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O/T Truck Drivers

3

37chief

Well-known Member
Location
California
When I was young I wanted to be a truck driver. Things didn't work out for that line of work. I heard on the news there is a shortage of truck drivers. With the unemployment now days. I wonder why. Is it because of too many regulations? I have an idea the police are a little harder on truckers. Any thoughts? Stan
 
I got out of OTR trucking about 8 years ago and rules and regs were starting to get too much for me.I didn't like being tracked all the time and the dot being able to plug into your trucks ecm and see what you been doing as for as speed averages and maximums.I was not married then had no kids but I been to a lot of places and seen alot of neat things.I'm glad I did it but probably never again though.I logged about 2 million miles,not alot but enough and now I drive a roll off truck delivering bins within a 100 miles radius.
 
THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF REAL DRIVERS. No shortage of body's in cabs to hold the wheel. With the new FMCSA regs they are sidelining good drivers for safety points for things they have no control over. When a driver gets stopped and inspected and they get a warning or not they get points assigned to the SAFETY record not driving record. When they do get a fix it or fine they get points. So after so many points OPPS to many safety points we can't keep you. When everybody lost there job due to the economy they went to upstairs truck driving school to get there license and now they had a place to live for free.


It is a mess out here and the biggest problem is NOBODY knows the rules and interprets them differently. The system has problems but is doing good also. With the new e log books no more cheating hrs so when your time is up your DONE.
 
There is a shortage of men and women that actually know what they are doing. Around my area, there are literally 30 or 40 log trucks at any time that don't have a driver. Guys around here get hired and tear a diff or final out of a truck after a week of work and then they are fired and move one to the next one...

Let me tell you though:

There are about 15 VERY good drives, and EVERYBODY wants them hauling for them... :) Bryce
 
Super Trucker we are a small transfer station as well so its mostly waste but some scrap steel usually 1 maybe 2 40 yard a month.If your in the waste side your aware of the good stuff people throw away.I love estate clean outs.LOL!
 
Shortage of truck drivers in MN, Many trucks sitting idle because there is no one to drive them. The farmer I drove harvest truck for is buying all automatics so any body can drive. There are no restrictions for driving a straight job harvest truck, It's kind of scary some of the people you work with! One of the many reasons I'm not going back!
 
I've been out of the DOT iz for going on 5 years now, but I can tell you 2 things-

1- Dealing with truckers, real drivers and not just trained monkeys behind a wheel, was one of the most enjoyable jobs I ever had. I still see a few of the guys I used to inspect and it's like meeting and old friend. Shoot, it IS meeting an old friend!

2- Most any rules and regs that come down in the FMSCR are the result of INDUSTRY wanting to try something. I'm sure the .gov bureaucrats come up with some nifty brainstorms every now and then, but HOS, tie down regs, Haz Mat regs, all the zillions of constantly changing rules are almost ALWAYS the result of the trucking industry making a request for a change. So look to the big interstate companies when you want to complain about things changing all the time. I understand a friend of mine is Prez of the FMCSA and he's been telling me this for years.
 
They tear the rearends out cause the little stupid idiots think its a race truck and think its gonna spin the wheels. They think poping the clutch is going to make it do something. If it were theres and they were making the payments on it you would be surprised how long that rearend would last. Besides you cant get young folks to work now days.More than half and worth the powder to shootem.
 
A good friend of mine was a trucker for 4 years.

CDL A driver, all over the USA east of the Miss river. He worked for JB hunt and drove one route for nearly a year. (Chicago to Detroit) He made $40k a year.
Then the last place he was with he made $ 52 per year. Most of his routes were threw W VA, then N. Caroline, then Georgia, around to Tennessee, then back up to Indiana.

I think that there is a shortage of truck drivers cause you aint home much, you miss your wife and you have to sleep in a truck or a motel. That is not the life for me. Some guys may love it. $52k a year for that kind of life is not worth it.
 
Situation normal: that industry has always gone in cycles.

The national economy is now getting a little better so there is a need for more trucks on the road. For years the industry had been soft, older inefficient trucks were taken off the road, drivers retired, fewer new drivers were trained by companies because they were not needed. Low wages kept many from paying for the training themselves, other careers were more promising. Now the big companies need more drivers again, so they are advertizing for drivers. If the shortage is real, the wages will go up.
 
I agree with the part about rules being to complex and every one interpreting them different. Some of the DOT guys are good, some should be in jail. About 15 years ago I worked at a plant in Western Tennessee. We ran about 20 trucks out of the plant picking up raw material and delivering finished product. Our fleet manager figured out he could put about 15 of his drivers on exempt logs making it much easier for him and the drivers. Things were fine for about a week until we got a DOT officer with an attitude at a scale on the Mississippi side of the Mississippi/Tennessee line. We were entitled to run exempt logs if the truck didn't go more than 150 air miles from the home terminal. The slaughter plant we were servicing was not only with in 150 Air Miles but was also within 150 hub miles, the bozo will still put us out of service for an 8 hour rest period every time he caught one of our trucks at the scale with an exempt log. We'd end up dispatching a driver from Memphis who would drive the truck into Tennessee and turn it back over to the first driver.

