I’ve been looking into becoming a truck driver, working as a team with my husband. I’m just waiting until I am 21 (March).
We travel a good bit and tend to only stop at truck stops. Every chance we get, we will strike up a conversation with a Driver to inquire about their experiences, and see if they will offer advice. And as you said most of them are thrilled to share, once they get past the initial shock of us “kids” approaching them. I have also found VERY few who try to really steer you away from the trucking industry. Almost all of them warn you about it, but are still encouraging. There is only so much I can say to encourage aspiring truck drivers to talk to truckers, but it is a wealth of knowledge like no other!!

Thanks! I’m enjoying your blog, VERY HELPFUL

I’m not sure I can directly answer your question as I haven’t even started training yet, but I have a couple suggestions.

As far as the environment is concerned, you might want to look up the laws against idling a vehicle. Truck drivers live in their trucks, yet aren’t allowed to idle for more than a few minutes at a time in many states. They are forced to either break the law, or try to sleep in 100 degree and 0 degree weather. It’s illegal for pets to be left in those kinds of conditions, but it’s expected of truck drivers. What’s up with that!?

You can also look at some of the sacrafices drivers make just so they can deliver products for everyone to purchase at Walmart at a cheap price. Essentially, they are working 24/7 for weeks at a time. Even when they are sleeping (without idling!), they are still “guarding” the warehouse they are driving, are away from home, and are still binded by DOT regulations.

I understand you probably don’t want to write too much about sacrafices they make though. That just adds to the negative attention. Think about swinging over to a local truck stop. Before I decided to enter the industry, I went to a couple truck stops just to chat with current drivers and see if this was the right career for me. As long as you tell a driver what you’re doing and show genuine interest, the responses you get will be outstanding! Truck drivers normally only deal with customers and a waitress here and there, so talking to you will be a treat for them and you’ll probably get a ton of good info that way. I know it’s a little awkward talking to complete strangers, but I think it would be a great way for you to gather information.

Good luck!!

Trucker Mike

I’ve even seen veteran drivers that have websites trying to sell you information that hinges on keeping you away from all of the “trucking industry scams”. No company or industry is perfect, but as you can see from watching the local news every night, negativity sells in a big way. It’s unfortunate, but it’s a big part of our culture now.

I think blogging is one of the very best ways to get any message out there you may have. It gives you the ability to totally express your honest opinions and state your case without censorship. At TruckingTruth we’re always looking for people who would like to have their own blog on our site or submit their trucking articles and stories to us.

We will have over 33,000 visits in January 2009 and growing fast! So we reach a large audience and it’s growing all the time. So anyone who would like to have a blog or publish their articles on our site can do so quickly and easily! In fact, it may even be published live the same day it’s turned in!

That’s the best way I know of to get the word out!