Keep on writing! All of us have stories to tell. The more we can tell, it does help others learn about the life of being a truck driver.

Many times the billing address(s) will not match local place. Directions may be given to main local building, but the load actually goes another mile down the street where you check in. This also causes delay’s and may make you “late”. So you learn to keep a notebook for directions/procedures/map drawing at the customer for future referance if you get another load to the place.

You may try reporting the changes in qualcomm so the ones with authority can update them, but I have found those people do not care and if you work for a big company, the policy was 3 drivers (at the one I worked for) had to report this before directions were changed!! This is not right and driver’s soon learned to not even try going thru all the hoops. And directions need to be more specific. Don’t just say turn here when street signs are hid in trees and etc.. Give a warning like 2 BLOCKS PAST GROCERY STORE, CROSS STREET IS 6TH. We are not in a car that can just turn around anywhere.

The time apart will be tough, but you may be able to be a rider if the company allows it. And a local closer to home spot may open up sooner for your plans.

The early 90’s seem like “cowboy days” compared with the way they are now, but even back then the old timers were screaming about how much the industry had changed. The enforcement and scrutiny has steadily increased over the years, but it really took off in recent years with GPS tracking and Electronic Logs.

But the stories from back in the day about some drivers having a cooler of beer next to them while driving down the road, popping pills to run coast to coast in two days, and the truck stops being like old towns in the wild west with guns and hookers being common place are not exaggerated. But even when I got in back in ‘93 most of that had been cleaned up. Nowadays, truck stops are trying hard to attract local residents to their restaurants and RV travelers with their families – things are night and day from what they were back then.

Becoming a truck driver nowadays involves an incredible amount of scrutiny. The background checks, drug tests, physicals, and driving tests seem more like you’re entering a career with the FBI or wanting to run a daycare center for the President’s children. On top of that, trucking companies are far more strict than they were a few years ago with their requirements, and they certainly don’t treat drivers as good as they once did. Now you have increased enforcement in the way of GPS tracking and Electronic Logs which the DOT can combine to make sure people aren’t cheating – and it’s been very effective.

I believe without a doubt that once the economy is strong again, whenever that might come about, things will go back to the way they were as far as driver demand and treatment. Trucking is one of the toughest jobs you’ll find anywhere. Not only because of the difficulties that the job itself entails, but maybe more so because of the lifestyle and sacrifices that go along with it. By its nature there will always be a lot of people who give it a shot, only to find out they aren’t cut out for it. Even the ones that are cut out for it have a million options as to who they can drive for and what type of trucking job they’d like to have. A person might have to go through 5-10 different jobs just to try out the different types of freight you can pull, find the right mix of salary, home time, and job requirements, and eventually land someplace they’d like to stay – until the grass is greener elsewhere, of course

On top of that, the industry and the economy are so dynamic that companies are constantly changing their policies. It’s always been a running joke that if you don’t like the company you’re working for then just wait six months and it will be a completely different company. Every time a major policy is changed you get a lot of turnover. So I think things will return to what they were before this downturn, but it’s anybody’s guess as to when the economy will be strong enough to allow that to happen.

In the long run, you’ll be healthier if you stick to a good diet plan, and it’s easy as hell once you do it for a while and it becomes second nature. Sure, treat yourself to a burger and fries on rare occasions, but after changing your habits, you may not even have the desire to eat anything greasy.

If people realized how easy it is to make healthy eating their lifestyle by eating healthy consistently and not just consider themselves as “dieting” they would kick themselves for not doing it sooner. Great advice top to bottom. Thanks!

A couple of things to add; Plan a budget that works and stick to it. Buy enough groceries for your time on the road and if you have anything left over in your budget, treat yourself to a restaurant meal or two, or better yet, deposit that money into your savings.

Also, don’t forget about hidden costs, such as your health. Eating restaurant food, especially fast food, buying processed junk at the grocery store, will certainly impact your health at some point. And of course, having poor health means having to pay doctor bills, hospital bills, and the price of prescription drugs, not to mention the cost of taking time off to deal with medical issues.

So, make wise choices at the grocery store: Stay away from soda, all you really need is water. Avoid the fried stuff, try to stick with cold-cuts, baked or even grilled, if you can. Tuna is perfect, easy to prepare and great for you. Sweet potatoes, oatmeal, whole grain bread instead of white bread, low-fat yogurt — all good. Instead of chips or beef jerky, whatever your poison is, get plenty of fruit and healthy snack foods. There are chips and popcorn and all kinds of other snack foods available that don’t contain all those bad cholesterol building and artery clogging ingredients, just check out the nutrition facts and the list of ingredients. And if you have room in your cab, get a small juicer, make a gallon of juice with fresh fruit (and vegetables) before you head out, drop in some protein powder if you want.

In the long run, you’ll be healthier if you stick to a good diet plan, and it’s easy as hell once you do it for a while and it becomes second nature. Sure, treat yourself to a burger and fries on rare occasions, but after changing your habits, you may not even have the desire to eat anything greasy. You’ll save money on health costs, you’ll be more alert and focused while driving, possibly saving you more money because you’ll be a safer and happier driver. You’d be surprised what a healthy diet can do for your attitude and overall mood.

-Bob

“However, education is not confined to the walls of a classroom. Reading books will produce the same effect. And people who are geared toward success will probably achieve it whether thier education comes from a classroom or by other means.”

That’s so true. Well said.

And I agree with the idea of having a “backup” career of some sort – one is never enough. Life changes in a hurry sometimes – it happens to everyone. Having more than one career can be a life-saver in an emergency or just a nice option when you want a change of pace. Can never learn too much.

Here’s where you can find truck driving jobs – do a search by zip code and in other cities across Florida to see what companies are hiring in your area.