Another time a Tennessee DOT officer caught us coming out of Jimmy Dean Sausage in Newbern Tennessee, caught us dead to rights the truck was over weight. He ask the driver what he's hauling (waste & scraps from the sausage plant). Gets all the paper work (registration, driver's license and log book) and goes back to his car, about 5 minutes later he comes back and tells our driver " the regulations give you leeway when your hauling garbage or waste, you're within the allowable leeway so your free to go".

Sometimes we'd be a little rough with them to teach 'em a point. One of the owners was telling us a time he had a truck caught over weight at a scale in Georgia. It was August and it was full of pig offal, and about 1500 pounds over weight, they insisted we reduce the weight to the legal limit before it left the scale. Instead the driver was instructed to drop the trailer. After 2 or 3 days the stench got pretty bad at the scale and the on duty officer allowed that maybe we should just come and get the dam trailer out of there (which we did.
 
No shortage of truck drivers,same old song.The only shortages are good companys willing to pay good drivers what they are worth,not sweatshop on wheels salaries.
 
I'm in the scrap side and run anything from a 10yd to 80yd cans. I can tell you why our vehicles cost 70k . I used to get all kinds of things finally had to stop no place to store it !
 
I drive um the truck OTR for aboot 30 years and was glad to get off the road around 25 years ago.
The first few years I enjoyed and then in the first part of the 1970s it started to change drastically, the national speed limit of 55 mph was too restrictive, in order to survive one had to have a CB radio in order to make any time. Most of the talk on that electronic device to me was plain stupid. Then in the early 1980s when deregulation took place and a lot of companys went out of business a different breed of driver came on the scene. We old timers called them the tennis shoe wearing short pants, long hair burned out hippies. The only people they cared aboot was they selves. When I got off the road in 1991 people my age bracket were soo out of step with the new breed that we were in the minority compared to what used to be called the Knights of the Road. Nowdays when i'm driving I watch out for some stupid act from a lot of truck drivers that the people in autos used to pull.
 
You are 'almost' right on the exempt comment. Where you have problems is when you cross state lines ... and that does require a log book even though you are still within the air mile radius.
 
One of the big problems they have right now is drivers who have to be home every weekend or every night. Got a food supplier near us that has a waiting list of drivers because they are home ever night. But the company my SIL works for requires drivers to be out at least 5 days and the prefer 7.

Rick
 
What I don't understand is, why can't railroads haul semi trailers more efficiently? Seems to me anything going farther than a few hundred miles could be hauled on rails to "hubs" -- like airlines have, then drivers wouldn't have to go so far from home.
 
"You are 'almost' right on the exempt comment. Where you have problems is when you cross state lines ... and that does require a log book even though you are still within the air mile radius. "

You are WRONG!!!!! Federal law is VERY SPECIFIC about the exemption. State lines notwithstanding. I live about 21 miles from a state line. I ran exempt for about 12 years. Never had a problem because the DOT cops on my route KNEW THE LAW. I knew this from experience. The company that I worked for was audited by the federal DOT and while the auditor was there, we all ASKED HIM to clarify. He said the exemption is the exemption regardless of state lines. If by chance a DOT cop writes you a summons for a violation of this law, you can easily beat it in court. After a few times around with this, it will get tiresome to the judge, and the cops will be instructed as to what the law is, and to stop writing invalid summonses. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!!!
 
Our drivers on exempt logs had books but they didn't have as much detail. I wasn't a driver and didn't get the whole explanation, I'm just the guy who'd answer the phone and have to get the "relief" driver en route. Never had any problems going into Kentucky from Tennessee or into Missouri or Arkansas on the exempt logs, just Mississippi and only at the one scale if the one officer was working.
 
I haul heavy equipment out of the John Deere factories almost every day M-F. I can tell you that the rules and regs are making it not so much fun anymore. I pride myself with being a safe driver and have stayed violation free for ten years. Maybe its because im always oversize/overweight, but I try to comply to the best of my abilities. That being said, I run into a lot of drivers who should not even be close a truck, let alone in one. Sometimes I wonder if these companies even train drivers, even though they claim to. Its getting worse every week on the interstates. I will run Hwy 30 all the way from the quad cities to western IA just to stay away from the crazies. Even in the wintertime. I think governing trucks at 57 or 60 leads to more problems than it saves. Those guys hang out in the hammer lane all day trying to pass the other guy who he has been drafting for an hour. A lot of guys I know who are good drivers are hanging it up for some of the reasons I posted above. Im sad to say I am thinking of getting out of it also. Never thought id say that.
 
