gdp's Comments

BigRigDriving : test1

Mon, 5 Sep 2011 12:21:14 +0000

We have an excellent group of articles that will give you the differences between different types of jobs - take a look at how to choose a truck driving job. As far as getting home, it will make no difference at all where the company is located. As long as they hire from your region, they'll be able to get you home just fine. So don't pay any attention to where they're located - it makes no difference.

BigRigDriving : Is The "Perfect Storm" Looming For Truck Driver Demand?

Mon, 5 Sep 2011 12:16:49 +0000

The felony conviction will disqualify you at quite a few companies, but certainly not all - especially since it's from so long ago. Your age won't be a problem. What you'll want to do is start applying for pre-hires. The pre-hire process is where you apply for a job at a trucking company and they will tell you whether or not you will qualify to work there after graduating from a legitimate truck driving school and getting your CDL. Now this is not a guarantee of employment. It simply means that you would qualify to work there. Now I've seen these fall through due to policy changes or unreported problems with a person's background, so you want to get a minimum of two or three pre-hires. If you can do that, you know you'll be able to find work in the trucking industry after graduating from truck driving school. Now this process does not require any commitment on your part to attend truck driving school or work at a company you're applying to. It's a great way to find out if you will be able to land a job in the trucking industry without taking the risk of going to school and finding out the hard way. You can contact the recruiters at any of the major trucking companies to get this process started. Once you apply, make sure you call them back about every other day to see if they're working on your application. Otherwise, it might just be set aside in a pile of applications and forgotten.

BigRigDriving : test1

Mon, 5 Sep 2011 12:14:24 +0000

Absolutely they will! Trucking is one of the few industries that prefers age to youth because they're counting on drivers to make safe, prudent decisions, which young people aren't exactly famous for! Go to any trucking school in the country and you'll find guys and gals in their 60's getting training and finding work. Your age is no concern in trucking - you're good to go in that regard.

BigRigDriving : test1

Mon, 5 Sep 2011 12:12:45 +0000

Both Crete and TMC are excellent companies. The biggest decision is whether or not you'd like to pull a dry van or flatbed. But the pay, benefits, equipment, and overall quality of the two companies are very similar. But pulling flatbed is completely different than dry van so that's what you'll want to consider first and foremost. Read these articles on how to choose a truck driving job for a ton of insights into choosing the best company for yourself.

BigRigDriving : Is The "Perfect Storm" Looming For Truck Driver Demand?

Mon, 5 Sep 2011 12:09:28 +0000

From what you've told me so far, I don't see any reason why not! Your age is of no concern in trucking. If you can pass the physical and you have a solid background (especially criminal and driving records) then it sounds like you could make a go of it. Check out our Guide To Becoming A Truck Driver for a ton of information on getting started in trucking.

BigRigDriving : CSA 2010 Will Not Assign Safety Ratings to Individual Drivers (yeah right!)

Mon, 5 Sep 2011 11:58:46 +0000

But your husband is an owner-operator so he is treated like a company, not an employee. But I still agree with the fact that these statistics are going to stay with the driver and affect their career in one way or another.

BigRigDriving : Should Body Mass Index Be Enforced In The Trucking Industry?

Mon, 5 Sep 2011 11:57:22 +0000

Does your disability force you to eat more calories each day than your body needs? I don't care what the issue is, if you eat the proper number of calories based on the nutritional requirements for your body, you will not gain weight. If you eat a few less calories than your body needs, you'll lose weight. And if someone has a disability that is so severe that they can't control their own health, then they aren't safe enough to be driving an 80,000 pound truck at 65 mph surrounded by minivans full of children.

BigRigDriving : Should Body Mass Index Be Enforced In The Trucking Industry?

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:27:40 +0000

If you look around the truck stops it sure seems that might be the case! LoL! But indeed they're only targeting the ones that can be classified "morbidly obese" which is really, really big. You'd need a BMI of around 39 before anyone would be too concerned with your weight, which would put someone that's 5' 10" at about 280 pounds.

