I am 46 years young. I have wanted to be a truck driver for as long as I can remember. I've had several part-time jobs driving. But, nothing that needed a class B or A license. Well, I've been at my present job (desk position) for 20+ years. My kids are all grown and out of the house. I'm divorced. I'm ready to follow my dream. The thought of driving alone across this great country really appeals to me. I'm not doing this to be rich. I'm doing this because I love to drive and I want to see America. I've done as much research as I can. I've decided to attend an accredited truck driving school in Sacramento. I plan on going in the evenings so I can still keep my day job. Just in case I find out I'm not good at truck driving. But, what is the daily life like for a trucker on the road? In particular, how does one deal with fatigue? And also, do the dispatchers give you enough time to safely get from point A to point B? Thank you in advance for any and all information!

 

Hi Stevens I was in the same position as you are now when I decided to finally start driving. My kids were mostly grown up and on their own, except for one in grade 11. I had the backing of my kids and family telling to try what I wanted to do. I've also loved to drive. I hate being in the passenger seat. I started with an accredited school and after they help me find companies to start out with. Most companies are pretty decent about your timetable for pickups and deliveries. There are some though that don't care about weather, road conditions or traffic. They think you should be able to deliver when they say and not what is possible. You just have to make sure you plan out you trip taking into account weather, time of day for traffic, fuel stops, eating and rest periods. If you're driving and you find you're getting tired and you still have hours that you can drive, pull off for an hour. Have a power snooze or just get out and take a walk and stretch your legs and get some fresh air. Some times that can make a world of difference and give you your second wind to carry on. Make sure you give yourself the hours for sleeping. For your benefit as well as your log book. Fatigue will do you in, in many ways, if you don't watch out. I hope it goes well for you and that you enjoy it. I've never regretted leaving my old job for trucking. I only wish I could have done it sooner. Take care. Drive safe everyone.

 

See, the biggest problem for the long-distance drivers is/are:

1) Where (and when) AND HOW are you going to sleep at night?
a) You're 46 so you've probably heard about KISS. What i want you to imagine is going to a KISS concert with earplugs and trying to sleep. You're in the nosebleed section.

2) Where (and when) will you go to the bathroom?


3) Where (and when) will you take a shower?

Other than that, it's not a big deal.

I, myself, am working on the 3 issues listed above and will report back later.

 

Huh!?! Where are you sleeping? :?


Heard of a truck stop or a rest area? :roll:


OMG are you serious???? :roll:

Never have any of the above mentioned "problems". :?

 

As a side note, i have, based on my OTR experiences, compliled a list of states that suck, are awesome, or are acceptable:

Lame states:

Pensylvania
Maryland
Delaware
Ohio
indiana
illinois
michigan
virgina
new jersey
New york (except NYC)
rhode island
massachusettes
maine
new hampshire
vermont
iowa
wisconsin
minnesota
n. carolina
kansas
district of columbia
especially Louisanna

Awesome states:

washington
oregan
idaho
montana
wyoming
new mexico
arizona
california (somewhat)
colorado
nevada
utah
Probably Alaska
north dakota
south dakota
florida

Merely acceptable states:
west virgina
georgia
s. carolina
bama
Texas

 

for the most part dispatchers give you enough time but the shippers and recievers dont. case in point you may get dispatched on a load that has a 12 hours of driving and you have 24 hours to do it in. that gives you a ten hour break and 2 hours to "play with" but when you arrive at the shipper it takes 4 hours to get you loaded. you now only have 8 hours of spare time. so you head out and get maybe 4 hours down the road and you hit a back up in the middle of no where usa because of an accident. it takes you 2 hours to go 5 miles. Now you only have 6 hours in which to get sleep shower and eat.

you may like driving but can you drive for 8 to 11 hours a day in all traffic types or weather with or without enough sleep. can you drive when your back hurts or your left knee is sore from holding the clutch in traffic.

its a job and lifestyle you dont go home at the end of a bad day and kick your feet up and drink a beer. you drag yourself back into your sleeper and get your 4 to 7 hours sleep and then you wake up at work again. you put your clothes on and walk across the parking lot and use the restroom. then you wait in line to pay for your coffee then its back on the road. some love it, some deal with it but most wash out. good luck

 

Very helpful post....Not,who cares that you like to drive where there is less traffic and population?
Some professional drivers don't mind a little challenge to thier day.

 

I'm sorry that Michigan is lame. That's just the way it is. The people are ok though.


The following provinces are interesting, but lame:

New brunswick
Nova Scotia
Manitoba
Saskatchewan

The following provinces are simply lame:
Ontario

The following provinces are acceptable:
Quebec(just barely)

BC is probably awesome, but i've never been there so.........

 

:roll:

 

You left a few states out. I suppose you could just put them in a class by themselves. You could call it "unclassified." :P