[Instigator]

I too read this post with much laughter! Typical recruiter! First off If you want to drive above 65, which I do, then find a company that does not govern there trucks, they are out there. If the truck has no APU then you idle for sleeping in the heat or winter, if not then find another job, thats simple. When I look for a job, I usually start by e-mailing them my current list of demands as you call it so that I do not waste there time or mine. After being out there for most of my life, I think I am entitled to some creature comforts when I am away from home for weeks at a time. I just got a new job, driving a long hood Pete, no governor, an APU and no idle policy. I run when I want, I can literally pick my loads, and I make fantastic money! So never give up on the perfect job, I agree there are no perfect ones out there, but after 12 or more jobs in two years I think I finally found mine!

Oh, and yes there is a driver shortage my friend so we still have the upper hand!

[Brucesmith]

THe OP seems to think that drivers should just put up and shut up like we are some sort of slaves. His original post is quite dated. Many of the larger fleets have APU's and fridges. Next thing he will tell us that AC is optional!

[Roger Tenfour]

Originally Posted by Brucesmith

I saw this thread today and I think that twilight's first post is ridiculous. What he actuallywas sayinng is: Don't ecpect naything. You are meat in the seat and take what you can get! But then what do you expect from a recruiter

The first sign a recruiter is lying is when they open their mouth.

[Ferry]

Informative post No doubt trends and requirement are changes around the world not only in one industry but in many. It is all due to global competition.

[mitchno1]

no global competition down here haha you just got our Mainfrieght Co. up ur neck of the woods

[Twilight Flyer]

I wrote that post 5 years ago; still holds true today. It's funny to see a couple newbies throw out the "your just a recruiter line." I'm actually not a recruiter (anymore) and you will have a hard time finding a more driver-friendly inside person in the industry. I advocate for drivers all the time and that means standing up for them (when warranted) vs. safety, HR, and especially operations. I do it a lot and earned a reputation at my last company for not being a company man. That's fine with me, because I know what a **** job driving a truck can be a times and my biggest pet peeve in this industry is "driver haters." Trucking has no place for morons like that, that don't understand that drivers - in every shape, size, and attitude - are what pays our salary.

All that said, though, my points in that post can be boiled down to these 2 points which, like I said, hold true today:

1. When looking for a job, don't make demands of a potential employer. You don't own the company...someone else does. A company is not going to change their policies because of your demands. Instead, they'll chuckle at you and forget about you. So do your homework when searching for a job. Understand that there is no perfect company out there and that you are going to have to make concessions, no matter where you go.

2. I am not, nor have I ever, advocated for a driver to be a doormat for a company. But you are also an employee of said company and as an employee, you are expected to do the job you were hired to do, even if you don't like it at times. If that means you have to help lump a load, then you lump it. If that means you have to run a load at night, then you run it...providing, of course, you can do so legally. In the end, you are not a slave, but you are an employee.

Regarding one recent comment, It is indeed a driver's market again today; things change in this industry all the time. CSA alone has driven this industry into the worst times it's ever seen and if you think it's bad now, wait another 18 - 24 months. But regardless of what happens to the driver pool, there is still something that will never change. If you go to work for a company - ANY company in ANY field - you will be an employee. Being an employee of ANYONE means you will have to adhere to and follow that company's rules. So find a company that agrees with 70% of what you're looking for and learn to deal with the rest.

Keep it safe.

[Truckin Dawg]

Interesting to follow thru the posts and then have the original poster respond today which is my first on this forum. Looks like a good community.
Maybe this is a subject change or better to start another thread, but where do you see the industry now and is there a driver shortage? Darned if i can tell.
Has there been changes for those of us who have been out of it for a while and can't seem to get back in?
I have my CDL-A HazMat, tanker and dbl/trpl endorsements and a current DOT medical, but haven't driven since the nineties. My record is clean but for an inadequate muffler ticket on my car this past June.
Seems everyone wants a recently experienced driver(understandable) or someone fresh out of school, but not someone such as myself. What gives?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
-Dawg

[cdreid]

Twilight flyer it isnt newbies calling you a lying recruiter it is experienced drivers.

