Comments By Chuck S.

I would witness drivers in the office repeatedly complaining they can't make any money. Over time I would learn why... so many people think this career is easy money, they get to drive from town to town looking for a party at the end of the day... maybe party for a couple of days if they think they can get away with it... and I say that because this career isn't like a normal job. First of all a normal job usually has a boss breathing down your neck making sure you are doing your job, cause if he's not keeping an eye on you ... you are probably going to start goofing off... cat's away ... mice will play sort of deal... are you all with me. I have lived in Vegas for 40 years, and over ten of those years was driving big trucks all over the country. You would be amazed at the number of times I would be asked by my driver/manager to go pick up a trailer that is attached to another tractor and get it delivered, cause THEY CAN'T GET IN TOUCH WITH THE DRIVER FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS... REALLY! I banged on the door of a company truck here at the TA in Vegas for 45 min. trying to wake up the driver who was wasted. He finally poked his head out the window and ask me why I woke him up, I told him the company had been trying to call him for a couple of days about the load he had. I told him I was there to swap trailers, but I realized this guy was in no shape to do anything but go back into the bunk. I asked him if I could swap the trailers, give him my empty and he could go back to sleep. He agreed.

Now do you think this guy needed some supervision? Well he wasn't going to make it as a truck driver if he kept doing this.

I don't know if this was a one time thing for this guy, I was just telling the story because so many people in this world need constant supervision. If you want to be successful as a truck driver, you need to be a self starter. You should be that person who doesn't need to have their hand held all the time. You need to be the person who doesn't need you boss to be breathing down your neck all the time, because you can't get your head out your butt and do your job...

The title of this says it all... and the other side of this coin should say... the hardest workers don't have time to complain ... right

When I was new to trucking our company would route us around every big city in the country (before we all started using gps) then one day I decided to drive right through St. Louis on s 70 and not take the bypass. Well that was the norm for me if there were no restrictions and it wasn't rush hour. Atlanta was no exception.

It's sad we can't put down our phones...even truckers. I was headed up to Seattle with a student and happened to be following one of our company trucks when all of a sudden cars started spinning and parts started flying everywhere. Turns out my fellow truck driver from my company who happened to be a trainer and was driving at the time (after the accident it was told to me by an investigator that he was texting at the time of the accident) rear ended another semi who was slowing down for someone on the side of the road. When the texting trainer reacted his first instinct was to hit the brakes, problem was he didn't have time to hit the clutch. The transmission exploded into a million parts all over the road.

Fortunately everyone survived this accident, a good career was lost in the aftermath

Moral of the story ... yea you guessed it

Olny=only ... sorry

and I forgot to say... that was loaded or unloaded

Chuck, that's hilarious!

62 mph uphill or downhill hammer down... didn't matter ... olny two problems... you needed to put your foot on the dash to get in out of gear, and if you missed a gear you needed to stop and start all over again

If you have an excellent work ethic you will not be bored. Keeping busy is easy in this career. Approach everyday with a willingness to do the best you got and then take it to the next level beyond that, and the only thing you will be thinking about is parking at the end of your day hoping you stay awake long enough to get a couple of bits of food before you pass out.

Boredum is a strong theme in my life right now and i am worried about being bored out of my gourd when i get out there. I am hoping that audiobooks and my phone will be enough to keep me sane, but i get bored easily and i tend to get sleepy when i am bored. What do you guys do to ward off the mind numbing spectre of dullness or are you mostly content to watch the universe move around you while you stay stationary?

Every company is different...best be upfront with them before it's too late. Most companies are concerned about their equipment. They don't want it stolen or vandalized. Parking tickets are going to be your responsibility.

I asked my neighbors ... they just didn't want engines running all night ...

never had a problem

good luck

At 54 and starting your second career, if you stay healthy, you can work as long as you want. I met several truck drivers who made this a career well into their 70's and beyond.

be safe out there

Watch what you eat. Seriously!