Realistic Expected Avg. Hours Driving Per Day/week

Put another way: If what is expected is 2500 miles per week - then at 50 hours driving a week - you need to average 50 miles an hour. at 55 hours a week - it goes down to 46.

Are you saying you don't average 45 mph?

Sam, Every day is different, every week is different, particularly with OTR. Reefer loads typically are longer runs, but have more waiting time at Shippers/Receivers. It is not unusual to spend 3 or 4 hours to travel 40 or 50 miles in Los Angeles or other Big Cities in heavy traffic. There are so many variables. Suffice it to say that if you plan on turning big miles, you will burn through most of your 70 hour clock in 5-7 days, or that should be your goal. If you use up your 70 hours inside of that timeframe, you will be required to take a mandatory 34 hour reset (break), before you can drive again. After the reset, you will then have a fresh 70 hour clock. That is where your day off will come from.

Now I know you cant do 65 all 9 hours. But if what is expected is 2500 (is it not?) miles a week - a 1000 miles cusion - is not enough to get to 2500 miles?

Sam, I think what is expected is that you utilize your time wisely, and that you maximize your available hours. This expectation will be different for a beginning driver than it is for an experienced driver. A trucking company makes it's money by moving freight efficiently. Drivers get paid for what they get accomplished, they get paid based on their performance. Therefore the way the driver makes his money is by moving freight efficiently. It's a unique relationship that is mutually beneficial.

There are drivers in this forum whose driver manager does not allow them to take 34 hour resets. They want to see them moving all the time. Incidentally those driver managers are in on this same relationship - they get paid based on how many miles their drivers are moving freight. I don't think you can have a realistic expectation of having a day off every week unless you do one of two things.

1. Take a job that offers to try their best to get you home on weekends. Usually for a rookie that would be a flat-bed company like TMC or Maverick.

2. Take a job fully intending to burn up your seventy hours in six or seven days which will force you to take the reset, and that will be tricky for a rookie to do.

If this whole thing of having one day off is non-negotiable I think you are in a pickle unless you go to work for somebody like McElroy, a flat-bed company which is owned and operated by some Seventh Day Adventist who all but insist that their drivers shut down the trucks for Saturday. The problem with making demands as a rookie driver in this business is that you may get more than what you bargained for. I can tell you a few stories of fellow drivers who insisted on certain things and they ended up sitting for days at a time - sort of the equivalent of a "time out" for a kid. Okay you insist on a day off, here you go, how about three or four days off, and let's see what your pay check looks like now!

Since you are new in here I am not sure how much you have poked around the web site and read, but you really should check out these links...

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road Training Program

Here's some links to some trips I made where I took my three daughters along with me. I think if you'll take the time to read through them you might get a feel for what it is really like out here on the road. You'll get to see how I take some personal time, and also just how the schedule can be at times. I have taken each daughter on her own special trip and we've had great times together. Check them out, I think you may find it helpful to understand just how things go out here on the road.

Trip One

Trip Two

Trip Three

I agree with OS. This is what we mean by performance based.

Once you're on your own your dispatch will give you trips. At first they give you a few and see how you do. Then, they start adding trips to see how much you can handle. Sometimes these trips are long, sometimes they are short. Sometimes they don't pay hardly anything.

What they are looking for are signs of trouble. Not getting your loads there on time, complaining to your FM , refusing loads, laziness...etc. If they see these things they start scaling back your trips until you're not making anything and you quit.

What this means is you can't stop at a certain miles because you think that's enough for you for the week. You don't go in with a list of demands.

I drive for a big company and we get (i kid you not) hundred(s) of new hires PER WEEK! Can you imagine going through that many people year after year??

Don't focus on the miles. Take a step back and see if you can handle this type of lifestyle. The answers your getting are real life responses and are all things you need to consider.

Welcome to the forum Sam! You have received lots of really great information to digest. I read your post and want to offer my perspective on your inquiry.

For almost 4 years I have been a Swift Dedicated driver servicing a Walmart Grocery DC in North, Central PA and occasionally run store loads out of the Johnstown NY grocery DC. My job entails delivery of perishable and non-perishable grocery related items to Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs in the Northeast region (primarily NJ, DE, MD, NY, eastern 1/2 of PA, and northern VA). On average a typical day is 12-12.5 hours, with 7-8 hours of driving. The higher on-duty time accounts for mandatory supervision of the live unloads that occur at most store delivery stops. There can be up to 6 store stops for each loaded trailer, with an average of 3 for dry and 4 for refrigerated (perishable). Many times a vendor backhaul is on the dispatched route as the last stop. My preference is to come as close as possible to 14 hours per day and getting to within 4 hours of a full 70 hours for a 6 day work week. Many times I will complete two dispatched loads during a 14 hour period. The job is designated for 6 consecutive days of work with one day-off per week (minimally 34 hours) which will reset the 8 day on-duty clock to a full 70 hours. 100% on-time delivery, safe operation, and maximizing available drive time is essential to top performance and earning an excellent income on this account.

