Three million + safe miles doesn't matter??

Having no credit is just as bad as having bad credit.

 

Well I finally got my deal arranged with Celadon. Can't start next week because of the holiday, so I'll be starting the week after, 11/3. Two day "refresher" course, one day orientation, dispatched on Friday afternoon. They are flying me into IN Tuesday night. I'll probably use this job to meet the requirements for three months *recent* OTR and then move over to Averitt or Interstate. Averitt has already approved me once I reach 91 days and will probably be my choice -- I'll probably stay out the entire 91 days. I don't like the uniform policy, but what the heck, they pay for them and give you a cleaning allowance.

 

Worse, in many if not most cases. At least once upon a time someone thought you were credit-worthy.

 

Odds are great the drivers in those fatal crashes were not rookies, and about the same that a rookie can get the load there, on-time, for ~10 cents less per mile.

Rookies do not have 46 years of experience watching carriers devise ways to boost their bottom line by screwing them. A rookie is a clean slate, they don't have to unlearn policies and procedures that do not apply at their new company, so they don't say "That's not the way I'm used to doing it."

 

What statistics classes did you attend?? At the very best, odds are even, but even that doesn't make sense when you're talking practical skills. Experienced drivers have LESS accidents because of their experience! They know how to drive in the rain, snow, sleet, etc. They have climbed the highest mountains and were in the proper gear coming down. Experienced drivers respect the damage the vehicle can do, they drive more cautiously, and they are used to the hours. For you to say odds are great they weren't rookies is ludicrous... Why do you think experienced drivers get more pay?

Wrong again! It is a proven fact that rookies can cost a company up to $.20/mile more to gain their experience! They have a higher incidence of: not strapping & load locking loads - backing accidents - driving accidents - wasting time in truck stops, missing/late to appointments - mechanical breakdown from lack of knowledge, etc., etc., etc...

A truck driver always does things the way they're used to doing it, perfecting their abilities and knowledge as they go! When a company hires an experienced driver and pays them more, they fully expect the driver to bring over his PROVEN techniques. There is no absolute way to do anything in this industry, and there is NO training program or orientation that can teach you how to be a truck driver. Being a driver is a learned lifestyle -- you develop instincts and techniques on how to do everything -- you learn that you're not as smart as the rookies or loud mouths in the truck stops, and you're always adapting to new situations -- you get your loads staged at the receiver before your appointment instead of playing video games and watching TV in the truck stops until the last minute. All of this and a lot more comes with experience.

I'm sorry, but when I hit six years in the business I was a know-it-all too... I have learned a lot since then.

 

I'm calling total and complete BS on this post. Recruiter Mike why not comment on something that you have experience in. After 3 years you have no clue , obviously. How in the world can can you say a veteran driver doesn't know as much about driving. Safety under the wheel isn't taught sir it's learned ....after many , many miles and hopefully only a few simple mistakes along the way. Sure a driver fresh out of school may know the recent regulation changes , and maybe some of the newer technologies , like communications equipment etc. But in no way shape or form will a rookie driver know more about drving and the safe operation of a truck than veteran driver. He can't , he has absolutely no foundation of experiences to go on.

 

Exactly. Companies use insurance regs to make sure that qualified , experienced , and drivers with proven safety records Re kept T bay. They know as well as those drivers do that the drivers with the proven safety records are going to command and deserve much higher a pay scale. And , at the end of the day , we all know is the pencil pushers with the the calculators that run things. The bottom line is all that matters , no matter what it costs.

 

Everyone was a rookie when they first started driving.... No one started in the business already knowing how to drive a truck in sleet, rain, snow, mountains etc..... Being a rookie doesn't make you inexperienced in driving in those conditions anyhow.. Someone can be new to trucking, but could have been driving a 4 wheeler for 30 years.. They are experienced in the driving of those conditions in a car, just need to make adjustments in the truck but that doesn't make them a newbie in bad weather conditions.... They just put those skills form the car/truck into the big truck and adjust as needed... So I find comments about Rookies from other experienced drivers funny because some experienced truckers talk like they knew how to driver a truck before they even drove a truck for the first time..

With that being said... I do think it's dumb when companies turn down experienced drivers because they have been away for XX amount of years.. This doesn't mean to say "Rookies" shouldn't be hire, because everyone stars somewhere.. I agree with the statements that safe driving is learned thru experience and not taught through school... Obviously on-road driving experience gets better as the years go and and it's stuff you never forget... Just because equipment is newer and regulations change doesn't change the fact that a 3million mile driver with a good recored is more then qualified to drive the truck... The newer equipment and regulation changes IS something that can be taught... I think companies that turn down experienced drivers just because they were on hiatus are pretty dumb... Even with the whole "local" drivers have a harder time going back OTR because companies have a problem with hiring in this respect as well which is stupid...

 

Sorry but you are not exactly correct there, alot of farm boys and girls do know how to drive trucks long before they get into trucking