Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowman7
My truck is governed at 65 so I get passed alot. Plus I work nights so traffic is lighter. Why do drivers cut back over without even a truck lenght between us sometimes and no one pushing them from behind? I just dont get it. Not to mention I drive a Volvo which doesnt like being close to the truck in front. The windstream really rocks the cab side to side. Is it that hard to wait? :roll:
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Because most of the old freight-hands of yore have left the biz due to the low pay and lousy working conditions. Look at us - we both gave OTR a shot. Why did we jump ship to LTL? Because the pay, bennies, and hometime are heads-and-tails above road work.
The big OTR companies with their mammouth turnover rates mean that alot of drivers out there on the road nowadays are greenhorns. It used to be that OTR was alot like LTL - guys would stay with a carrier until they retired. But deregulation knocked the Teamsters out of the box and along with them went the pay, retirement, and most of the experienced/professional drivers. Kinda like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
So now you've got alot of guys making .26 - .36 cpm with the "more miles = more $$$$" mentality. You make, what, around .53 -.55 cpm which means that a nice bid run of 2400 miles = $1,328. Throw in the dock time and the delay pay and pay for breaking down sets = $1,500 and home everyday + weekends. An OTR driver at .33 cpm would have to run 4545 miles running 7 days per week to make what you do. Plus he doesn't go home or to a motel - he lives in his work vehicle.
Then of course, you've got alot of trainers using students as a 2nd logbook. Lease-ops with $1,600/month truck payments. CR England. The emphasis on lean manufacturing and zero-inventory means more JIT-type freight. The carriers' push for detention times after 2 hours creates more fixed appointment times versus open-window deliveries. And the newer HOS means no more sleeper-berth splits. Once that clock starts, you can't stop it.
Add all of the above up, and you've got alot more hammered-down drivers on the road. They see that rear box with "UPS FREIGHT" or "OVERNITE" lettering and the 1988 governed Volvo up ahead chugging along and you're nothing but a nuisance to them.