BigRigDriving : Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA2010)

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:23:57 +0000

Hey Don. I'd say the #1 reason for not letting people under 21 drive interstate is because of their horrendous safety statistics and the tendency for younger people to be more aggressive, less patient, and greater risk takers. In trucking, it's all about liability and trust. Trucking companies need people with a proven track record of smart decision making which is why they tend to rule out anyone who has ever had a felony, DUI, or severe driving infractions. They even look at your credit score and social networking pages to get all the information they can about you. Unfortunately, someone who is 18 has never been anywhere except high school and mommy's house - they usually have no track record of decision making at that point in their lives to show they can be trusted. At least at 21 you've been out in the world for a few years (hopefully) and have shown you can be trusted (or not) as an adult making your own decisions. Naturally the military loves 18-21 year olds because most people at that age are a bundle of fearless adrenaline junkies - idealistic, looking to make their mark in the world, and easier to mold. That's not a complaint against the military at all - it's just a simple matter of finding the right person in the right circumstances for the job.

BigRigDriving : CSA 2010 Will Not Assign Safety Ratings to Individual Drivers (yeah right!)

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:25:44 +0000

I don't know if I would say it's a "simple fact" that CSA 2010 is a blacklist - that's going a bit far. But I'm curious about your situation, especially the "fatigued driver" points. Did you have any logbook violations that could have applied to this? There had to be some form of ticket issued to give you points for fatigued driving. And you said in reference to lights that don't work on the trailer "The company has refused to repair the light or any of them that don't work". Really? I mean, you told them that you had trailer lights that weren't working properly and they flat-out said "We don't care. We're not fixing it. Get out there and drive". And if CSA 2010 is a blacklist, then why are you on it? You're implying they're blacklisting you - and my question would be "Why would they do that to you specifically?" There are also ways you can challenge any information you feel is erroneous on the report. Have you tried challenging any of it?

BigRigDriving : test1

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:19:24 +0000

Hi Justin. Yap, as a company driver for any company you will be paid for all dispatched miles driven, loaded or empty.

BigRigDriving : Is The "Perfect Storm" Looming For Truck Driver Demand?

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 11:56:33 +0000

I don't think you're delusional at all and you are at no disadvantage for having no previous experience in larger trucks. Almost nobody has experience in anything other than 4 wheelers when they begin their trucking careers. I had never even seen the inside of a tractor trailer until my first day on the practice range at truck driving school - so don't sweat that at all. If you want tons of great info on becoming a truck driver, visit our sister site at www.truckingtruth.com.

BigRigDriving : Will Future Productivity Gains Come At The Driver's Expense?

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:58:59 +0000

I agree 100%. Even in the early 90's it was so much easier to just be left alone to do your job. Now, you have more surveillance than Osama Bin Laden. The background checks they do seem more appropriate to someone who wants to be an FBI agent. The rules and regulations get more and more strict, while the enforcement gets more imposing all the time. With the economic downturn in recent years, things have gotten much worse for drivers - especially the new ones to the industry. They are making far less money, being forced to stay away from home sometimes for 2-3 months at a time, forced to run team for months with a trainer, and all kinds of stuff. There's been such an influx of drivers into the industry that companies are really increasing the demands at the same time the government is increasing the scrutiny. You're being squeezed from both sides. Trucking quit being fun for me after a while. I love to travel, I love the adventure, and I loved the lifestyle - but the job just got to be way too much scrutiny and not enough freedom - and I never even had to use electronic logs! E-logs are just way, way worse than the paper logs I was using. So the new guys coming into the industry don't know how much different it used to be, so they don't mind as much. But guys who have been around a while are enjoying the job less and less. It will all come down to supply and demand as it always does - the more strict they get, the more of a demand for drivers there will be. They won't loosen the standards, so you can be sure that the demand will stay high as it always has. It's an incredibly tough lifestyle and there isn't anything about it that's getting any easier.

BigRigDriving : Will Future Productivity Gains Come At The Driver's Expense?

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:05:12 +0000

Yap - I totally agree with ya - trucking is not going to change for the good of the drivers unless the demand for drivers or government legislation creates that change. Adapt or move on - that's pretty much how it goes.

BigRigDriving : Will Future Productivity Gains Come At The Driver's Expense?

