Truck Driver Attempts U-Turn On Interstate After Getting Stuck In Traffic

Valid points. We're all in this pile together!

 

This makes my head hurt... Contrary to what you may have been brainwashed in Billy Big Rigger Academy, the HOS were enacted to PROTECT drivers back then. They actually had good intentions, believe it or not. I would hazard a guess here that the person who mentioned 'the good old days' really meant the time period when drivers actually wanted to be drivers. They didn't take this job because they were out of options. They wanted to be out here. A time when the CB was actually used as a tool, and not for making childish noises on when you're sitting for 34 hours. There was a time when this job was actually fun, and drivers were proud of what they did, and it showed. Drivers took pride in their trucks, and a job well done. I just saw a thread earlier about Swift not paying for truck washes or something. Someone posted (and seemed proud of) that their truck hadn't seen a wash in 9 months. I couldn't fathom driving a truck that crusty.

I've been driving for only 16 years now, (this was my chosen profession, I never had any interest in anything else) but I can tell you one thing. It has become really ridiculous out here since the economy crashed in 07/08. I attribute it to the high unemployment in every other industry. Suddenly, every bonehead who ever had a thought of being a truck driver was now looking for work. And the mega fleets happily obliged in giving these yo-yo's a shot. So now you have people out here who may be very intelligent, but have zero business behind the wheel of a truck.

You can't place all the blame for the State of the industry on the new guys though. There were, and still are, some bad apples out there. And that won't change. But calling out the old timers and blaming them for all the BS laws and regulations won't work either. Same as the old timers calling out the new guys won't work.

 

Well said rbrtwbstr, for me the good old day were the 60's & 70's. Then came the 80's and deregulation and JB Hunt. Been down hill ever since then. But in reality the good old days were not so good after all.

Now days I still drive part time and really enjoy things like air ride every thing, ac, xm, 500 hp Cummins, triple digit speed if I want to and on and on. Anybody can drive a truck now days, but that does not make them a truck driver.

 

Thursday.

 

I regularly talk to a few old school friends of mine who drove in the 70's and 80's just for their stories and to improve myself as a driver. Old school to me means a strong work ethic and common sense. It doesn't mean that since I'm driving some companies truck I should ##### and complain that the speed limiter is set to 63 and I can't 'speed' like some of you (ironically, 'old school' drivers) complain about.

Wrong.
Higher volume of trucks on the road along with a lower dimwitted workforce, as a result of companies like swift, that put drivers on the road is the result of mega co. holding our hands.
Additionally there are a majority of us that do not desire 18 hour work days and fudging the logs. no thanks

 

Priceless

 

what a dummy

 

CDL pays well lol

By the way there were no good old days all them drivers in the seventies were just doing tons of speed banging lot lizards and listening to horrible country music