Being Young In The Trucking Industry Can Be A Pain!

I'm not as young as Daniel, I'm 26 but after I shave I look like I'm 16. I get comments about my age ALL the time. I just learned to ignore them and do my job. I imagine it's much worse dealing with the comments women drivers get.

Oh and I do speak Russian. English is not my native tongue.

You speak Russian? That's awesome! I didn't know you were younger too, man I wish I got started in trucking when I was younger!

Or were you being facetious about the Russian???

Not being facetious. I became a US citizen when I was 12.

I'm not as young as Daniel, I'm 26 but after I shave I look like I'm 16. I get comments about my age ALL the time. I just learned to ignore them and do my job. I imagine it's much worse dealing with the comments women drivers get.

Oh and I do speak Russian. English is not my native tongue.

I don't know why you're in PA...

We all migrated to CA/OR/WA. You rebel!

I'm 26 so I won't be the youngest by any means but I am joining this unofficial young truckers movement lol. I try to keep a beard so I look at least a little bit older than I look when I shave haha

Sorry they gotcha ruffled Daniel.

Must surely get old and tiring from these '30 year toothless' types. Seems its just more sign of the times; every ones has 2 cents on everything and arent able to control schtuff that falls out of their mouths. The old 'if you dont have anything good to say say nothing at all' has vanished for the most part.

And I wouldnt doubt its more about you being young(er) and handling it out there and a sense of oh no, or a threat to some of these types even if they are beyond recongnizing it in the first place. And then there are those few that simply are cutious Im sure.

It is known to us that you are professional and kick butt at your job, and that could be some of the deal here. Do they or do thay have to kid themselves that they do and omit the fact that if they dont, some one else who might be younger and more able, and more dedicated, will ???

Of course individually we will never know unless we knew them but people dont just pop off for nothing and I have had the same thing in my youth not seeing it for what it was until some one told you are a threat to them for their own reasons.

Sad but true my friend.

Sorry they gotcha ruffled Daniel.

Must surely get old and tiring from these '30 year toothless' types. Seems its just more sign of the times; every ones has 2 cents on everything and arent able to control schtuff that falls out of their mouths. The old 'if you dont have anything good to say say nothing at all' has vanished for the most part.

And I wouldnt doubt its more about you being young(er) and handling it out there and a sense of oh no, or a threat to some of these types even if they are beyond recongnizing it in the first place. And then there are those few that simply are cutious Im sure.

It is known to us that you are professional and kick butt at your job, and that could be some of the deal here. Do they or do thay have to kid themselves that they do and omit the fact that if they dont, some one else who might be younger and more able, and more dedicated, will ???

Of course individually we will never know unless we knew them but people dont just pop off for nothing and I have had the same thing in my youth not seeing it for what it was until some one told you are a threat to them for their own reasons.

Sad but true my friend.

I doubt any of that. To spend 30 plus years in one job shows nothing by dedication to their job and profession.

Likely it's a stereo type thing. And that likely comes from dealing with the unemployed masses that are flocking to trucking cause they have zero job prospects at home and see trucking as a quick paycheck to tide them over and really are not even qualified to drive a truck. These newer trucker wannabes are the ones that have crazy attitudes whenever someone even looks in their direction.

Just to show an example.....A few weeks ago there was a Schneider driver that was trying to back in. He was having trouble. After about 30 minutes he managed to get it in the spot besides me and I rolled down my window and asked if he was ok cause there was no way that he should have taken that long on what was less than an offside back. More straight lined than anything. He said he was worried and the ice in the parking and did not want to risk backing up on top of the ice and sliding into someone. OK I thought that was reasonable. I had not seen the the ice he was talking about until I looked and it was in the back of the parking spot up on the curb where you should not even have your trailer tires in the first place. I looked at the ice and looked back at him and I seriously thought he was joking. So I asked him if he was joking and he looked me dead in the eye and said "If I had jumped the curb I could have slid into another truck or down into the ditch."

I was dumbfounded. I asked him why he would jump the curb with his trailer tires after he was straight in the parking spot. He said that he had done it twice before and to not worry about him. Insurance would pay for any damages he did to his trailer.

At that point I rolled up my window and stopped talking to him and just shook my head. I was not about to repeat what had happened a week prior when I newer driver told me I did not know anything.

The point is that the newer drivers have read about horror stories of the trucking industry and are immediately on the defensive when someone truly wants to help them and they pop off with attitude rather than a "listening posture" then of course it escalates cause they get attitude thrown right back at them and the entire younger generation of drivers get the label as "Doesn't know Crap and watch out cause they will hit your truck"

Not saying it's the right thing to do but in trucking whole groups of people have to pay for the sins of a few. Only thing that can be done is try to show that you ,yourself, are different and your not apart of the "bad attitude" group of drivers.

Yup if you do your job then people will ignore your age. Don't hit stuff, don't be late, be professional. Pretty simple.

And Daniel I grew up in Brighton Beach (in Brooklyn, NY), the largest Russian immigrant community in the world. Pretty sure there are more Russians here than in all of CA/OR/WA combined

Russians in Brighton Beach? You're kidding right? Next thing you'll be telling me there's Cubans in Miami.

Lol Scott.