Alone Time as a Truck Driver - Can you Handle it?
When I first started researching becoming a truck driver, I knew I’d be spending a lot of time alone. Believe it or not, this was actually something I was looking forward to. It’s not that I dislike people or anything like that, I’ve just always been the type that doesn’t mind being alone. It’s almost therapeutic. However, this isn’t the case for everyone, and I’m here to tell you what it’s like being a solo truck driver, all alone.
Solitude and Strangers
“Some people were born to live alone
And go about life that way
Their home is a long stretch of blacktop
And every day is just another day
They like movin’, stayin’ on the run,
And tryin’ to make the world stand still
White lines and city limit signs,
And Life is like an automobile
Rollin down the highway, what a fine time,
That’s the only way to feel
Wheels, stay under me, stay under me
Wheels, stay under me, stay under me
It’s a freedom that we all wanna know
And it’s an obsession to some
To keep the world in your rearview mirror
While you try to run down the sun
It’s the knowin’ when you get to where you’re goin’
You’re never there against your will
It’s a code for livin on the road
Try to make the world stand still
Rollin’ down the highway
“Wheels” - Restless Heart
This song was inserted by Brett Aquila -
totally unbeknownst to TruckerMike 
As you can imagine, I spend most days in complete solitude as a long haul truck driver. I may speak with somebody in the shipping or receiving office at a customer, I might speak with a clerk at a truck stop, and I might say a few words on the CB radio to other truck drivers from time to time, but for the most part, it’s just me and the road. If you’re considering becoming a truck driver, you have to really think about this. How well will you handle it? In the short time I’ve been driving, I’ve met some truck drivers who seem to literally be going insane, partially because of the isolation from other people.
I spend at least 4 weeks out on the road at a time….alone. I never see anybody I know during those 4 weeks. Everyone I come in contact with is a total stranger, in a place I’m not familiar with, and generally, they aren’t completely fond of truck drivers. I’m just somebody who creates more work for them, and they’ve probably had a few bad experiences with truck drivers that very same day. Truck drivers lead a fairly stressful life, and many drivers take it out on unsuspecting people, like the shipping and receiving workers. After all, they don’t have anyone else to vent to. Those workers, in turn, show a lack of respect towards the rest of us, and in a way, you can’t really blame them.
Those I come in contact with are not my buddies, and don’t really care about me at all. Their goal is to get me loaded or unloaded, give me my fuel receipt, bring me my food, etc., then get me off their property. It’s just business, nothing more, nothing less. This is something that I, and all OTR truck drivers, deal with for weeks at a time. And I’m not talking about 5 day work weeks. I mean 30 days straight, 24 hours a day. After we put in those weeks of solitude without contact with anyone we know, we are rewarded with 4 or 5 days off at home before it’s time to hit the road again.
It isn’t simply being alone that is hard. It’s missing those back at home. Sitting alone in the cab of a truck gives you a lot of time to think and reflect. I am a single guy without a family back home, so it’s a bit easier on me than with others who have a husband / wife and kids back home. But I do think about my friends and family and what they are doing. I do think about the days when I could go home from work and crack open a beer with my best friend while I watch the Cubs game on a big screen TV. I do think about going out on the weekends, or just sitting and having a nice chat with my parents on their screen porch on a nice evening. I do think about taking a spur of the moment trip to Chicago or the North Woods of Wisconsin. And boy, do I miss the home cookin’. All of those things are behind me, at least as long as I’m a long haul truck driver. Could you deal with that?
Solitude Does Have It’s Upside
It’s not all doom and gloom though. If you have the right personality and can make some big sacrifices in your life like the ones I mentioned above (among others that are more personal to you), this can be a great life. Personally, I absolutely love cruisin’ down the highway chasing the sunset with the radio turned up. I love the self reflection provided when I turn the radio off, and just think. It’s amazing what the mind does when there’s nothing to do and nobody around. It provides for a type of therapy that only a truck driver can understand. I love when I happen to come in contact with real great people here on the road, be it a fellow truck driver or a random person. I never know when it’s going to happen, but when it does, it’s usually a person I’ll never forget, even if we only spend 20 minutes together. Some of the most interesting people I’ve met in my life, I’ve met on the road.