My first full year driving on this account surpassed the $50,000 mark. For a top performing, safe driver with 3-5 years of experience on this account, 70-75k is very possible. This kind of work isn't for everyone, but at least for me and many others I work with it is well suited and overall enjoyable. Keep in mind this type of Dedicated work requires a high degree of backing proficiency (cause you will be doing it 4-7 times per day), the ability to maneuver in close quarters, and of course local driving through urban traffic and congestion. Gotta be willing to hustle. Although not always required, it's recommended to gain 2-3 months of safe OTR operation before committing to an assignment like this.

I wrote a one day diary of a trip I completed back in September of this year that details specifics of the work: A Day in the Life of a Walmart Dedicated Driver

Good luck on your journey. Let us know how else we can help.

Just an example of my Day:

2 Stops. Both live unload at K Mart retail Stores in N. California. ALL loose boxes, about 1935 of them according to the BOL. NOTHING on pallets! RAINED ALL DAY!

Here are the numbers

Traveled 336 miles

Used up 13hr 50min on my 14. 24.2 mph

On Duty 10hr 55min 30.5 mph

Drive Line 7hr 45min 43.35mph

Bottom line. You just never know day to day. You really need to figure out averages over at least a 4 week period. 12 weeks would probably give you the best averages.

I got to my shipper at 1900 on the 12th for an 0800-1300 appt on the 13th. Once there, the time was mine. I got my full clock back by the time I got loaded at, of course the last minute.

I rolled out at 1300 and drove 550 miles, taking one 30 min break. The next morning I headed out and drove 589 miles, using all but 40 min of my drive time. This morning I knew with the wind I wouldn't finish the 510 mile drive, so drove 300 miles to another driver who relayed my load. Which was only about a six hour drive time.

Then after a 10 hr break I got a washout, fueled and headed to a shipper 100 miles away for a midnight - 0500 appt. It delivers only 150 miles away but at 1500. So on that drive shift I'll get only five hours of drive time or so...but I know my FM will hit me up with a long load to last all weekend.

If I want a full day off I can ask to be sent to the terminal "once in awhile" not every week. Sometimes I'll tell him I need extra sleep or need to go shopping and stock the truck. He assigns me a load I can pick up the next day. But this is not an every week thing.

He also is not fond of 34/resets unless I go home. Weekend dispatch sometimes gives crappy loads that allow it.

There are some loads I can run hard to get in a day early and get a hotel room nearby before I deliver. But no schedule

Hey all,

I hope you guys don't consider this as trying to hijak a thread but I figured it would be best to post a reply here then start a new one since it was on topic. I am curious how 2 situations could be handled.

1) Say I am coming up on my 10 hour drive mark for the day but there isn't any place to stop around, (if this is even possible regardless of how rare) What would you suggest? 2) If given a load at say 5 hours short of a 34 reset and the load is like 6-7 hours out, do I refuse or how is that handled?

While Im not yet in CDL school yet (planning to go to company school in a month or two) I figure it would be nice to know these things now and learn as much as I can while im still prepping everything (money BS)

$3500 per week is doable, especially gross,

I'm hoping you understood farmer Bob to mean per month, not per week. Otherwise, I'm signing on with Farmer Bob's outfit!

I stand corrected! $3500 per month.

Hey all,

I hope you guys don't consider this as trying to hijak a thread but I figured it would be best to post a reply here then start a new one since it was on topic. I am curious how 2 situations could be handled.

1) Say I am coming up on my 10 hour drive mark for the day but there isn't any place to stop around, (if this is even possible regardless of how rare) What would you suggest? 2) If given a load at say 5 hours short of a 34 reset and the load is like 6-7 hours out, do I refuse or how is that handled?

While Im not yet in CDL school yet (planning to go to company school in a month or two) I figure it would be nice to know these things now and learn as much as I can while im still prepping everything (money BS)

Yes. There are places in the US were there are no places to stop for 60+ miles. Fairly uncommon, but there are places, most that I have discovered are in the West, in the deserts. Also, if you find yourself stuck in some major cities, you might need more than an hour to get out.

If you are dispatched on an impossible run, you call your DM and tell them. Immediately. You also send in a repower request. Then you do what they tell you to do. If you get no instructions, you go as far as you can, legally, and stop. If there are still no instructions, send QUALCOMM messages to be certain you cover your butt and other people can't say you didn't tell them.

I never refuse a load, but if I can't finish it on time, I make noise to be sure others know it, in a way that covers my butt. If they do not respond to me, then I get it there as fast as I can. If that means I take a 34 hour break on the way, then that's what I do.