What constitutes a "Professional" Driver

Does it 'right' ALL the time!! No shortcuts that are NOT proper, no laziness, no blocking other trucks, no road rage, always looking out for the other driver, etc. Doing all this irregardless of the idiots and rude ppl around them..

 

Yes
And depending on the company you drive for, more than three small or one big mistake and your hitchhiking home.

 

YOU are a professional!
GOOD post!

 

If somebody pays you to drive the big truck, you're a professional. Its that simple, at least, strictly speaking that's all it takes.

Now, a "true professional", that's a wee bit tougher. JamWagDag's description is a good one, but its not actually about attitude, or experience. Its about performance. One's attitude and experience will affect performance, but they, alone, don't make for a "true professional."

 

I think one must first realize that there is no designation of "professional truckdriver" in the fed's eyes. It's not even considered skilled labor.

Having said that, it is still possible to conduct yourself in a professional manner. However, there's no real definition to compare yourself to. You make it up as you go along. The fed's make it up as they go along, the general public makes up their own rendition & the media creates what they envision as a professional truckdriver.

Its a funny but saddening corrolary that the term professional truckdriver is a dichotomy; a double standard.

Whenever the driver does something wrong or is being blamed for something, he/she's a professional & should have known better than to do whatever it was.

Somehow that pro driver was supposed to just airlift his truck at the last second to miss the idiot who just cut in front of him.

Yet, after all the media, the psuedo-safety orgs & even the idiots at the fed level say a professional shouldnt be doing such & such, they won't give you the official title of professional in the labor rankings. Go figger.

There's certain things that should be a "given" regarding conduct & performance, at least in my mind. You may have more or different requirements that suit you.

I believe it's safe to say that the brotherhood or kinship that once was truckdriving is a thing of the past. I believe that at least part of being a driver was the consideration for your bretheren road traveler.

When drivers got together at a t/s for a layover or whatever, acquainted or not, if one driver was flush..everyone was flush. If someone needed a hand working on their truck, everyone was around to lend that hand, a tool, a buck for beer...whatever.

Used to be a time when it was not uncommon to have a parking lot bbq. Kinda' pot luck. Everyone chipped in for something & if you didn't have the coin for it..so what? You probably needed the food more than anyone else & got your plate first. No problem. You'll catch up next time.

Used to be the same time when truckdrivers & cops actually hung out together, broke bread together, at the same tables even. There was considerably less of this "us vs them" attitude from both sides. The badges came off, the chaps came off. Not anymore. Way too much 24x7 conflict in it now.

There's far more to being a truckdriver than any "professional" designation can convey. It's not just about following every rule to the letter, nor is it all about being the best to blindside or any of the other mechanics involved.

Nobody gets it anymore.

 

They say a truck driver makes more instantaneous hi-level decisions than their counterpart, the Air Freight Pilot!! I think there may be a 'little' difference in pay and prestige, tho ....LOL

 

I think everyone realizes there's considerably more training to be a pilot & the regs are equally as restrictive.

A pilots job is mainly 3 mins of sheer terror followed by 3 hours of sheer boredom & then 3 more mins of sheer terror.

In a truck, it's full time terror followed by 6-8 hours of blissful unconsciousness.

The pay? What pay? Do they pay you for driving? When did that happen?

 

Yeah, no kidding, I'd like to know how to get paid for driving truck, I've been in it for a couple of years and have yet to be paid...