Technology Has Made Big Changes For Truckers
Times have changed for the truck driver too. And it has changed for the better as far as isolation goes. The way technology is these days, it’s much easier to connect with people and reach the outside world. Today I’ve been surfing the web in the middle of Oklahoma using a wireless broadband card (the company I use is Millenicom and I’m very happy with them so far). Email is such a great way to keep in touch and is a truck drivers best friend these days. I can virtually do that anywhere I go with my broadband card. Feel free to send me an email - my email address is listed at the top of the page under the article title! It may take me a day or two to respond, but I’ll always get back to ya! Another way I love to communicate with people is right here on our trucking forum at TruckingTruth.
When I first entered the industry, I decided to get an iPhone for the road. Man am I glad I did! I can pick up my iPhone to call a friend or even access my Facebook account - you can send me a friend request! I can turn on the TV to watch the news, pop a movie into my DVD player, or even use my Webcam to talk with friends, family, and anybody else who wants to chat. I absolutely love my satellite radio as well. And of course, I love to share my life with the world through my trucking blog. There are many ways for the modern day truck driver to communicate with the outside world, take advantage of it! Truck drivers like myself who are just getting into the industry have it much easier than those who were out on the road just 10 years ago. I can’t imagine what it was like for them.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it many times more in the future. This is not a job, it is a lifestyle. If this is a career you want to get into, you must be absolutely sure your personality is a perfect match for this kind of life. I can truly say with 100% honesty that I don’t think most people should do this job and live this life. Not because they can’t, but because they wont like it. And the statistics prove this. The turnover in this industry is very high because people simply aren’t prepared for the life they are going to live. The job itself is tough, but most people are capable of doing it. The lifestyle is what truly separates those who will succeed, and those who will be back home within a year, looking for that 9 to 5 job. You are not on vacation here. And even when you are enjoying yourself on the road, you are enjoying it alone.
If you’re reading this blog and are interested in truck driving, you’re doing the right thing. Researching. Keep doing that and keep an open mind. Be honest with yourself about whether or not this is truly for you. It might be, and it might not be. But if you truly believe you are a good fit for this career, my advice is to absolutely go for it! I had a sneaking suspicion I would be happy as a truck driver, and I was right. This was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself, and I couldn’t be happier. My home is the truck, my life is the road, and my best friend out here is myself. I love this life. Will you?
Until next time, drive safely.
TruckerMike
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Last 5 posts by TruckerMike
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For starters, I can’t think of the truckin’ lifestyle or living on the road without a certain song coming to mind, so I took the liberty without permission to insert those song lyrics into your blog. Shame on me, I know. But I couldn’t help myself.
Again, man - you are one of the most interesting writers I have ever come across. This was another outstanding piece.
After 15 years on the road, I couldn’t agree more with everything you said here, and I’ve written on the topic a number of times myself. It’s one of the core aspects of being a truck driver - the isolation from everything you know, including friends, family, and of course, your home. This is indeed one of the toughest aspects of the job for most people, and I too have seen a lot of people that I could tell were on the edge of loosin’ it if they didn’t find someone to talk to! LoL! You can tell it right away because they come up to you like their pants are on fire and you’re holding a bucket of water. They start talkin’, and they’re not about to let you get away no matter what!
It’s tough being out there, but it is an incredible life and an incredible journey for those who are suited to it. I was perfectly suited to it, and reading this sounded like something I would’ve have written myself word for word.
I’m hoping our TruckingTruth will help people understand what trucking is all about, and I’m hoping that some of the plans we have for the site will help alleviate some of that isolation that so many drivers suffer through out on the road. This piece will go a long ways toward opening the eyes of those who haven’t seen the industry yet for themselves.
Great piece - lookin forward to many more!
Another great post. Now I need to say that I am one of those “almost went insane” drivers because of no one to talk to. This is a very difficult thing to understand if you have not “walked in our shoes”. I got out of OTR as quickly as I could (that took me 3 years) because of the lifestyle, and everything TruckerMike and Brett have said in blogs/forum.
I consider myself a loner most of the time, but this was something that was really hard on me. And it may be for you too, or maybe not. I also did not have a computer/lap top or any other electronic gadet to assist me during the week I was gone.(yes I said 1 week at a time. Not every driver is gone for a month) If I had, it would have made my life a lot better in 2001 thru 2004.