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Thread: Who Drives Truck?????

  1. #1
    DansBlown73Nordic
    Im just curious what everybody thinks of these new log book rules?
    I can see that it is going to be very easy to run out of hours now.
    I can't wait till summer when were real busy.

  2. #2
    HighRoller
    Well, here's my view of the rules. FIRST, why is everyone bitching? Did the old rules prevent them from running as many miles as they wanted? No. Laws and rules only apply to those who follow them, and the guys who cheated with the old rules will find a way to cheat with the new rules. SECOND, the ONLY way that truck drivers are ever going to be paid what they deserve is to demand to be paid for all of their time. Not just driving, but unloading, loading, sleeping, everything that invloves them being away from home. This rule goes a long way towards helping that process. When half of your driving hours are gobbled up by a produce shed's shoddy business practices, the produce will start being late and/or spoiled. As long as trucking companies stick to their guns and demand compliance to the new rules, the rates will rise. BTW, did you know that you can make a cross country trip 5 hours faster with the new rules than the old rules? The new rule favors team operations but if you run your max hours then use the 34 hour rule to get your hours back you could run good miles.

  3. #3
    rrrr
    I don't do it as much as in the past, but I spent many years tearing out computer rooms and shipping the stuff back to my warehouse.
    I figured out that with the hour rules, weigh stations, and fuel stops, a trucker could average somewhere between 50 and 55 MPH. That's freekin' slow. If you figure a guy is working for a damn good carrier, the .26-29 cents per mile works out to be less than $20/hour.
    That's not much money for being away from home, having no opportunity to live a normal life, and eating crappy food to boot. I feel for those guys that are grossly overweight and don't have any other means of making a living. Truck driving is a hell I don't wish to visit.....

  4. #4
    DansBlown73Nordic
    I do work for a company that pays for all hours worked. I get paid for my miles and by the hour for anything I do besides driving. For me its a pretty good deal, but im home every day. Thats where the problem starts with the new log rules. My trips are pretty much around 450 miles. If I get held up any amount of time through the day im screwed. This is going to force guys to really lie like hell.

  5. #5
    HighRoller
    RRR, you make some valid points. The job will definitely eat you up as time goes by. But I wouldn't trade my five years on the road for a pile of Gold. I went into the business knowing I wasn't going to grow old behind the wheel, and I got a lot out of it. I saw 46 states, drove almost 700,000 miles and met thousands of great people. Unfortunately most of the drivers are in a truck because it is their last resort after financial or personal difficulties. Truck driving is the best entry level job you can get and the worst long term job you can have. And if you can be successful as a truck driver, you can do any job on the planet. You may laugh, but driving an OTR Semi-Truck is probably in the top 5% of the most demanding jobs in the world. Imagine working 300+ days a year, 15-18 hours a day away from your family and dealing with a different customer every day or two who doesn't care about you. Sometimes you go 3 or 4 days without more than 5 hours of sleep at a stretch if you're running hard. If you think pro sports have pressure, imagine running a 75 foot rig through downtown Chicago and blindside backing it into a darkened loading bay while 4 lanes of rush hour traffic wait for you!!! I always hear how people admire firemen and policemen for their dedication, and truck drivers should be included in that category. A lot of drivers are on the road delivering your dinner because they love the job, but they get treated like crap by ignorant people on the highway. I would encourage everyone to take a ride in a big truck because it will literally change your outlook on driving and give you a new level of respect for what these guys put up with. I'm not ashamed to say I've got diesel in my blood, and I'll never be ashamed of having spent time as a truck driver. I miss the road sometimes, and I don't know why. Maybe it was the cat naps at Kramer Junction. Maybe it was seeing the Empire state building and the Twin Towers while crossing the GWB. Maybe I miss the feeling of crossing the Mississippi twice in one week. Who knows? I plan to return to the seat someday to complete my million miles and keep a promise I made to myself. I can only imagine the look in my child's eyes when I tell them I've driven a million miles......

  6. #6
    DansBlown73Nordic
    Highroller, I was in Manhatton last week. I was thinking what in the hell am I doing putting myself through this....

  7. #7
    Wet Dream
    Originally posted by rrrr
    If you figure a guy is working for a damn good carrier, the .26-29 cents per mile works out to be less than $20/hour.
    I'll start by quoting RRRR. That $0.26-$0.29 had BETTER be starting wages for a new guy without any experience. I'll admit that the first 2 years for a driver are the hardest because nobody is willing to pay you. Then you're still screwed because if you don't get out of that starting company and begin looking for another one, you're going to be locked in. What I mean by that is that the longer you spend with a Co, the higher they pay you. If you have 5 years with a Co. and they pay you $0.36 cpm and decide to leave for another Co. they are only willing to pay you $0.31. Its not so much experience, but rather time with the Co.
    As for the new rules, I'm loving them. On occasion I still have to tear out pages from the comic book to gain a few hours here or there and make it look good, but now you can legally drive almost 700 miles a day. The thing that really hurts...waiting 10 hours to drive again. That can be a long wait. Thats where I usually "adjust" my hours. Luckily I am home almost everyday, usually out one night or two night, but take for instance last week. I left Sunday night, drove 200 mi and went to sleep. Got up and started driving and by the time I got home Thursday night, I finished 2900 miles in 4 days and I'm enjoying a 3 day weekend.
    Now for the other side of me...I got into this stupid ****ing job just because I love to drive. Or so I thought back then. With an education and a CDL in hand the wife decides she wants to move back to PA. Well, as it turns out there aren't many jobs out here. So its in the truck I go and I'm still doing it. Thats the sacrafice I make for the family. Hell, it pays better than most professional careers around here.

  8. #8
    Freak
    My buddiesÂ’ dad drives for United Van Lines and one summer as a teen we rode with him. He backed down narrow alley's in NY city that I thought, "there is no way we can get back there let alone back down there" It was amazing. He is never home and his health is going but I can say I did see his w2 and hauling furniture pays better than freight because his was 100+K.

  9. #9
    HammerDown
    100K driving a truck is dam good money. But if your in that truck 24/7 trying to make it ...It blows.
    Make that number in 40-60 hours home every day, thats another story.
    Unless your one that likes your home on 18 wheels and your Bed behind your head (yuck), or as some drivers I know...Love getting away and staying away from the Wife and rug rats.

  10. #10
    058
    I've been an owner/operator for 31 years and still love it but I am semi [no pun] retired and have been for the last 8 or 9 years. Since I get to truck on my terms thats what makes it fun. I still have a few customers I service on a part time basis and thats fine with me. I am fortunate not to have to rely totally on trucking for my income as I have 2 other businesses.

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