Comments By Mr. Groves

Do OTR drivers make considerably more money by living in areas that are more costly to live? Is your income reflected by the city/state your company is headquartered in all else the same? I'm considering moving from Sacramento to one of those heartland states as Oklahoma, Missouri or Indiana where real estate prices and rent are much cheaper after the winter is over. Can a truck driver for a mega-carrier even in Indiana expect to make a lot less than a driver working for a mega-carrier if he lives in California?

In other words, is a company truck driver living in Indiana going to work as equally as long and hard to save up enough money to buy a new house there as he would to save up enough money to buy a new house in Sacramento if he were living there?

A new-construction 3-br home, SFU, can be had as low as $89,000 in northern Indiana. That amount of money might get you a new single-wide on two-axles in Sacramento County that you would still have to pay a mobile home park rent for the lot.

Is my local real estate buying power going to be much better as a driver living in a lower-cost state like Oklahoma, Missouri or Indiana over a high-price place like California, New York or Massachusetts?

The nasal pillow was the first one i tried. thanks... and thanks for the writing compliment

The key to beating sleep apnea is not being overweight or obese. Being fat is the major cause of needing a CPAP. My doctor at Kaiser Permanente in Roseville, CA told me that. I lost about 65 pounds and averted a sleep apnea condition. Not smoking as I don't also helps with respiratory issues.

Got a pulse and live above ground? You MAY have the ideal personality to be a highly successful driver.

Well, just for fun I just did one of these Briggs-Meyer online personality tests (like a question and answer survey) and they said I was an "ARCHITECT".

Specifically, an INTJ-T

introverted-intuitive-thinking-judging and turbulent

A personality typical of the world's top scientists and engineers.

Where Assertive individuals (their opposite number) tend to be calm, relaxed, and free from worry, Turbulent types are more likely to be self-conscious perfectionists, concerned about their abilities or about how others perceive them. One similar test I did a few years back said I was COLD, ANALYTICAL and CALCULATING.

What is the ideal PERSONALITY for a driver? Do I have a driver personality and how can one tell?

A picture speaks 1000 words so here are three....

NJ has pededstrian piers above the sandy beaches that connect hotels, amusements, and casinos. They are miles long and go through various towns. They are meant for people, bikes, and emergency vehicles only. Until I got into trucking i thought they were everywhere, but many people seem to not know what "boardwalks" are.

Anyway.. following the GPS got this driver onto the pier but then he continued to drive miles trying to find a way off. The beams supporting the boardwalk were not meant for our weight and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage was caused.

This one followed a GPS and was too stupid to know a ton is 2000 pounds. there was a weight limit sign and she ignored that. She destroyed a 100 year old bridge

This one was probably following the GPS and ignored the clearance signs and ripped off the trailer roof.

My point is....GPS and google are no match for the atlas. Google doesnt look for weight limits or clearances. Trucker GPSs will send you down narrow streets or tell you "low clearance one mile". Great! i drove 5 miles down a one lane road to get here and there are no parking lots to turn around so now i have back up for miles against the traffic.

Todd, the more you talk, the more you show why training is so so very important.

It looks like American infrastructure needs to seriously be reengineered and overhauled to accommodate modern commercial trucking. These low bridges are nothing short of archaic and medieval. America needs more truck-friendly streets and highways for economic and safety sense.