Tell me about being a truck driver.

March 4, 2011 6:49 AM

What's it like being a long-haul truck driver in 2011? Is this a good temporary career choice for someone who wants to see the country while evaluating other options?

I've never driven a truck, but the idea has always appealed to me on some level. Mostly the independence and the travel. If other prospects don't pan out, this seems like a good way to spend a year or two and make OK money - at first glance, anyway. Companies advertise that they will pay for the training, so the commitment seems minimal.

But most of my frame of reference comes from trucker movies from the 1970s. What's the reality of driving a truck in 2011? What are the downsides and the pitfalls?

posted by iamisaid to Work & Money (10 answers total)

I' know a (former) trucker who said the work can be flat our exhausting. Often times there are very strict deadlines to get your haul from Point A to Point B, and in some cases, you're paid per delivery, so you have more incentive to work on less sleep. Drugs like speed, etc... were not particularly uncommon (although my friend didn't give me the impression that they were overly rife, either.) Caffeine pills and gargantuan amounts of coffee are used as well.) The problem with all of this is is that with the strict delivery deadlines there isn't a whole lot of time to actually see much of what you're driving through except the highway, which looks much the same everywhere you go. What free time you might have is often spent in a truck/rest stop sleeping in your truck.

Still, you'd see more of the country than if you didn't do it all. It's just that you'll see most of it in motion while staring out a window. The independence of the job is not to be ignored, either. That was one of the things that attracted my friend to it in the first place. Like any job, it has its perks and its pains. Just got to figure out if they match up well with you.
posted by Rewind at 7:00 AM on March 4, 2011

An ex of mine worked in logistics. This was something like 6-7 years ago.
The delivery times were often absurd, like making people drive at an average speed of 90mph to get to places on time, and no thought given to driver's rest.

I don't know if it is like that everywhere, or is still like that now, but it certainly has the potential to be rough.

Get good at peeing in a bottle.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 7:07 AM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

How did those delivery times jibe with the mandated rest that drivers are supposed to get? Is there a lot of driver's log dishonesty ?
posted by toastchee at 7:13 AM on March 4, 2011

I'm puzzled as to how mandated 90mph delivery times are possible, when I've never seen a truck going 90 mph (and most trucks on the highway are going slower than I am, at 10mph / speed limit.) I question whether most of those trucks can go 90, and the fuel costs would be absurd.

Is there an assumption/intention that the driver will miss the delivery window? How often are such mandates actually met?
posted by endless_forms at 7:17 AM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

You "average" 90 mph by eliminating the mandatory sleep time. While only going 65 you drive longer than you are supposed to so that you arrive on time and it appears as if you were averaging 90 and sleeping when in fact sleep was less than you were supposed to sleep.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:32 AM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Driving a truck is a terrible way to "see the country", as all you will see are interstates, truck stops, and loading docks. Warehouse districts are usually in the worst parts of cities. There are limited places to park and leave your rig to get out and see the cities you are in, IF you have the time to look. You will be driving for hours at a time all by yourself, day after day, and the only personal interaction you will get is truck stop workers and warehouse workers. Many truck drivers have dogs these days, for both companionship and security. Eating healthy and getting exercise is very difficult. Evidently, so is maintaining good hygiene, in my experience with truckers. Delays at pickup and delivery sites are the norm, not the exception. Meaning you will sit for hours waiting for your truck to be loaded, and then get in line at the destination for hours again to be unloaded. Since most companies pay by the mile, this is a big factor.

I am a logistics manager. I've dealt with truck drivers every day of my working life for 35 years. Take my word for it, it's a tough way to make a living.
posted by raisingsand at 7:37 AM on March 4, 2011 [8 favorites]

I think that you will have a hard time getting work in this industry. From what I understand, the big firms are laying people off and not hiring right now. A lot of firms hire and then train in-house. There are other schools you pay to get your certifications, but it is really tough to get work.

That is what I have read on another forum where truckers vent.
posted by vincele at 7:38 AM on March 4, 2011

I think that you will have a hard time getting work in this industry. From what I understand, the big firms are laying people off and not hiring right now. A lot of firms hire and then train in-house. There are other schools you pay to get your certifications, but it is really tough to get work.

That is what I have read on another forum where truckers vent.

This is surprising to me, because I work in an industry heavily dependent on long haul trucking and we are routinely experiencing delays because of what has been characterized to us as a "nationwide shortage in truck drivers." This may be a regional thing, however; 90% of our trucks originate in Northern California.
posted by something something at 7:50 AM on March 4, 2011

So many "opinions", very few facts.
I spent 30 years as a Teamster truck driver. Even though I was a Teamster and had defined working rules, there were many times you get treated like a piece of meat.
I've seen several friends of mine that were owner operators go bankrupt because their gross pay for running the road couldn't pay for their expenses.
As far as seeing the country, "raisingsand" has it right. You never see the country. You cannot stop to see the sights. For example, just trying to get a cup of coffee or a meal other than in a truck stop can get you hassled by the local police. Most of the time there isn't room to get a 75' truck off the road and parking on the side of the road can get you a ticket.
I've been to ports, Port Elizabeth, Port Newark and such, where I've talked to drivers that have been there for days without getting paid for their time. I've had friends take loads for fuel money just to get back home.
I was fortunate to be a Teamster and knew I was going to get paid for driving the truck.
I remember taking a load of cars to Dallas from Newark, NJ and getting an overweight ticket in Louisiana. I had already ran over all the scales from NJ to Louisiana and was underweight but still got a ticket. Company paid the fine, but you can't argue with authority.
Used to be you only had to watch out for VW's and Cadillac's on the road. VW's cause they thought they could fit anywhere and Caddy's cause they owned the road. Now, it's a nightmare trying to keep a safe following distance. There are people on the road that scare the hell out of me. As far as the person that said he's never seen a 90 MPH truck, he doesn't get out much. There were trucks that could do 90 back in the 70's when 350 HP was a "big truck". Go out on almost any Interstate at night and see if you won't get blown off the road while doing 80. Awful lot of 600 HP trucks out there now.
If I had to do it all over again.......No, I wouldn't. I'd go to school and learn something else.

Good luck.
posted by JohnE at 8:46 AM on March 4, 2011 [17 favorites]

John McPhee has an enjoyable New Yorker article about a long-haul truck driver, Don Ainsworth, which is reprinted in his book Uncommon Carriers.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:49 AM on March 4, 2011 [4 favorites]