Why does everyone think you have to go otr?

So we agree, it was overly simplistic and not as black and white as presented and that it is possible and just because one has OTR experience doesn't mean it will actually count.

 

Personally, I don't understand the big difference between the two fields... Except where one lays his/her head at night and maybe where one might eat, what's the big difference???

I mean I am OTR but a local driver would have just as much if not more experience in many areas of driving (city traffic, backing, tight maneuvers, etc) than I would have just driving for 11 hours across a few states each day.

But I am sure I am missing something.

 

There are differences between two fields because no two jobs are alike. I'd like to see an OTR driver take an 90 foot truck and trailer loaded with gasoline and delivery that load to a city gasoline station with no problems. Now do that 6 times a day during every type of traffic there is and remember not a scratch. That's one part of the job.

Then again there are some OTR positions that takes years experience because that job is tough. At least when I was looking to transfer to tankers the company that I had my eye on required 2 two years experience OTR and would prefer two years experience in town driving, and two years tanker experience. They recognized the difference in the two and looked at what the driver was hauling and what type of company you have been working at. Then again I saw that company hire a driver right out of school because that driver showed a skilled. You can not put a blanket over the industry and say one type is harder when there's so many variables in the two companies.

 

Good luck

 

I've done both and frankly never understood the wisdom in sending new guys out on the road. There's a lot coming at you that local guys never have to deal with. My experience as a local guy was strictly as an LTL P&D driver. In other words usually was driving around my own city in a 2-axle day cab pulling a lightly loaded pup trailer. No log books or scale houses to worry about. Fuel truck showed up every other night and took care of that. Shop stayed on top of the major equipment maintenance and could fix little stuff right away. Always knew where my parking spot was at the end of the day. In other words in was a total softball scenario. I'd be more inclined to start a new guy out in a job like that with a couple weeks of coaching and close supervision, then once he had a couple years experience in local work work would consider him qualified to go swimming in the deep end of the pool. I see way too many newbies that have clearly wandered too far from home and are in over their heads.

 

My point exactly...

 

Not sure where you got this terrible information. But local drivers working on the 100 mile logbook exemption can only work 12 hours a day, must have 10 hours off between shifts and can only work up to 60 hours in 7 days. All verified by time clock records. Drivers not using the 100 mile log book exemption must log and follow the exact same rules as otr drivers. No one is working 16 to 18 hours a day, that is very illegal.

 

Local drivers can work more than 12 hours. They just have to fill out a loose leaf log if they do. The correct way to fill out said log is still a genuine mystery to me though. It's a stupid caveat that I never saw the point of. The 10-hr rule should still apply but in reality you're more likely to work 10/off 14 as a local driver rather than the other way around.

 

Gas hauling? (No thanks)

 

I think local would just be another typical daily grind for me.

If I went home every night I'd wake up every morning dreading going to work. OTR I wake up in the morning ready to hit the road and find out where I'm headed next.