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:02:57 +0000

Well, I see where you're coming from, but that's the nature of a free-market economy - free and open competition. It's not about working together from a business standpoint. It's not about cooperation between companies. It's about competition. To be technical about it, it's illegal to cooperate on pricing - it's called price fixing. But if Company A can haul stuff cheaper than anyone else, then Company A is gonna make a fortune and everyone else is going to have to find a way to compete. But realize this, too - the competition drives down the price of transporting goods in our economy which makes everything cheaper to buy - keeping our economy stronger than it otherwise would have been.

BigRigDriving : Driver Wins Lawsuit After Being Fired Illegally - But There's More To The Story

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:03:22 +0000

Creid, you're having problems believing I ever drove a truck? I drove 15 years - so you're not very perceptive for starters. But what the hell, I'll humor ya.

What was going on here was prime was pushing her, as a lot of these companies do, to run illegal as hell and use the trainee as a team driver

Really? I'm not sure where you're getting your facts (or assumptions, or propaganda) from, but here's a quote from Prime:

So far since I have made her a trainer I have had to repower her 3 times on the last 4 loads and the only load she delivered it took her 6 days to move across country and had to be resch (rescheduled) 3 times due to weather. The weather was bad but most trucks pushed thru with little delays.

Does that sound like they were making her run illegal? She had just become a trainer and almost every load was repowered, except the one she hung onto for SIX DAYS, with that one being rescheduled three times of course. She actually delivered one load out of 4 - just amazingly awful.

Heres the deal. She was a trainer. They dont make you a trainer because youre "underperforming". NO trainer spends hours in parking lots teaching trainees to back. You dont have time youre either sleeping or running

Even the lawyer that represented Cynthia stated that statistics from Prime showed that "Cynthia averaged 1,699 miles per week during her 4 months with Prime" before becoming a trainer. 1699 miles a week??? Awful - just awful. Does that sound like a hard-working driver that's either sleeping or running? A hell of a lot of sleeping I'll tell ya that. You think they made her a trainer because she was overperforming??? Maybe by your standards 1699 miles a week is some good hard running - but not by my standards.

So in the end a company with probably the worst reputation in the business was not only trying to force a driver to break the law (and one of the smart laws)

Prime has the worst reputation in the business? Really??? And what facts would you say backs up that claim? Ridiculous. I never worked for Prime, but they're not even close to having the worst reputation in the business - baseless statement. And exactly what law were they forcing her to break? None. Prime was the one that broke the law by listing Cynthia's refusal to drive as a reason for firing her. They had a long, legitimate list of reasons to fire her and would have done so legally if they wouldn't have included her refusal to drive on the list of reasons. They weren't trying to make her break any laws. Nice try, though.

In your post you place the dispatchers decision that she should run above the Driver? Im starting to have problems believing you ever drove a truck.

I never said I supported the dispatcher's decision that she should run. Re-read the article if you must. I even quoted the STAA which states "The driver is clearly responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle and the decision to cease operation because of hazardous conditions.” What I did say was that they had a long, legitimate list of reasons to fire her and if they wouldn't have illegally listed her refusal to drive as one of them she would have been legally fired and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Perhaps you need to stop posting about trucking as it appears youve forgotten what its like . Being an office monkey can do that to you

Well, after 15 years I certainly haven't forgotten, and I've never worked in an office - but again, nice try. Real perceptive. Look Creid - you can attack me all you like. And if you feel that I'm a "company guy with a corporate mentality" because I won't vehemently defend every action of every trucker in America like some trucker's evangelist then so be it. But the bottom line is that there are a number of lazy drivers with horrible attitudes, and this woman was one of em. She deserved to be fired, but not for refusing to drive over the pass in bad weather. She was an owner operator and her company stated:

...most every one that deals with her says she is very unpleasant to work with. Extremely rude person has not made a paycheck since she came to Prime.”

As an owner operator, she hasn't made a paycheck in 4 months. It sounds to me like they did indeed make her a trainer because she was underperforming and hoped that running team would make her truck profitable - but alas, even that didn't get her lazy ass moving. But hey, if you want to defend a lazy trucker with a horrible attitude then be my guest.

