trucker to determine what is best for him or her, the truck (Fuel etc) and the company (Direction of PC perhaps closer to the customer or something else etc)

And I wrap this post with one last parting shot. The poor Immigrant coming here from over seas are told you will do this that and only these. Nothing else. When they don't know any better and are eager to please they will say yes sahib and take off in the truck.

God help us all when this industry gets over regulated 10 years from now where it's impossible to do anything without a complete and total surveillance that dictates permission to do this or that. Similar to our Airlines today.

And the trucks? They are getting built heavier on weights hauling less, and getting stuck really easily and epic on 3 inches of snow in any number of cities affected by a bit of winter. Should I go on?

 

Great for him! That’s pretty much all I have to say.

 

Why in the world would anybody have a problem with that? Appears he is all in with the American idea, drives a real nice truck and I love curry and rice.

 

I've seen different dress codes and various accents just about everyday of the week for as far back as I can remember, it's common. The American Dream is easier for some than others. driver shortage? I'm not convinced

 

Well this sounds like another push for “open borders” if you ask me, but what they need to realize is people of Latin American decent won’t take any job that keeps them away from home more than 4-5 days. You can count the number of Latino drivers who will stay out 3+ weeks on one hand.

However you can find lots of people from other origins who love living on the road and the coast to coast haulers and haulers who’s logistical model requires long tours love these guys. With the “born in the USA crowd”, you have to search long and hard to find those who will tolerate extended tours, all year long.

But the good news is, there’s plenty of folks who think trucking is easy and will give up 4-9 months of their life to move a little freight at dirt wages, supporting the mega trainer fleet model, until most find out the hard way they are not cut out for the job.