I am gearing up to leave again today!

Well, I will be leaving for another week on the road tonight. I am going to take my wife and kids fishing before I go though. I am noticing that I am having a hard time getting motivated to leave now a days. I love trucking, don't get me wrong, but I think I am missing out on too much family things. I guess that comes with the lifestyle eh?

Anywho, I am thinking of buying me a laptop to keep in the truck so I can update this blog more frequently. Right now I can only update when I get home on the weekends. If anyone has a decent laptop for sale, contact me and lets discuss it.

Til next time, keep yourself between the ditches and your hands outta your britches, I'll catch yall on the flip side!

Why do a lot of New Drivers Fail in the Trucking Industry?

This is a loaded question if you ask me. There are hundreds of reasons that can cause new generation drivers to fail at trucking. However, I will only give what I think is the number one reason so you don't have to read for 10 days, okay?

I have been trucking for over 10 years and have seen a lot of truckers come and go. Not just new drivers, but seasoned veterans as well. At first, I thought that some new drivers were failing because they were too hot headed and learned quickly that they didn't know anything when they "Thought" they new everything in the beginning. In fact, that is just part of the equation. What I think is the main reason why so many drivers fail is False Hope.

Let me clarify by example:
I was reading a trucking magazine that had LOTS of job opportunities posted inside and I realized that about %75 of them had one thing in common. What is that? you ask... Well, the companies in that %75 percentile were advertising $50+ earnings "POTENTIAL" per year for their drivers! AH HA! There is that magical word, Potential! That word has been the demise of Many old and new drivers. Most new drivers that see that word think of one thing, $50,000 per year. What they fail to to realize is, the "POTENTIAL" depends on several factors which include:

• Driver Performance
• Driver and Dispatcher Relationship
• Company Assets (Customers)
• Equipment reliability
• Economical Growth and Stability
• DOT regulations and more.....

I am not saying that the "potential" to make $50k per year isn't viable, because it is and there are tens of thousands of drivers that make that kind of money. But let's face it, The potential vs. the realistic in a not so perfect world can be very different. When a new driver works for a company who lured him/her in by the $50k potential earnings jumbo, and that company fails to deliver on that promise, the word potential falls out of the drivers mind. And, it doesn't matter who's fault it is why the driver didn't make that money, the driver is going to blame the company because in his/her mind the company said the driver would make $50k per year.

Look, everyone in this industry knows the money potential for the drivers. However, I propose that trucking companies that recruit to STOP writing these 50k potential ads, no matter how true it is, and advertise the "realistic" earnings instead. "Realistically", drivers can earn as much as they are worth. The driver themselves may not know it, but what if one driver is worth 30k and the next driver is worth 50k? Then the driver, who is only worth 30k, will be disappointed when he/she only makes 30k after reading the ad that ever so cleverly made him/her feel that he/she is worth 50k.

It's a psychology thing in my opinion. The companies are not false advertising, but I do think they are contributing to false hopes. They are trying to make ALL drivers feel like 50k (How Sweet!!!!) But making a driver feel like $50k when he/she is only worth $30k is a recipe for failure. I think these ads should read: "Big Money for Self Motivated Drivers Who Want to Make a Career Out of Trucking!" This puts drivers in the right mindset before they get behind the wheel and they will know that their income depends on them and the company as a team.

So, to summarize, new drivers are failing because they are not willing to work as much as it takes to make the "Big Bucks" in trucking and in turn are blaming the companies for not receiving the income "Potential" because and I quote, "But that's what the ad said".

You are only worth what you make yourself to be.

Truck Driver Arrested in Road Rage Incident

A tip from a driver led to the arrest of a truck driver accused in a road rage incident in Volusia County. Troopers got a call Saturday that a semi driver had forced a car off Interstate 4 between DeLand and Daytona Beach.
The caller said the semi drove recklessly to get in front of a car and then slammed on his brakes. The driver got out of the truck and approached the car, but the driver was able to drive off. Troopers caught the truck on Interstate 95 north of Daytona Beach and arrested the driver, Juan Garcia of New York. Florida Highway Patrol wanted to remind drivers that they can call Star-FHP if they witness any type of crime on the road.

Truck Drivers Welcome! If your Not a Driver, Your Welcome Too! :)

First of all, I am happy that you have decided to visit my blog. I am an OTR truck driver whom is very opinionated about anything related to trucking. I drive about 5 to 6 days at a time before I come home and I will be posting my thoughts and occurencies about my weekly traveling. All driver feel free to participate in any discussion. I want this blog to be a place full of helpful information and also a place where drivers can come to "vent" their feelings about anything!