WHY are they saying Truck Driving will be a good career to get into??

[Viva_La_Revolution]

I saw this on CNN today. Top career that you don't need a BA for - TRUCK DRIVING.

I was just laid of in December, along with my drivers because.... wait for it....


FUEL PRICES ARE TOOOOO HIGH!! We were LOSING money running our own trucks!


WTF???

[BiggJawn]

1. Back in 1982 it was Key Punch Operators.

Sure are a lot of THOSE pulling down the big bucks, aren't they?

I had a woman tell me last night that there's BIG money to be made installing Alarm systems in McMansions...

They're clueless. I'm waiting for some RW pundit to say "McCain PROVED that Anericans won't pick lettuce for $50 an hour!"

[NVMojo]

2. the majority of jobs left are service industry based, retail, etc.

due to outsourcing in the past 5+ years.

[babylonsister]

3. Sorry to hear that, Viva. I just bet what I've heard is a good

career will work: pharmacist.:eyes: We've got tons of new drug stores, but what will happen when no one can afford drugs?

[leftstreet]

4. Maybe they mean driving for some huge trucking corporation?

Are we subsidizing mega trucking corps for fuel costs yet?

[aden_nak]

5. Well there you go. A lot of drivers are being forced out of business.

So there are openings. Odds are that was the only criteria they were judging by. And I've been hearing that a lot lately, too. That it's a good non-degree career. I even had a few friends check it out (after they got laid off from their office jobs). They got pretty far into it before they figured out WHY there were so many openings.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. Yep. Gordon is one of the worst...

they pay their drivers by the mile... so if they sit for hours waiting to be unloaded, or stuck in traffic, the driver takes the hit. And do you know what... back in the beginning of 2005 they were trying to charge us 18% as a fuel SURCHARGE. that's right. on top of the $300-350 reg. rate for a load from Portland to Seattle, they wanted 18% more on top of that. (twice the price that the actual fuel costs) Corps are raping the public! :mad:

[aden_nak]

27. Yow, now that I didn't know. That's messed up.

[sam sarrha]

6. that is the scam,pass the cost to the driver.,the truck,the gas, insurance

and They Maximize their profits..

Swift has about 22,000 drivers and a 110% Annual Turnover... when you get into debt for $80,000 becoming a owner/operator just to get the gravy end of the dispatch..you are not going to quit when you dont get it..

it is just a scam, if it is so wonderful and profitable.. why are there so many ad's for drivers.

i'd do it again if i could make any money at it.

that is why they let the Mexican trucks in and dont require them to go home.. When i lived in El Paso and they started doing that, they started checking their trucks for safety. only about 2 in 10 passed.. our concerned government immediately layed off all the inspectors but 2.. and let all the other trucks pass while they were busy.. red tagging a couple death traps an hour.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

10. S.W.I.F.T. do ya know what that stands for?

Sure Wish I'd Finished Training. :P

Dispatcher inside joke.

sorry about that :)

[sam sarrha]

13. they are better than Coven*nt... year i drove for them 18 drivers died

by October, they were always dispatching us about praying for some poor driver who ate it driving 4 on 4 off 4 on 4 off 4 on.. till you crash and burn up.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

15. did you see the new hours of service regs that started in Oct?

May drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. NO CHANGE
May not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. NO CHANGE
May not drive after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days.
A driver may restart a 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty.
NO CHANGE
Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers using a sleeper berth must take 10 hours off duty, but may split sleeper-berth time into two periods provided neither is less than 2 hours. CMV drivers using the sleeper berth provision must take at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, plus 2 consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two.


My repug boss had a complete FIT about this..


Me? I want the rig driver on the road in front of me to be completely rested and on top of his game. :scared:

[sam sarrha]

25. i tried to get back to driving after they changed the rules.BUT they still

force you to break the rules..once i had to drive 18 hours and always got intimidated when i complained about the fact I was the one that was going to pay the tickets.... i quit when they told me i had to drive with a rookie out of a 2 week training school for 3 months.. i told them i wouldn't live that long.. and walked.

they have a flex time policy, they give you a specific time regardless of the road condition or weather.. plus a few hours. if you are late 4 times you are fired.

people are so terrified of getting fired they dont stop for anything.. i got in a truck with another driver who hadn't been out of his truck for 2 months.. he smelled like Road Kill.

he had gangrene on his feet that smelled like a month old corpse when he took off his shoes.. he would sit in the right hand seat when we switched over and peal the dead flesh off his feet.. while i dry heaved, he had trench foot up to his ankles..

the first big hill he drove down he went down in the wrong gear and left a billowing cloud of smoke and the brakes faded near the bottom.. he wouldn't stop and have them fixed because he would get out of the 'Loop'.. so we continued on to Denver. This guy was an owner/operator.

[cynatnite]

8. Hubby is truck driver

Owner/Operator, too. Still making a profit and can make the bills, but it sure isn't as much as it used to be.

Hubby gets a fuel surcharge and bonuses almost every week. That's what has kept us going from week to week. He's leased onto a good company.

If anyone was going into trucking, being a company driver with a good company is the way to start out. I would tell people not to dive into owning a truck for quite a while until they know what they are getting into.

Company drivers can make a decent living without the headaches of paying for fuel, but the key would be finding a strong solvent company that is able to operate in spite of the prices.

Maybe being a truck driver is a sad state of affairs in this country, but CNN wasn't wrong either. When fuel prices go up, the brokers and/or dispatchers will undoubtedly raise their rates to get product shipped. When that happens, ultimately, the costs will be passed onto the consumer. It's about the only protection available to drivers whether they're owner/operator or company driver. This is also why it's important to be attached to a strong company that can withstand the fuel costs before rates feel the impact.

