The Biggest Reason People Stop Driving A Truck?

A.H., I think the loneliness gets to some people, but I think the biggest cause for people quitting is that they have unrealistic expectations. They think it's like any other job, but it's not. It's hard to imagine what it's like to have the truck as your permanent address unless you've lived a nomadic lifestyle before. The driving part is easier to learn, frankly, and even the local jobs where you're home every night are pretty demanding.

As the others have said, getting home isn't always easy, especially the first year. A lot of people think they can handle it until reality hits them in the face after a few weeks or months.

Also, the pay isn't the greatest till you have at least a year or two of experience, and the really good pay doesn't come until a while after that. There are those who think it's unfair when they start calculating their hourly pay. Would I like to be paid more? Yes. Do I think I'm going to be paid more as a truck driver? Not until I get to at least three years of clean driving experience. If hourly pay is your big concern, better go into sales or a profession like law or health care or computer science.

For another, there's no real promotion opportunity where you can become the one calling the shots. Even O/Os scramble to get loads and pay the bills, and they aren't ever going to get to the point where they can go into a shipper or receiver and tell the people loading and unloading when and how to do it.

Some people just have to be in charge. They wash out of this business quick, because they aren't in charge and never will be. You can spot them easily enough. They're the ones giving the rest of us a bad name by yelling at the folks in the office or on the forklifts or the poor cashier at the truck stop.

When they go completely batty, they start yelling at their dispatcher. Then when they figure out they've shot themselves in the foot by doing that, they go to another company and do it all over again, or they tell themselves that all big trucking companies are crooked and it's a rotten business anyway and they quit driving altogether.

See and I'm a "take charge" kind of person and that is why I love this job. I don't have to deal with bum coworkers or bosses. When something goes wrong it is either my fault and I fix it. Or it is the company's problem and they fix it Had a blowout? I just message road assist to send someone. I need fuel? Company pays for it.

As far as loneliness and boredom..not my style. Would I like a relationship... Yeah. But I couldn't find a decent guy at home with a normal job. It seems the best relationships out here are the husband wife teams.

But I was engaged to an army infantryman who was deployed more than he was home. I thought it was great cause while he was gone it was "love you miss you...can't wait to see you". …when he got home it was "omg, give it to me good ". And by the time he left two weeks later it was "yeah, we are annoying each other have a safe trip back". Then back to love you miss you. Couples that freaked over not seeing each other for a week made me laugh. try 15 months lol. So I would make the perfect military/trucker wife.

But no one was crazy enough to marry me after that first fool back in the 1990s....so now I resort to flirting with the guys here lol

I have a " trucker boyfriend " whom I have seen six times in 18 mos and he wants me to leave prime to team with him. Then suggested marriage after that. Idk...if I was gonna leave prime...I'd need that ring and paper before I leave lol. Then I would probably sweet talk him into coming back hahahhaha

At this point the only reason I would come off the road would be my moms health. She is 80 and won't be healthy forever.

I did 4 years at sea 5 & 6 month deployments. So cramped isn't a huge deal breaker for me. And I have 2 teen age step daughters so I'm hoping I can get hired for some extended away from home time. And I don't mind solitude. Guess the only thing is what it's like to operate a truck on the road. I was a mechanic for 5 years and did 2 of those doing maintainance at a cement plant on mixers,, pump trucks, super liners an dump trucks. Drove them on the plant to pull them into the shop but never on the road. I'm really hoping I like it. There's only nursing jobs and trucking jobs where I live. And I'd like to make more than 30k. Guess we shall see what we shall see. Thanks for the input. This site seems really good for advice.

Its lonely out here. Sometimes it seems i can live out my dream and drive which will include dying alone or go be with my loved ones.

Btw for me personally. Its hard to leave home after a break but once im 1000 miles away im fine. I have no issue driving all day but sometimes when i park and im alone parked my thoughts will take off and i get lonely or sad sometimes.