by John Hill | Thursday, June 18, 2015
Professional truck drivers have a lot of enemies. Many drivers perceive the DOT as one enemy... and without question it is the general public who looks at trucking as something that is just in their way: a big, slow 18 wheeler creeping up a hill at 25 MPH, making a huge wide turn that cuts them off, a dirty machine that smells of oil and diesel... enemies can even include entire towns or cities that proudly make it known by stating, "Truckers Not Welcome," such as was the case of Greenwich, Connecticut.
The world of the professional over the road truck driver is a secretive one that few on the outside ever experience. Mainly, the trucker talks and converses with other truckers... few else would be able to relate. The nine-to-fiver has no comprehension of how a long haul trucker will run more miles in one year, than they will drive in ten. For those who jump into OTR trucking as a new career... statistics prove that most will only last six months. It takes a ton of stamina to be a professional over the road truck driver... stamina, that most do not possess.
The truck driver will find enemies at nearly every turn... shippers and receivers who will treat them like they are less than dogs... law enforcement telling them that they will have to move their rig, even though they are parked out of the way on some small, forgotten empty lot overgrown with grass and weeds... enemies that even live within their industry itself... lies reported on their DAC report... a disgruntled dispatcher who will "cut" their miles because they refused to haul an illegal load... enemies everywhere.
Professional truckers will talk among themselves at the docks, rest areas and truck stops... talking about the abuses of the industry and keeping these insights quietly to themselves. They cannot let their company catch wind of such discussions... they can't afford to lose their jobs. The veteran driver knows that for every one truck driver that loves their profession... ten more hate it, due to the abuse that continues to survive within the industry.
As one trucker said to me a few weeks ago: "The trucking companies own us... we are nothing more than slaves."
I would not go so far as to referring to trucking as slavery, (we can all quit at anytime we want to), but for many thousands and thousands of OTR truckers... they are faced not only with a highly stressful, demanding and tiring vocation... but also with the daily misfortune of having to deal with so many misinformed outsiders who have no understanding of what over the road trucking is all about. Enemies who look at truckers and their big rigs as a nuisance of the roads and something that just simply slows down their ever increasing, fast paced way of life. None of these, however, are the truck driver's worst enemy.Read More...
By: Dilyana Dobrinova
Principles of Microeconomics state that when there is a high demand for a product, supply would also increase to satisfy the demand. This logic applies not only to market realities but also to workforce dynamics. When there is a need for IT specialists, you would expect employers to provide high salaries and good working conditions, which would attract more and more IT specialists. Yes. In some industries, this might be true. Long-haul trucking, however, is not one of them. It might just as well be exactly the opposite.
Despite being an industry that is a large factor in the American economy, long-haul trucking doesn’t seem to be a concern of the Department of Labor at all. Working conditions of long-haul truck drivers have worsened in the past years, and mistreatment is causing many drivers to leave the industry. As a result, employers hire young and less experienced drivers to whom they dedicate their 18-wheelers – a decision that puts both the employers and the employees in danger. As a result of this unfortunate trend, the Senate has even approved a pilot program that will allow 18-year-olds to drive semis across state lines despite the fact that the 18- to 21-year-old demographic has one of the highest accident rate.Read More
