Why do most new drivers quit?

1: It's hard to be on the road for 3-6 weeks at a time. People who aren't comfortable with a lot of alone time go nuts fast.

2: Driving in tough conditions scares a lot of people out of driving. Icey mountain passes at night, etc.
3: Starting pay at a lot of places is barely over a minimum-wage job for 40 hours.
4: poor treatment by companies. Getting blamed for things you didn't do or have no control over. Closed hiways, load was an hour late and the driver gets blamed because dispatch didn't account for weather in the schedule.
Pick up a damaged trailer, report it and still have to fight to not be blamed for the damage.
It's the day-to-day "company trying to shaft me" stuff that makes me think about another line of work.
Pretty happy with the oufit I'm driving for now, but even there it's a constant game of covering your butt. When it goes from there to the company is the enemy, I'm not surprised new people quit.

The money is decent for a new driver, IF you work for a decent company, work very hard and don't make too many mistakes. If any of those things aren't present, it's a 70-hour a week job for barely more than a McDonalds paycheck.

 

I make $1250/week for 5 days. a little small outfit just 15 company trucks
We have 3 open trucks right now
this isn't minimum wage earnings
i am just an average driver
at least half of the drivers today are not drivers at all
just part of the privileged non working bums my generation raised

 

Low pay
weeks/months away from family
Being harassed by DOT
being harassed by shippers /receivers
Trying to find a parking spot after being held up shippers/receivers and not able to park on their property.

 

What would you say is the cause of those three parked trucks?. Is it really a case of not being able to find drivers, or is it that the company can't find drivers that meet their criteria...that are willing to work for $1250 a week?.

I am guessing they don't hire newbies and experienced drivers with clean records want more money than the company is willing to pay.

 

More likely they can't find a good, hard working, qualified driver and would rather those trucks sit than put in some random joe that will tarnish their reputation and be more trouble than he is worth.

 

The thing I am getting at is why can't they find a good, hard working, qualified driver. Is that such drivers don't exist, or that they want more money than the company is offering.

As a newbie with zero experience, $1250 a week sounds like a gold mine. With 3-5 safe years experience under my belt maybe I am looking for much more.

Does that make me a privileged bum, or an experienced professional looking to maximize his worth?.

 

i see drivers on here every day with 10 and more years experience claiming they are not making $60000. Telling me that good jobs are hard to find
people staying out 30 days at a time not getting more then 10000 miles
i wont apologize for my wages working 5 days
oh and company pays 100% of my healthcare and my wifes
so how many better company jobs are there

 

It is amazing what we consider to be necessities today. I understand that most people rely on cell phones for their communication. Cell phones have made it much easier to stay in contact. It certainly makes this job much easier. We used to have to rely on payphones and CB's for our communications on the road. We even wrote letters and sent them home by mail. Finding and applying for jobs has become more challenging in some respects. I think most companies now require online applications rather than face to face. We don't really have an opportunity to sell ourselves online like we do in person. People have become much too reliant on technology. But, we must go with the times, I suppose. We can get along on much less that most realize. If needed, we could get along with much less.

Prices have gone up over the last 30 or 40 years. But, so have wages. College is many times much more expensive today than when I first started. Gas is currently about 8 or 10 times higher today than in the 60'. The average trucker made from about $150-300/week in the 60's. That same driver will earn about $800-1,200 or more today. We still managed to save money. People don't think as much about saving today. We didn't rely on credit or credit cards much then. Today, most live paycheck to paycheck buying things on credit that they cannot afford. If people want to go to college, they could still work and save for their education without going into debt. We no longer want to sacrifice for what we want.

Every generation has their challenges. We had Vietnam, race riots, student riots and marches against the war and were on the verge of a global nuclear war for the 60's and 70's and beyond. There were stresses. Some things may have been easier, but some things are easier today. I think that life was simpler then. With technology and a lack of morality, life has become much more complicated. We never had to worry so much about our own government turning against us, but that is not true today. Trucks were not as comfortable then, but cost much less. It is proportionate to what they cost today. A new truck in 1970 cost about $25,000-32,000 (new). Today you will pay $130,000-150,000 for a new truck.

I don't necessarily think that we had it easier. We just had a moral grounding and had a better idea of what was really important. Family was more important when I grew up. We all ate together and most attended church on Sunday. Strangers helped one another. Neighbors knew each other and helped those in need. We worked harder, but complained less. We did not rely on the government for our needs. We were independent and took responsibility for our actions and our families.

Things were pretty much black and white. Right and wrong were well defined. With our loss of our moral compass, the lines between right and wrong have been skewed. People don't have patience today. People want what they want now and don't want to wait or take the time to work for what they want. Today's necessities are yesterday's luxuries. We usually started with an older used car. Many begin with new or newer cars today. We learned how to work on our own cars because we had to in order to drive. Most teenagers worked to earn money rather than expecting mom and dad to give them money. We also walked or rode a bike instead of driving. We mowed lawns, sold newspapers, picked up soft drink bottles along highways, did odd jobs or whatever we could think of to earn money. Along the way we learned to be self reliant. There are college graduates today who have never held a job.

Like I said. Some things are easier today and others were easier a generation or two ago.

 

You won't find more. Very few company drivers do better than that. And the vast majority of then are running line haul at a union ltl company, and they didn't get that type of money to street they had been there 15 years to build senority to get the bid on those runs.

As far as good hard working qualified drivers go, they exist but they are a rare find. Basically, the good ones already have a good job.

 

Be asured not everyone has these "issues" you guys speak of. Untill my most recent pickup, i never owned a vehicle that was newer than 15 years and 6 or more prev owners, as it is i still bought a used truck. Where you live dictates "nessesites" i was raised in the city. Biked or bused everywhere, but where i live now, not a option, no real public transportation and to bike would not be fesable. Yes i could move but not everyone has that choice. I dont use credit cards, if i cant afford it now, i either save or go without. Guess what, still mostly paycheck to paycheck. Yeah i got some saved... not enought to go 6 months tho. Kids cant get jobs anymore. Paperboy? Ha! They exspect 400 plus a night in a 3 square mile radius excc.. not happening for a kid. Mowing lawns? They have services for that, collecting trash? There are guys doing that for a living, and not a very good one mind you. No wages did not incress with the pace of C. O. L. That is a documented fact. Look it up. A cell phone these days is cheaper and easier to have then a home line so stop saying its not a nessity! A home phone is not required. A cell is. Internet is required if you dont have a library for your kid to study at. My kids teachers give out homework that requires internet accsess. Cant say sorry she doesnt have it. Kid will get a F. So dont say its not a nessisity, it is. Food is stupid exspensive, try feeding a faimily of 4 healthy fresh food. It IS cheaper to eat out. Done the math. We dont all that offen but the point is true. You guys who actualy belive the ######## im wiping off my boot need to wake up. Nothing is ever good enough. These drivers are just steering wheel holders yada yada, good drivers are few and far between yada yada... you can live on 3 dollars a day eating black beans and rice for breakfast and dinner, and for lunch a heaping helping of your borin the #### outta me. keep the dirty side down drivers......