BigRigDriving : Should Body Mass Index Be Enforced In The Trucking Industry?

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 19:57:21 +0000

You can be a very healthy fat person.

You see, I've had a theory for a long time now that if you tell yourself something enough times and you truly want to believe it, you can believe anything - no matter how utterly absurd and implausible it may be. Here's to the power of the human mind - it can overcome all factual evidence and completely create its own reality out of the clear blue sky.

BigRigDriving : Trucking Search Results

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 19:49:35 +0000

I never worked for Werner, but if they'll put it in writing somewhere - even on their website - then you can fully expect they'll stand by it. If they won't put it in writing whatsoever, then be very skeptical. Most large companies will let you take time off in different locations of your choosing. They know people often have family and friends across the nation that they would like to see. So if they're saying in writing that they'll let you take time off in different places, you can pretty much bet they'll stand by their word.

BigRigDriving : Should Body Mass Index Be Enforced In The Trucking Industry?

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:35:59 +0000

As I had mentioned, I was previously overweight by as much as 35 pounds, which nowadays isn't even noticeable to most people, but to me was insane, and I knew it. The most common theme I see with people who are perpetually overweight, or people who are perpetually unsuccessful in life in general, is this attitude that they're a "victim" and don't have control of their own destiny:

People do not normally choose to be overweight

People always choose to be overweight. It's simple math - more calories taken in than calories burned, you gain weight, and vice-versa. When I was overweight it was the same for me. My mistake for some time was thinking that exercise burned more calories than it did. I thought I could exercise hard and eat reasonably well and lose weight. I was wrong. Counting calories - 1500 per day - allowed me to lose the weight in about 2 1/2 months - and I never gained it back once I knew how to eat properly. I'll tell you what people do not normally choose - they do not choose to be run over and killed by someone who had a heart attack behind the wheel. Now that is a victim. I ask again, why should people be forced to take the risk of being killed on the highways to allow others the right to not take responsibility for their own health? You choose to be morbidly obese, then that's fine - but don't expect the general public to pay the medical costs or take the chance on you dying behind the wheel and killing their families. I took responsibility, learned to eat properly, and solved my weight problem. It was simple - 1500 calories a day, 7 day a week. There's no excuse not to get in shape. It's most certainly each person's choice to do so or not. Playing the victim and refusing to take responsibility for ourselves will not make any of us successful at anything in life. It's a poisonous way of thinking.

And those of you who are skinny and making judgements against those that are overweight..SHAME ON YOU!!!!

No, shame on you for not taking care of yourself. When I was overweight my friends and family told me so - and I deserved it - and I knew it - and I did something about it. But that something was certainly not blaming others for being honest. Shame on me for letting myself get overweight, not shame on others for speaking the truth. If the truth hurts, then change. If people are condemned for speaking the truth we all suffer.

BigRigDriving : Is Mileage Pay A Fair Way To Pay Truck Drivers?

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:06:38 +0000

Ya know, that's interesting about the way they pay European drivers - I've never even looked into that. I'll have to take a look and see how they approach it. Ultimately though, it's going to be a combination of competition and legislation that determines the method of pay for drivers. Companies must be able to compete with each other, and they're going to do whatever they can to cut costs. So the idea of "they should do it this way" will likely have to be guided by some sort of legislation here in the US, not by morals and not by the way companies outside our own country are doing it. People want change, but they tend to freak out when you mention legislating anything. Unfortunately that's the only way you can get change in some circumstances. And often times when it seems I'm going against a driver's best interest, there's more to it that you may realize. I'm a realist - I was a hard-working company driver for 15 years but I've been a small business owner outside of trucking for a number of years now. So I understand both sides - that workers want fair wages and fair treatment, but a company has to do whatever it possibly can to make a profit. Often times when someone disagrees it's because they've never owned a business before - they don't understand the realities of having fierce competition all around you trying to wipe you out every chance they get. Companies do not exist as charities for workers - they must be profitable or die trying. That's the reality that drives working conditions - competition and legislation - not morality or charity.