Comments By Gladiator 76

Carl,

That video is a hard to watch, but it could save lives as an example of what not to do. I've shown it to several drivers I work with. If your trainer doesn't understand your concerns I'd show it to him too. Good luck.

I've been thinking about this thread since I watched that video Bud A. posted. Can you give us an update Carl? I'm hoping things in that truck are getting safer.

People need to remember one simple rule......"if it sounds to good to be true it probably is"! My company pays some of our routes by the load instead of the hour like most of them are. We seem to constantly be looking for drivers for these routes.

Hammertime,

You are right. I am a local company driver. I read the forum regularly and this does interest me. I feel bad for the driver I talked to, because he's obviously in a tough situation. I just tried to share what he told me.

Brett,

I agree with you. The more I talked to this driver the more I felt he was trapped in his truck!

I spoke with a lease operator this morning at a rest area near Canby Oregon. I asked him why he leases his truck. He stated the reasons commonly given on this forum: freedom to chose routes, fuel stops, his loads, drive ungoverned and increased home time. As we talked he said these freedom's actually cost him money and he was actually spending less time at home in Oregon because it was getting more difficult to get good paying loads back into southern Oregon where he lives. He said he has a friend who does most of his driving in the Midwest and flies back to Oregon every 6-8 weeks for home time and he's considering doing the same thing because the pay is better in the Midwest. I asked him if he would consider being a company driver again and he said he would if he could find something local, but he wasn't ready to give up his dream of owning his own truck yet. He said he's been driving 7 years, the last 3 leasing. I enjoyed the chat and wished him well as we parted ways.

As a local driver I do everything I can to avoid calling dispatch. I get my pickup & delivery information through the phone (my QC ) and feel good about not speaking to dispatch all day. If I have questions I call another driver first. You ask for opinions and the consensus is to use your QC as much as possible and avoid calling dispatch. If you do have a problem with dispatch or any other person I recommend you "kill them with kindness".

The most compelling reasons I'm hearing to lease is the freedom it gives a person, not the profit it brings. Companies are probably putting these restrictions on drivers to make more profit. If it wasn't good for the companies to have these lease programs I don't think they'd have them.

Driving locally can be brutal. I know Old School is just trying to ensure that drivers don't get into it over their heads. I enjoy driving locally....it's all I've ever done, but I honestly do not know how I survived my first year without a major accident.

I drive out of Portland Oregon. Finding a local job is much easier than keeping it. If you can drive in close quarters and back the truck into tight spaces without wrecking you can keep the job. If you can't you can easily ruin your career. I never tell anyone what to do and local driving options are there, but as Brett has pointed out they are very tough for inexperienced drivers.