37 chief, when I was young, I had three uncles who drove trucks, they were my "heroes". When I finished high school, I applied for a truck driving position anywhere I could, but back then, you had to have a "sponsor" in order to get a driving job, so I had to chose a different profession. About a year ago, my son's wife met a woman on Facebook in Arizona who had driven a truck, so she just had to quit her job and go to truck driving school. She landed a job with Werner and stays on the road, but they are strict. They have a gizmo that will shut the truck down if you don't take your mandatory rest break after a certain period of time. She hasn't been home in over a year now, but that's another story, and I just don't think he is willing to admit it.
 
Jimg.allentown,
Is that Allentown, Pa.? If so have they ever done anything to route 100 past Magungie? I would drive that stretch of road to East Greenville and points south many moons ago.
 
DOT is easy to get along with IF you maintain your equipment and follow the rules. If you let maintenance slip and DON'T: keep you brakes adjusted, tires in good shape, check your lights every morning and night, log book current etc. You will have a problems.

TX/federal inspections on equipment are required yearly. I get mine done quarterly and keep records on all repairs. With as many lights as there are on a truck you can potentially have a failure any time. I've gotten verbal, get it fixed, vs ticket due to good maintenance records. If you'll be professional they will cut you some slack.

As for the shortage of drivers that's directly related to low pay. The companies I know that pay a fair rate have no shortage. The really good payers have a waiting list of drivers waiting for a slot to come open.
 
It makes me wonder how they read road signs.I've had them come to our shop asking directions(showing an address),then they don't understand when I explain how to get there.
And then there are the drivers who use gps and have no clue where they are or how they got there or how to get back home.Read a map once in awhile!Mark
 
I've been driving for 23 years now, in the last 10 or so years the robotic steering wheel holders and tfw's have pretty much ruined this industry.
 
Just my experience. Watch out for the flat beds, grain haulers and livestock trailers. Running way over the limit, pull on the jake-brake just to make noise and not at all considerate. I figure for some reason the owner turned some village idiot loose with his $100,000 rig.
 
(quoted from post at 22:32:17 08/05/14) "You are 'almost' right on the exempt comment. Where you have problems is when you cross state lines ... and that does require a log book even though you are still within the air mile radius. "

You are WRONG!!!!! Federal law is VERY SPECIFIC about the exemption. State lines notwithstanding. I live about 21 miles from a state line. I ran exempt for about 12 years. Never had a problem because the DOT cops on my route KNEW THE LAW. I knew this from experience. The company that I worked for was audited by the federal DOT and while the auditor was there, we all ASKED HIM to clarify. He said the exemption is the exemption regardless of state lines. If by chance a DOT cop writes you a summons for a violation of this law, you can easily beat it in court. After a few times around with this, it will get tiresome to the judge, and the cops will be instructed as to what the law is, and to stop writing invalid summonses. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!!!
Click to expand...

Gotta agree. Unless something has changed in the past 5 years a state line doesn't mean you have to have a log book. Used to be 100 air miles over 26K and 150 for 10K-26K or something like that.
 
Brent is right.
100 air miles, back to the same terminal every night, less than 12 hours a day and you can run exempt.( I have been for 11 years) I see adds for drivers that state, they are paying after 90 days, 20,000.00 less than I make. No wonder they can t hire drivers!
 
This morning we were talking to the owner of a flooring store and Marilyn asked him if they still shampoo carpets. He said no because he can't find the qualified help. He gets lots of answers to his job offers but his insurance won't allow most of them to drive his vehicles because of their record. And he wouldn't trust most of them in a customer's house. I'm sure it's the same with the trucking industry. Jim
 
Yes, that is Allentown, PA. A part of route 100 was included in the most recent (about 3 or 4 years now) bypass project. Now it does not go through Trexlertown and the dreaded intersection of 222. Still have to go around the big curvy hill between Macungie and Shimerville.
If you were going to E. Greenville, you were going to either Brown Printing, Knoll, or Mrs T's Pierogies? Or maybe Blommer Chocolate?
 
Same here logging and construction or over road there is some shortage. Seems like younger people are not into it like the 60 70"s era people was.
 
jimg allentown,
I hauled in and oot of Pillsbury Co. in E.Greenville, I knew where the other companys were.
There was a dairy farmer not too fur oot of town that had a salvage yard of tractors that I visited quiet often and bought stuff from him. I think his back name was Yeager, nice a the guy.
There also was an old car dealer on the left side of road as you come into town. If I remember correctly he had a Studebaker or Hudson sign on the building.
Then there is the truck museum in Mucungie. I stopped at very often.
 
I know several DPS officers. They have all told me. Changing rules and regulations have driven quite a few off.Some of the new drivers shouldn't be. Told me about one that left Ft Worth headed for Dallas. Pulled into the weigh station in Centerville 120 miles south of Dallas.
 
The ones with the crystal meth failed the drug test and the others fell asleep on the road and crashed the truck.
 
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