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Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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I had a friend who used to work with me. He used to drive the big trucks, 18 wheelers, from Georgia to California.
He told me of some hairy times. Driving on a two lane road, overlooking a cliff where one mistake would send you hurtling 1000 feet to meet your maker.
He told me about eating at greasy spoons and lot lizards. About having to pay for a shower and about how much money was to be made. He didn't make it sound that bad, but of course there are hazards.
So, I was just wondering...if you drive a big rig...what's the hardest part of the job? At least for you....
Dealing with retards that think they own the road. Really I cany count how many little cars I have almost taken out from people swerving into your blind spots as the last moment.
Trucking is fun but I don't think I could ever make a living out of it... though I have considered it several times. I would think that the hardest part of being a trucker would have to be the solitude and the amount of time just spent driving and working. Another issue is that of health, it is hard to be healthy and keep in shape with a job like that, if I were to truck I would certainly try and take daily jogs, workout routine, eat healthy and not smoke cigarettes. I have seen a lot of old truckers that over time almost take on the shape of a seat... you gotta keep healthy and fit if you don't want your body to deteriorate. On the plus side you get a chance to see many areas of the country... I love traveling through places I have never been before. The actual driving of the truck is something that can be mastered, the only troubles with actual driving is trying to predict the unpredictable... AKA the drivers around you.
The most fun of driving is that it's like National Geographic, live. But the bad outweighed the good, and I quit driving after 6 years. Loading docks that keep drivers in a caged area so they can't leave or get violent from the mistreatment. PA DOT police chase you down to give a $95 ticket for a top clearance light out. Massachusettes State Police search the truck and take all the cash, threatening the driver to plant a switchblade and arrest him for a felony weapons if he tells. Car drivers who cut in front, flip you off, then slam on the breaks to try for a rear-end collision lawsuit, knowing the company will pay, and charge the driver, rather than fight. Wait 24 hours to load in DC, drive 150 miles to wait 24 hrs to offload in Jessup, with no detention pay. Missouri scale issuing a $1000 ticket for falsifying log because eastern time zone log doesn't match their central time zone clock... Trucking needs another Jimmy Hoffa. What could be a great career has become intolerable. Anyone who maintains a trucking career now is a better man than me!
Semi truck driver dies after helping another trucker with his brakes | News Updates | Idaho Statesman (http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/539737.html - broken link)
All good posts, everyone! Couldn't have said it better myself... As the old saw goes; "Trucking ain't fer sissies". But for those of us who truly see it as a calling the good usually outweighs the bad. Every crash you pass, you think "That could've been me" As I approach my million-miler safety award, I truly believe taht safe driving is a fair amount of skill combined with a LOT of luck.
Read about a million-miler Fed EX driver team that was killed when they rear-ended a drop-deck trailer as their rig moved back into the right lane as the drop deck truck came off of the shoulder from a stop... (Thanks for the link, Lilly, Lilly, Lilly!) Unfortunately, truck crashes are more common than they should be.
ESFP: That log book ticket in Missouri was BOGUS: you should always log on your home terminal's time zone. It doesn't matter what time the clock says at the scales where you are!!!
ESFP: That log book ticket in Missouri was BOGUS: you should always log on your home terminal's time zone. It doesn't matter what time the clock says at the scales where you are!!!
I did, and won. The DOT officer at the scale had never heard of home terminal H.O.S. before. They're not the super-cops they used to be, are they. As for the other things, such as the Mass. DOT robbing me... I've never allowed an officer inside my rig since. I say I'll wait for a warrant if they insist. I've really gotten to dislike them, but I respect the uniform. I now deliver boats and campers. Same rules apply. The road is a tough place not for the meek.
I have a question for you guys that drive the big rigs. Has anyone ever blocked both lanes so you couldn't pass just in spite that you were a truck. I have had this happen to me on one of my trips as i was hauling a bunch of classic auto parts for work that weighed down my truck. I was respectful, but they were being almost dangerous. It was a two lane road that a man in a white focus pulled out in front of me and road along the side of the prius that was in the right lane. he was clearly intentionally blocking me from passing. I kept my didstance because i am not a tailgating type especially in a truck. Have you professional drivers out there come across this situation as dangerous as it is and what did you do. He was going at least 60 or below in the fast lane and he braked whenever the prius braked so i coulnd't pass. It was very obnoxious. All i wanted to do was pass the prius and get back into the right lane and keep on truckin.
It's the shipping/receiving people at stops, the in-experienced support staff at trucking companies, the surly b&*ch cashier at the fuel desk, etc.
And some of the security guards at customers are WAYYY too in love with thier power. The'll make a driver jump through hoops just to enter the warehouse yard if they're in a bad mood. Too many of them will jerk your chain just for kicks.
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