Negative Drivers

Well just backed into a dock and start uncoupling and this daycabber comes up to me. He says why did you get a job for that costs you 9000 dollars? I just laugh and tell him how much it is if I leave early and how much it is if I stay. He then says why did you become a driver we used to be high up there and now we are on the bottom. And I just let him know that it's better than being a cashier haha.

Negativity like this doesn't bother me anymore, I just find it funny that they stretch the facts as if swift or driving in general is the worse thing ever. Context is everything, what works for me doesn't work for another. Way things are going I just plan to be homeless and save. Learn how to live below my means. I have no need for nice toys to impress others.

Besides all that I hope I will be able to deadhead home. I am delivering to a place that is 160 miles from home. Asked my dm and he still hasn't got back to me if I will be allowed to. If not I'll try to do a few more things to get there. Be safe drivers!

Keep that smile on your face, Devan! It doesn't matter what anybody says, if you're happy, then it doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank. I'm taking a significant pay cut to get into this, but I will be happy. I just can't see spending the next 10 or 15 years doing something I hate just for a paycheck. I, like you, am going to be homeless, with just a truck to live in. But that sounds awesome to me! No rent, no bills, no junk to keep track of. Sounds like heaven.

Devan, I love your attitude. I listened to some guy saying the same stuff on Saturday. "I don't see how these new drivers make any money." I just stood back and kept my mouth shut.

I especially like your thoughts on "toys." Keep living like nobody else and years from now you'll be able to LIVE like nobody else (as Dave Ramsey says).

Thanks for the chuckle. Be safe and enjoy your home time.

Did they sourpuss tell you why he's still a driver if now he is on the bottom, Devan?

@/!#* them. How is that for negative? Hahs

He then says why did you become a driver we used to be high up there and now we are on the bottom

What I've always found odd about the drivers that are really negative and miserable is that they're almost always guys that have been around for a while and they like to blame "the new breed of driver" for giving truckers a bad name. Or they like to mock these new "steering wheel holders" as if drivers today aren't as talented as drivers were in the past.

Total baloney.

For starters, don't let anyone kid you into thinking they were part of some Golden Age of Trucking. Truck drivers were referred to as Knights Of The Road way, way back in the day. Not a little back. Way back. Like in the 50's and 60's. Movies like Convoy and Smokey And The Bandit came out in the late 70's and if you've seen those movies you know that truckers most certainly were not considered Knights Of The Road by that point. They were mostly considered outlaws and trucking was very much an outlaw culture. The truck stops were scary places where drugs and prostitution were commonplace. You didn't have 10% of the enforcement back then that you have now. You didn't have all of the advanced drug testing and extensive background checks and close monitoring you have today.

Drivers are better trained, more professional, and held to higher standards today than they have been in 50 years. Obviously there is a lot of room for improvement yet, but don't let anyone kid you into thinking today's drivers are somehow less talented or responsible for some kind of decline in our status or standards. Quite the contrary in fact.

The real reason drivers with 25+ years out there are miserable is because of all of the enforcement there is today. Drivers back in the day were on paper logbooks and didn't have the constant scrutiny you have today. They weren't subjected to nearly the level of enforcement in the form of DOT inspections, drug tests, in-cab cameras, electronic logbooks, and the continuous monitoring of every aspect of your driving.

Back then you basically did whatever you wanted to do. Today it's nearly impossible to get away with anything. But even that only applies to the guys who have been out there a long, long time. We're talking since the 80's and early 90's.

The next time some old timer gives you a hard time about this "new breed of driver" thing you can safely ignore it if you like because it's baseless. Or if you like to "give a little back" when someone is harassing you then just let them know what you know. Let em know it was their generation of drivers that ruined the reputation of the industry. It's their generation that was popping pills and doing West Coast turnarounds in five days, changing licenses from state to state when they maxed out their points, running 100 mph everywhere they went, and acting like a bunch of outlaws.

Today's drivers are better trained and held to higher standards than at any time in the history of this industry. The drugs have been cleaned up, the equipment is beautiful, and the rigs are being driven safely and professionally by the overwhelming majority of drivers out there.

Devan, your attitude is awesome. I wish there were three million drivers out there that approached life the same way you do. Don't let anyone ever take that smile off your face. Enjoy the heck out of what you're doing every single day knowing you have a great job with a great company and you're handling yourself like a true professional.

We have a ton of great people here on this website that I enjoy immensely and all of you are this "new breed of driver" that the old crabby guys are referring to. Don't let those guys fool you into thinking that today's drivers are in any way less talented or less professional than drivers were in the past. Baloney. You guys and gals are driving in an age where even picking up your phone for a moment or going 15 minutes over on your hours or hitting the brakes a little too hard can land you in hot water. You're subjected to extensive background checks, highly accurate drug tests that go farther back than ever before, and the continuous monitoring and scrutiny of every single aspect of your driving. And you're doing it as well as any generation has ever done it.

Personally I think this new breed of driver has an opportunity to raise our standing in the community. I would love to see drivers get the respect they deserve for the risk, dedication, discipline, and sacrifices it takes to move freight in today's world. So the next time you're at a customer or a truck stop and you get treated like garbage simply because you're a truck driver, remember it's not your fault that people view truckers the way they do today but it is your opportunity to change that perception for tomorrow, and I hope you will.

Well said Sir !!!

Huzzah!!!

Never really thought of it that way Brett, makes a lot of sense. If anything the crazy part was that he was bothered that I enjoy the job. It's like he didn't want to see anyone happy, maybe that is why he picked me to pick on haha. Another thing to is they will say we don't deserve good pay because we are new, but turn around and say we don't get paid enough.

I worked for a couple of small places where the other drivers are old enough to be my dad, or older. Really, really negative.....so bad that if I heard them on the CB or saw them on the road I turned off my CB until I thought they were out of range. The others, around my age or younger were just fine and we got along well and had a lot of great times. I heard all that trash talk about steering wheel holders, new breed, etc along with the gripes about their pay checks. What I saw was that us "new breed" were running our hours out putting in miles and busting out butts and generally just moving tons more freight every week, without whining. Well, recently when I called the guy I used to work for to see if he would take me back when I moved back there, he couldn't say YES fast enough and said he would pull an old Pete out of storage for me to drive. He knows I love his old Petes more than his new Freightliner gliders. It does have an C-15 engine, so, what's not to love? He said I did an awesome job! What I did was get up before any sane human should, drive it hard, be professional and respectful at all times, follow all of his rules and policies at the time, and be helpful with the guys in the shop. Also, did my best to save his money. I may have burned less fuel in that old Pete than the guys in the new Freightliners who had the 18 speeds but still ran at high RPM for whatever reason. I ran a 10 speed and did my best to not rev it above 1300 rpm until 10th gear when I needed to get to highway speeds. Basically, I say all of this to indicate how good it is to have your boss's best interests in mind since they are the business owner and surely desire to have it be for-profit! I did my best with what I knew to run it like an O/O trying to make a living, and learned a lot from trying to track every penny, every gallon, every engine fluid top-off, etc. So I'm looking forward to going back for good and doing it some more and maybe I might earn my place with my own rig someday as a leased O/O if that kind of thing is good. I encourage anyone who runs a company rig to track everything that they possibly can and count the costs, make yourself invaluable and earn your keep.