Here just in case you missed it: 8 years experience dry van, dedicated, bedbugging and now flatbled both company and lease and soon o/o.

Youre a lying idiot who knows jack about trucking. You sit in an office figuring out ways to screw the people who pay your bills a little more so you can pocket a few more dollars a week.

More and more of the country are REQUIRING apu's not banning them dip****. It's NOT hard for an experienced driver to get a job even in this economy. I can get jobs as fast as i can dial numbers.
Companies are going more to shorthaul so they can get drivers home more because if they dont they dont have drivers which means they dont have a company.
Some companies are trying to ban idling and even things like inverters. Those companies are desperate for drivers and their csa ratings are through the FLOOR because they can only get newbies and screwups.

Megacorps do use governors for two reasons. To keep fuel costs down and to avoid speeding tickets. Honestly as a company driver i hauled ass and my company loved it never had a problem with whatever fuel i used.. but i run a lot of miles. As a lease driver i tend to drive slow as crap and my big complaint is i drive a freightshaker which means LOW torque high horsepower.. so i actually need to run a little faster for better fuel mileage when carrying any weight.

An experienced driver can do ANYTHINg he wants. Just walk into a truck stop and pick up 40 pounds of recruiting books and cards. Or search careerbuilder or your newspaper or whatever.

We get sick of you sociopathic little sleazeballs trying to take advantage of newbs twighlights. I know you wont get this but having no morality or ethics is a symptom of sociopathy and i feel sorry for anyone not totally human.

[cdreid]

Trucking dawg: the industry is changing rapidly . Frankly youre not qualified right now. 40% of what i do is NOT driving. You will have to take a refresher course. Heres the trick: You NEED a refresher course. The industry is nothing like it was in the 90's. It's hyper regulated now.. everything is different. A seat belt ticket now can hammer your career. It's just radically different and it changes every day it seems. You need the refresher man... trucking stopped being about driving a while ago.

[Twilight Flyer]

I've seen you around before, cdreid. I don't believe I was impressed back then, either. I would challenge your reading comprehension skills, but it's obvious you don't read posts that you reply to, which cements your status as a grade A dick. You can toss names and puff out your chest all you want, but it doesn't change facts. Whether you are flipping burgers at McDonalds, checking people out at Target, or driving a fleet truck for a company, YOU.ARE.AN.EMPLOYEE. Got that? Employees have to follow rules, even rules they don't like. Are rules always fair? Not by a long shot. Is trucking a b!Tch with all the rules and regs? Damn straight. You want to be a super trucker and run balls to the walls, 4K miles a week, triple digits on the flat, fill your truck with an APU, big screen, microwave, fridge, X-box, and all the amenities, then buy your own truck and git'er dun. At least until that CSA score catches up to you and shuts you down permanently. You and your 8 years do know what CSA is and understands the huge ramifications it has for the O/O and the Mom & Pop Shop, right?

It was a changing industry when I wrote the original post 5 years ago. Today, it's even more so. You don't have to like what I've written, but you can't change facts. I don't like where the industry has gone anymore than you drivers do, but I work in it (and have for a lot longer than you) so I deal with it the best I can. I don't like Obambi in the White House, either, but I can't change that, either. Bottom line, learn to find the joy in what you can - be it work or play - and deal with the things you don't like.

In the meantime, maybe you should go back and actually READ my last post and might see that I come down the majority of the time on the side of the driver. I'm also the one that waves to them on the road, respects their space cushions, lays the wood on stupid 4-wheelers and their stupid trucks, buys drivers a cup of coffee at the convenience store, speaks highly of them during any conversation involving them. Hell, I've even taken time out of a weekend and gone to a truck stop with a grill and a few dozen hot dogs and cooked up a quick lunch with no expectations but a "howdy and thanks."

Are there driver haters out there? Yep, and waaaay too many of them. But I ain't one of them. Most of those on this board (and others) know exactly where I stand.