Becoming A Truck Driver:

How It All Started For Me

by Brett Aquila

I was 21 years old and working at a warehouse outside of Atlanta, GA. I'm originally from Buffalo, NY where I now reside all these years later. But when we were 19, a couple of buddies of mine and I jumped in an old van and drove from Buffalo, NY to Atlanta, GA on a wing and a prayer. We were all about the adventure. Actually, I was all about the adventure and I loved dragging others into my adventures with me, so off we went!

After a couple of really fun years my one buddy and I found ourselves working for $5.50 an hour in a warehouse. We worked a ton of hours and enjoyed it. The people we worked with were great and we partied like rock stars!! We damn sure weren't getting rich, but we were getting by.

An Unexpected Opportunity

One day we got to work and saw a large six wheel rental truck sitting in the parking lot. I asked the boss what was up. He said we had some pallets we had to run into downtown Atlanta (about 10 or 15 miles maybe) and pick up some others and bring em back.

Well, I had never even seen the inside of one of those trucks, let alone drive one. I knew they were automatics and figured I could drive it easy enough. I eagerly volunteered for the task. My boss asked with a skeptical look, have you ever driven a truck like that before? and like any responsible adult looking for an opportunity to try something new I lied my *ss off! I said, "Oh yeah! My aunt moved twice and my grandma moved once and all three times we needed a truck that size and I drove it." He continued with that skeptical look and said he'd talk to the other boss and let me know.

Well, I bugged him repeatedly for the next hour or two and to my absolute delight they said I could do it! I was freakin! This was gonna be a blast! At least I had hoped so. I had never driven anythink like it before, but what the hell... it'll be fun I'm sure! So we loaded up the truck and off I went.

Cruisin Down The Road In My Mini-Rig

It handled like a big pickup truck. Nothing to it. So I cruised down into the city, found my destination, and made the delivery. Well, before they could reload me it was their lunchtime. So I wandered the city for about 45 minutes, came back, they reloaded me, and off I went back to the warehouse.

By the time I got back there it was almost time to go home for the day. I laughed about it and told my buddy, "Wow, I really got away with one. I didn't even have to do any work today. All I had to do was drive! Immediately a light turned on in my head. What about becoming a truck driver?

Started Researching Truck Driving Schools

I had no experience with trucking and knew nothing about it. I was young and getting by on about $250 a week... those were good times. I also didn't know any truck drivers so I went home that day and called the only trucking company I knew of off the top of my head. I asked, "How much do you make your first year as a driver?" They said about $35,000. Thirty Five Thousand Dollars??? My God I would practically be rich, and I wouldn't have to do any real work!

Off To Truck Driving School

So I immediately called a private truck driving school and made an appointment. My ma said she would pay for the schooling for me (I gave her a combination of a good sales pitch with some guilt thrown in) and within a month I was in school to become a truck driver... the start of my odyssey.

Good times!

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