Becoming A Truck Driver: Will I Enjoy Life On The Road?

If you've never been a truck driver and never really had the chance to talk extensively with someone who is, it's nearly impossible to guess as to whether or not you would enjoy the lifestyle of being on the road. What are the hours like? What about driving through bad weather? Is the food any good at truck stops? Am I going to meet a lot of interesting people? What will I do for entertainment? There are a ton of questions and the answers are often hard to come by if you don't know any truckers. Let's talk about a few aspects of life on the road.

Lets start with the hours. What kind of hours will I be putting in? What about the DOT rules that limit a driver's time behind the wheel? Well, I'm not going to go deep into the DOT right now. Thats for another day. But I will say that you will likely be getting paid by the mile. So the more you work, the more you make. So if you're looking to make as much as you can while you're out there, expect to be putting in very long days - a lot of em. The hours are erratic too. Sometimes you will deliver in the middle of the night, sometimes in the middle of the afternoon. Sometimes you will get loaded much later than you expected and you'll have to drive most of the night to deliver on time. And of course when it's finally time to go home - you're not stopping unless you're so tired you cant remember who you are - but stopping is pretty rare when heading home! The energy and excitement of knowing you're finally going home will keep you going day and night - believe me it will. So if you want to make good money and have your company be pleased with your performance, excpect a lot of very long days and erratic hours. This is no nine to five job. But I liked that aspect of driving. I liked that everyday was different and unpredictable. That kept it interesting and challenging for me.

As far a driving through bad weather, you always have an out - your company will never say anything to you if you tell them it's not safe to drive right now and you're shutting it down. Safety is first for everyone in trucking. It must always be. As you become a better driver over the years you will find that you are shutting down for bad weather less often. After a number of years I found that I rarely ever stopped for bad weather. Computers make it easy to keep up with the weather and either drive around a storm or get your driving in before it arrives so that when it hits you're safely parked and ready to eat and hit the sack. So as a new driver, dont be concerned at all about what you'll be faced with on bad weather days - if you aren't comfortable driving, dont drive. Simple as that. You have your life, the lives of motorists around you, and your career to think about. Dont jeapordize any of it trying to push through bad weather - especially heavy snow and ice. You cant expect to shut it down in the rain, unless its a hurricane, but runnning in the snow will depend on your experience and comfort level.

What about the food? Believe it or not, truck stop food is almost always good food. They know drivers love to eat and because of the CB radio word travels fast. A restaurant will get a reputation quickly and will do great if the food is great, terrible if it's terrible. So generally you will be very happy with the food. And unlike restaurants you'll usually eat at around home, the big chains have the best food. Sometimes you'll find a small family-owned truckstop with good food, but often the small places aren't as good.

Finally, entertainment. Parking is the biggest problem when it comes to having fun. Going to the movies, the mall, sporting events, and bars is all in the realm of possiblities if you can figure out a safe, legal place to park the rig nearby. Taking a cab from a nearby truckstop is generally the best way to do it. Often times you can find places to park within walking distance if you get on the CB and ask the local drivers that know the area well. They can often clue you in. If you're staying out on the road over the weekend you will generally have a ton of free time to have some fun.

So in general, life on the road is a lot of fun if you're the adventurous type. The hours are long, the weather is tricky, and you're away from home a lot but it's always interesting, challenging, and full of possiblities. If you prefer the safe environment of steady hours and a simple job, you wont like trucking. If you're hearty, full of adventure, and looking for a life thats fun and challenging - trucking may be just perfect for you.

Until next time - here's more resources for ya: