Truckers are thier own worst enemy

Great post, and so true. I liken the truck driver elitist nature (flatbedders talking smack) to being in the military, except for one thing....Marines were better, yada, yada, Air Force guys were smarter, yada, yada...we all talked trash on the other services UNTIL some civilian ex football jock tries to start something with one of our Marine/Airman/Soldier/Sailor brethren, then we cast the service talking smack aside and jump in, back-to-back, with the other guy and open a can of whoop a%%.

Truck drivers have lost that comradery where we stop another driver and say "dude, you look and smell like you just crawled out of a dumpster..NOBODY runs so hard that they can't get a shower...you should take advantage of the facilities and represent our career field better".

I'll do that. Will you?

 

If I could make a wish list, 1. would be for every truck driver in the entire nation to keep writing his or her congressman every week to abolish HOS because we know when to drive and even dispatch would get on board with that; the fight could be won with ink. 2. create more longterm parking sites with facilities like they have in Texas and Ohio in every state, and thus creating a few jobs along the way. 3. correct the price of diesel because it is less refined crude and is far cheaper than gasoline, and we are getting ripped off.

 

now i just got thrue reading this post and all of the replys that were made to it and all had some good points but some are missing the point.

the drivers that get the most attention are of a different caliber , there the new breed , most from truck driving school and they went to school because they think truck driving will empress the women they havent a clue, they think a truck is a big toy and they learn the hard way that it is anything but, you cant teach them because they dont want to learn after all there bullet proof they know it all already.

now a lot of drivers from my time are still out there you just dont hear from them they just look and get disgusted and drive on all they want to do is make a living and thats what they do just that.

the drivers you see out there doing all the many disgusting things reflects on the way they were raised it sure as hell dodent make them a driver and you can further tell by the way they act. and i think most of the public can see it for what it is and there is a reaction as a result of there actions that we all have to pay for.

i ran acroos an indian driver or 4 of them in one truck, i was in the shop getting serviced and noticed an argument so being nosey i walked over to see what was going on, well it seems that these indians were all driving in one truck they figured they could make more money if they didnt stop , so they drilled a hole in the floor of thid new truck , that where they went to the bathroom now when all that mess hit the drive shaft , well you can guess wher it all wnt , everywhere and the mechanics refused to work on the truck and the indians were rasing hell wewll the shop called the police and they escorted them off the propert CAN YOU BLAME THEM.

THESE ACTIONS COST US ALL, in one way or another, can we do anything about it ? o yes we can but you got to be care full doing it , you punch one of these charicters in the mouth and they will be the first one to call a cop and declare that you hit the baby and most of us just wont do that, somtimes there is a time and a place for violence.

but it wasent always this way, years ago if a man got caught leaving a pissbomb in a parking lot he would as likly as not would take home a good old fashon a-- whippen but not these days o there are a few of us that will but not many and untill you let these guys no it is not exceptabel behavior it will never stop. when your a sorry human being your just sorry thats all there is to it but sorry dosent like hard knocks. they can learn.

now i no most of us are concearned about this behavior and about the opinion of your shippers and recievers but remember this if we all get out of that truck and your truck no matter how old looks good and you the driver look good and you act like a pro the shipper or reciever or broker will take notice and remember and as a matter of fact when you do look like a pro and act like a pro sooner or later it winds up in the bank not to mention the fact that it makes you feel better to.

and one more thing to remember we can out last the bad element sooner or later they will grow up or get run out of the business.

all stay safe and have a safe ride.....southenpride

 

I agree with your wish list, but you have a little too much faith in your fellow trucker, I think. If all the drivers out there had 20 years of experience, HOS wouldn't be necessary. Unfortunately, with so many companies cranking drivers out of their mills, and the average driver now having less than 6 months of experience...and in many cases, only 30-60 days...I thank God for HOS rules, since these idiots would be trying to play "supertrucker" and would be driving 20 hours a day...killing themselves and OUR families.

"We" don't know when to drive or how long, because that "we" includes people who have only WEEKS inside a big truck. And dispatch? They wouldn't care of you NEVER slept...since when you wreck or get caught, and you WILL...they'd just blame the driver anyway. They have almost ZERO liability (the only case I've ever seen where "dispatch" was partly to blame for running a driver into the ground was a couple of years ago in Utah...)

Parking is a right on, but I think we're a very low priority.

Old school diesel fuel IS cheaper to refine than gasoline, but having quite a few high school friends that are now chemical engineers (Texas Gulf Coast), I know that refining ultra low sulphur diesel costs more than refining gasoline.

We can thank (1) the EPA and (2) people running black smoke puking 25 year old trucks for that one.

 

I remember seeing my grandfather getting out of his b model mack with his button up shirt and tie. later on my father and years later then me.I don't were a tie but i do represent myself berry well.my truck is old but is always clean. we all want a difference and we all talk about it. and still yet nobody try. how many times have i come into a truck stop and seen drives with there jeans half way down there butts. no one cares about the way they look.
Driving a company truck don't make a difference keep it clean represent your self it not hard to do.
They want to blame the old school trucks and drivers that's not right..
I blame the new breed they go to school for two weeks they give them self a name and they call them self a PROFESSIONAL, ha!
A full cup will over flow with a new drop..A empty cup will fill up slowly..
An not to mention the paperless logs what a joke. the time will come when the electronic era will crash.