Keep in mind...the turnover rate in trucking is high and there is always a need for drivers just about anywhere. That's another reason why trucking rates as it does.

I'm sure you know most of this and perhaps I'm a little defensive because hubby has been a driver for many years now. It's just not as clear cut as your post implies.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

11. I'm NOT raggin on the drivers at all...

especially the owner/operators!

I'll try to clear this up.

The Company drivers (Swift, Gordon, JB Hunt {they payed the best, BTW) ) got shafted by the Co's, not paying them for their time like they should.

The Indys - on top of all the costs to run/license/fuel their own rigs could hardly make a living... definitely not what they could have made 5-10 years ago. My favorite driver was contract. We used him locally, he had both of his brothers working for him (took over his Dad's biz) but between licensing, fuel, repairs, payroll and 'incidentals', I watched him get VERY stressed out trying to keep everything going. And his wife came down with cancer too. He aged right in front of my eyes.

Double R' Trucking. Portland Oregon. Randy, I hope you are doing well. :loveya:

[cynatnite]

16. We got shafted by JB Hunt

One of the worst companies and it took over six months to get them to quit calling us. The only way hubby would get miles is if he stayed out 2-3 weeks at a time.

Trucking is a tough business all around and not for everyone. It's too bad that these companies don't care enough to go the extra mile for the drivers. It's all about making the buck at their expense.

And I totally agree on the independents. They're going extinct.

I do wish, and I lament this all the time, that all the truck drivers could get together, do at least a one day national strike. Now, that would get some attention.

[raysr]

9. I was a truck

driver and it is a thankless job with LONG hours much risk where ANYTHING that happens is YOUR fault. Unless you're in a union I'd advise anyone to RUN from this type of work.

[sam sarrha]

12. i met an oldtimer who built a straight truck and got the finest suspencion

avaible with a refer unit on it.. he only takes high value cargo, contract reads he get motel paid. he was a neat old man.. and was doing well, had a bigger sleeper and smaller box.. he was enjoying life

[Viva_La_Revolution]

14. Every time one of my drivers got a ticket or...

the truck broke down my Repug boss tried to make them pay for it! :mad:

When it was their fault, I agreed. But when the truck breaks down because YOU DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR REGULAR MAINTENANCE It's NOT the drivers fault!!!

I think that was one of the reasons I got laid off, I tried to be fair. :(

[electricmonk]

17. Helped to load a Fed-Ex truck last night

at work. I talked to the driver for a few minutes about local traffic because he was late due to a 3 car pileup. He said he drives in an annual driver Olympics or rodeo, forgot what he called it, anyway he said that if someone rear ends him he can't compete. He said it shows up on the report as an "incidence" and would disqualify him no matter who's at fault. He told me he takes the week off before the competition because of nerves worrying about other drivers on the road.

[Freedom_Aflaim]

18. Cant Transmit goods over the Internet

I understand the issues of losing money by driving, so why do it.

Be reality is that stuff must get from point A to point B. At some point somebody will pay what it takes to have things moved.

Even if gets down to only things things are like food and medicine

Now Im not saying that it will always be a good job (I trust your judgement), but that it will always be a necessary job.

Cant outsource trucking

[Kickin_Donkey]

21. Yes, you can outsource trucking ...

to a certain degree.

Why do you think the * administration wants to let all those Mexician trucks and truckers into the U.S.?

[Freedom_Aflaim]

26. good point

I didnt consider that angle

Clearly you still have to do trucking locally, but * could as you suggest, oursource it to illegals or "guest workers".

[question everything]

19. There is a shortage of truckers so the owners increase the pay

to attract more. The increase in the economy and, especially the import from Asia generated a lot of goods being moved across the country. Several days ago I posted a story about how rails are getting congested since so many shippers have switched to rail cargo due to shortage of trucks.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

20. Good point...

the only problem with rail at the moment is that it SITS at some terminal for an ungodly amount of time... If we had a WORKING rail system, like this country used to (back in the 1800's) it would be SO more efficient. Then, the local guys would still have work, trucking the stuff from the railyard to the factory, instead of 600 miles across half the country... burning twice as much fuel all the way....


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[sandnsea]

22. My step-son just started

It's working out okay for him. He didn't have alot of other options that would give him a job quickly, and he got hired within just a few weeks after finishing his school. I think there is a need because so many trucks really are running materials to the Gulf. I don't know what your company did exactly, fuel prices are sure an issue. But it looks to be an opportunity for some out there who would be flipping burgers otherwise.

[TheBaldyMan]

23. I think the Pentagon needs them for Iraq, supplies don't move themselves

and after the Army truck drivers muster out when their term is up they will have a new pool of ready qualified drivers ripe for drafting.

[Nailzberg]

24. Think things are bad now?

Just see what happens if Bush gets his "guest worker" program.

I feel bad for all the drivers out there. The corporations are trying to eliminate the working class. It's a damn shame.

[NJCher]

28. Repukes and corporations have no use for humans

What they really what are automatons. Bots. They've done their level best to turn Americans into that with their education policies.

There is no respect or consideration paid to the "human" element. It's dog-eat-dog capitalism at its zenith. That it diminishes the human spirit and the environment is of no consequence whatsoever. That is because they would not recognize "spirit" if it slapped them upside the head.

Sam, that post about the trucker with gangrene just about did me in. That's the ultimate. If anyone ever had any doubts about capitalism unmitigated, they should read your post.




Cher