Comments By Ryan R.

Bud,

Sorry, I guess that was over the top insulting.

Big Scott,

Naturally people that write negative reviews are going to be disgruntled. That doesn't mean they're all lying, however. Most of the people that write bad reviews about movies or items on amazon are very unhappy with the product, and this reflects upon the product. Sure, some of the people that wrote the negative review had unrealistic expectations, or they used the product wrong, but that's why you look at the whole of the data.

In this case, the reviewer was probably so disgruntled he resorted to lying, and after this thread and investigating it more, I'm not factoring anything he personally said into any judgments I make.

But some of those disgruntled people? They have legitimate complaints. I'm not interested in wearing rose tinted glasses, and pretending everything in the industry is equal - that a hard work ethic and making good decisions alone is going to get me anywhere. While the happy rose tinted glasses wearers pushed the economy along all these years, their lack of attitude, and their willingness to bend over, has enabled the industry to pay considerably less, while also shoving all sorts of regulations up their bottoms. Some of the regulation is probably for the better, but some of it isn't. I don't expect the status quo to change, but it will be interesting to see them finally lashing out once they're replaced by automated trucks.

My interest in truck driving is different than most. it appeals to me primarily because it's one of the few jobs that will afford me some personal space from having to interact with people constantly. If I had kids, I wouldn't consider being a OTR driver for even a second. I would feel like a total failure of a father. I just hope all the rose tinted glasses wearers aren't going to be enabling more than I can possibly put up with in terms of utter nonsense. It's frustrating that they turn against more discriminating fellow drivers instead of against the system, but that's simple people for you.

Anyway, I do want to read Brett's book. I went to do it once and got fed up with the way it was broken up into tiny segments so I couldn't just lay down and read it all at once. I didn't see a PDF version of it. At some point I'll probably suck it up and deal with annoying formatting.

Man, 36 cents in 1993 is 61 cents today when accounting for inflation. That's like effectively being paid 170% more than today? Depressing.

Bud,

The concept of confirmation bias is a great tool for confirmation bias. My skepticism cuts both ways... the fact I wasn't willing to completely believe this after reading a few seemingly convincing reviews doesn't reflect that my convictions on other topics have lost their foundation. They haven't. I have just become bored with saying the same things over and over again, and hearing the same things over and over again. It serves no purpose.

ChosenOne,

It sounds like you know what you're talking about. Thanks for a useful reply in here. :P

Everyone else,

Please. It's not stalling so much as the fact that, if I was more careful and looked into things more, I wouldn't have gone to the school I did. I'm going to be much more careful now. I mean, I even did apply to work for Prime and was rejected so it's hardly like I'm not willing to pull the trigger when something good stands out. I am in no rush, however.

It's not that there isn't heaps of useful information on the internet about trucking, but it's sometimes hard for a noob to tell what's legit and what isn't. Obviously, this topic was one of those times. The person that wrote the review that concerned me is very well spoken, and managed to say some very specific things about the company that have even been said here. He "appears" very legit on the surface. I dug into it more... while there are some ways people cheat e-logs, it certainly doesn't sound like it's the norm, or even sustainable.

Oh yeah, and the trite popcorn, "jokes" that are plastered all over various trucking forums are seriously inane.

C.T.

I just watched a youtube video on installing GPS trackers in big rigs, and it confirms that it's definitely possible in some cases. They were actually installed in cab under the dashboard. (The fact it's possible doesn't mean it's actually happening as reviewed, of course.)

C T. I know they make GPS jammers for that kind of thing, but I'm unaware of whether there is any truth to unplugging them on a truck or not. It's a long winded review on indeed.com. I would gladly link to it specifically if I could, but indeed doesn't seem to support that. The interesting thing about the review is that it corroborates with certain details said here and elsewhere, while also making some fairly incriminating accusations at the same time.

I'm not defending it. I'm honestly asking if there is any truth to it.

Indeed reviews

Let us begin with the double standard about safety. The company tells you in training that they want 100% compliance with safety and book keeping, yet the trainers that you go out with will teach you about keeping two to three log books, and how to unplug your GPS on the unit to keep the company from tracking your movements. I have left the company twice, and each time when I went back to work for the company, I was given a different trainer who taught me the same thing.

I know Brett told me that people don't run two log books anymore due to electronic logbooks, but I was just reading reviews on TMC, and I saw someone say the trainers for TMC teach recruits how to run two to three logbooks, and how to unplug their GPS unit so the company can't track their movements?

Is this kind of stuff going on rampantly, or are people making such accusations being dishonest? The reviewer depicts big business as I'm used to encountering it, so I'm prone to believing him. However, I'm attempting to delay my confirmation bias.

Please tell me this isn't true. :P

I was curious about this grass thing, and did some googling to see what you guys were talking about. Apparently the owner spends like 100k on the grass? What a silly waste of water and money.

Also, apparently there is some notorious high ranking guy in the company that's known for saying, "Any monkey can drive a truck." It doesn't sound like a particularly pleasant company to work for. Sounds like it pays well though. Good luck, and congrats on the success!

According to supposed experts, Truck Drivers only have about a decade left before they're replaced by technology. Personally, I think that might be a bit soon, but I certainly realize the truck driving profession isn't going to last my lifetime. Unless I die prematurely, of course.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/federicoguerrini/2015/01/31/technology-is-going-to-make-truck-drivers-obsolete-in-a-decade-report-says/#61bee66568d1

I've said it before, but I kinda like the idea of being one of the last truck drivers. It's just why i don't agree here. It'll be a struggle for me to even get a job in this industry, and it will be short lived... for us all.