 

That's a joke right?Heck abolish speed limits,lift weight and length restrictions, in fact why bother with licensing driver at all?

Right or wrong as the current incarnation might be the industry needs limits set on work load or Johnny come lately is gonna be told "All the real truckers do it" oh wait he gets that now doesn't he.

"In order to make money you gotta be flexible with your coloring book like the real drivers".

Then Johnny blinks for about five minutes and finds a bridge abutment.

That does not mean it couldn't happen now,but without what little limits we have it would get far worse.If you can't make money within the HOS find a new career or charge more for your services.


Since when is it the governments problem to provide you with a parking space?Plan better and you can utilize the commercially run spaces and help the job market that way.I have no desire to pay for your parking space because of your customer base or planning.

 

last time i checked ,as my father was a trucker for 30 yrs and myself,i whole heartedly agree,he would call it personal pride iv never shown up to a shipper stinking and dirty,,it dont take much to walk into a wash room and wash ones hands and comb your hair and put some clean cloths on after doing the dirty deed intailed in ones job,i use to keep a set of 2 sets coverals in the dog box in the sleeper,,, this is when i was hauling flatbed and had to pic up and chain down everything,(rusty chains ,grease on the load binder,tarps with road grime) and when all was said and done peal off the coverals alittle gojo for the hands ,and when you walk in for your paper work your clean,,,,,amazeing what a little common sence will do,be the boyscout be prepared

 

hos,,,,,i think is important due to the new drivers being pumped out,but heres something,here i was in baltimoor for the weekend on my 34 reset,so sunday was my day to crwl under the truck and take a looksy and give it a grease job,now mind you i had my handydandy regular hand pump grease gun and my coveralls,long story short the reason for the coverals is we all know drivers will piss anywhere and while greaseing my grease gun screwed up and another o/o parked next to me seen i was haveing problems,,,he had an cordless electric grease gun he didnt say a word at first he came from the passagers side of his truck with a creeper and his grease gun,,,long story short i went a bought the same setup,it made my life a little easer,for my sunday maint,,,needless to say i went and got cleaned up and we became friends ,and i bought the guy dinner and we became friends and still shoot the horse puky till this day,,,,,,,moral of this story dont be afraid to lend a hand you might make a friend,,,,just a good exsperience for a change ...also why pay 40 bucks to some guy that might miss half the grease fittings when you know your truck and it only takes 20 minits,,,thats 40 bucks in your pocket and you know if your truck has a problem or not

 

On the personal pride note, I'll add a bit on self-control. We all know that some drivers LOVE to whine and complain, then try to out-do each other on the whining and complaining. Immature jerks get all worked up when they go to a grocery warehouse and they have to wait for a door - if you don't like waiting, don't haul groceries!

Nothing is worse than standing in line at the shipping/receiving clerk's window when some trucker loses his danged mind on the lady or guy in the office..because then YOU get to deal with a really annoyed (or downright mad) HOURLY clerk, who doesn't care how long you wait. I've found myself, WAY too many times, having to apologize and make up for the actions and words of some jerk, in order for ME to be treated fairly and get in and out of the place in a reasonable amount of time.

Speaking of self-control, no matter how important you think your "whine" is, the other guy might have it much worse. And they don't want to know all of your business - keep all that to yourself.

I was in a line at the Pilot in Meridian, MS this past weekend, and the guy behind me just started complaining about how he wasn't making much money, his next check was taken for his cell bill, because his wife ran up 2500 minutes on their plan talking to people NOT in their 10 "friends and family"....sounds like he/she has a discipline problem, and I didn't really need to hear the whole story.

The next time you're feeling whiny, and feel like EAR RAPING someone (think on that one)....keep it to yourself.

 

Also, I've had a saying since 2002 (or so) when my son was in cancer treatment, that you should be careful who you complain to. I say that mainly because you never know what the next guy is dealing with, and while you think that your worries, troubles and tribulations are FAR more important than anything else anyone could ever deal with...they're probably not.

Case in point - one of the nurses in the oncology treatment ward at St Christopher's Hospital in Philadelphia, where my son was treated, was always whining about being tired, and especially complained that her feet hurt.

She's working in a children's CANCER ward, where kids are getting chemotherapy and radiation, and the nasty follow-up medications, and she's whining because she's TIRED? Get some frikkin sleep instead of staying up all night watching movies or whatever!

There was a little 7 yr old girl who had been hit by a car when she was 4 and lost both her legs. Then, at 6 yrs old, was diagnosed with leukemia and was in treatment. One night, after playing monopoly with this charming little girl, the nurse came in, I said "how ya doin", and she started complaining about her feet hurting...in front of this little girl. I lost my danged mind.

I was less than nice when I explained that this little girl would LOVE to have tired, sore feet, because that would mean that she had LEGS & FEET, and had been out playing and running with her friends, or maybe riding a bicycle like the other kids.

Again, be careful who you complain to.....

And sorry for the rants - sitting at the GM plant in Baltimore with some time to kill.