What is the difference in today's drivers, and yesterday's drivers?

I would have to say taking pride in their work sums it up best. We all started once somewhere some forget that or knew it all to begin with.

 

You answered your own question. Sounds like your off to a good start, your listening, and thinking about what's said. Just be respectful of others and your self, it's not hard. But it is easy to lose that courtesy and respect when so many other around you don't give a dam about anything but themselves.
don't slip into that attitude and you'll be off to great start.

 

Im not a old driver I still consider my self new at 5 yrs that because I still learn new things. Its true alot of new drivers are rude no respect. I feel like alot of people do this for money only and dont like big rigs. Ever since I was a kid I grew up around them and treat my truck with respect on top of the line. You will catch a new guy speeding with a p.o.s. truck running ilegal and giving us a bad rep. That how I feel.

 

This business will 'wear' you out.......

In a few years...You will wish a 500 mile trip was 250 miles

In 10 years..You'll wish that 500 mile trip was 100 miles.....

In 20 years..You'll want to hit the Snooze Button in your sleeper molre than once.....

 

A lot of what you see in trucking today is the decay of society in general. Too much of a hooray for me, screw everyone else attitude. God is being expelled from the essence of our American society.

 

A lot of the things that folks think are courteous were not born out of a need to be nice but out of safety concerns. A driver passes a truck and the truck driver turns his lights off and on to let the other driver know he has cleared the truck. Common Courtesy right? No. It was a safety concern because we all drove on two lane roads. It was important to get back on your side of the road as quickly as possible. Now there really isn't much of a point to the habit on interstates. We still pull over when we come to an on ramp so other trucks can easily pull in but that has become illegal in some states. Times are changing.

Somethings are getting better however. 20 years ago racism was wide spread in this industry. You still see it but it is much more out of place and less tolerated. Women are excepted more as equals then just as some place to unload. All in all, I believe times for trucking is improving.

Unless you work for Swift.

 

Today's drivers didn't grow up watching all those cool trucker movies and TV shows from the 70s or hear "Rubber Duck" on the AM radio everyday when it was a hit. They have no expectation of privacy or notion of independence or self-reliance.

Trucking was fun when we all talked to each other on the radio. Now we're just ghosts passing on the highway.

 

To the Op's question: Age. That's it. Just age - oh and technology.

Same $#!+ now as then. Just different gizmo's, gadgets, hairstyles, clothes, music and lifestyles. Even those go round and round and retro is cool but then later not then today becomes the cool retro and then not again. It's all on the wheel that keeps gong round and round. They said the same thing about us as we are now saying about the younger ones (us then), and theirs before them. All the way back to mule driving barge pullers, TRUE teamster wagons and pony express riders and probably back before then. Same stuff went down with a PROPORTIONALLY same number of stupid, rude people doing it from the same demographics in the same proportional numbers. Just a lot more people in the world now so a lot more on all sides to do what they do.

Same transgenerational crossover - just different ways to talk about it and that information moves INFINETLY faster than it used to and reaches a H&LL of a lot more people than it used to (almost instantly now, instead of a day or two) and different things to think it's somehow not US but all of them.

What's different? Everything and in the end . . . nothing. Same S#!+ just different day and age. I'll close with this:

"The good ole days weren't really that good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems."
Billy Joel

On that note; I'm going to hit the bunk. I got an early day and am up to three hits on the snooze button. LOL.

 

Yesterday's driver would stop and help you if you were broke down. Today's driver will almost run you over as you get out the door.

Yesterday's driver drove a truck because he loves everything about trucking. Today's driver does it because he lost his other job or thinks he'll make a bunch of money doing nothing.

Along the same line yesterdays driver would walk around with $2000 in his pocket. Today's driver walks around with $5.

Yesterday's driver was a brother. Today's driver everyone is a stranger you don't fool with.

Yesterday's driver thought about everyone else. Today's driver thinks only of himself.

Yesterday's driver didn't have many worries. Today's driver is scared to breathe wrong.

There are a few exceptions so you all don't get your underwear in a wad. Just speaking of the general consensus.