Whining And Crying You Read On Other Trucking Sites, Starcar's View....

Its not so much everyone else's negative comments about a company...because that just tells you how THEY interacted with that company...THAT is the magic of it all...every company can end up bad for some people. They go in with preconceived ideas on what THEY want from the company...what THEY are worth...what THEY will accept..WRONG.

The company trains you in their school, trying to make sure you learn and understand all you can. Then they send you out with one of their drivers, to learn everything there is to know out on the road. After you do that, then you are put in your own truck. You are trusted with a vehicle unit worth nearly $200,00.00 empty...then you add on average, another $100,000.00 worth of freight. So do you think you should be able to do things "your way" ??

HECK NO !!

And these people who cry and complain about companies have, somewhere along the way, gone in the ditch, be it schooling, on the practice yard, out with a trainer, or solo for the first time. So many people think that they don't need to "work" in the school.."any fool can drive a truck" mentality. Going to any trucking school is INTENSE...repeat INTENSE.You have to work to get thru any of them. (Thats why we push the High Road..learn before you go). If you are self important on the practice field, you won't learn what you need to know, cuz your mouth will be open talkin' when it should be shut so your ears can hear....The very same thing when they go out with their trainer, EGO...EGO...EGO.

As a newbie driver, you have no ego...you have fear, and uncertainty, and questions...tons and tons of questions...and you better be asking every one of them. And even then, if you clear that hurdle, and you get sent out in your own truck, you will be scared, uncertain, and then have no one (but TT..we'll be here!!) to answer your questions. THATS when you wish you'd spent more time trip planning, and getting familiar with your atlas, and QualComm..But those folks who get in their solo truck with all that ego and nothing else are doomed to failure sooner or later...the ditch will find them.

Theres no place for ego in trucking, ever. You will learn every day you're out there, for as long as your out there. Just ask us old drivers...we learned until the last day we sat in the seat. So when you read, or hear some whiner complain about how the company " did 'em wrong"...just wonder what the person did to run themselves into the "I am the best thing that ever happened to trucking" ditch. You have to go into cdl school with all the early learning you can get...your permit and all the endorsements you can get, and a willing and open mind.And you need to stay that way for as long as you have someone to answer the questions you are going to have.

You do research, alot of it. THEN and only then do YOU pick the company that fits YOU...irregardless of what happened to Ernie Ego, when he was there.... I like this post so much, that i'm going to copy and past it on the general board...maybe it will give some other new folks a different way to look at all the negative whining they see on other sites...

Very well said Starcar!

Confidence is one of the most helpful factors in being successful at something - you have to believe in yourself. But thinking you know more than you do is about the most dangerous circumstance imaginable.

I know one of the reasons a lot of people don't listen well when they're out on the road with their trainer at the start of their career is because they think that CDL means they know how to drive truck. They feel like they've already gone through their training, they've proven themselves to the State when they passed all of the exams, and they're truckers now!

But Truck Driving Schools and Company-Sponsored Training Programs don't teach you how to be a true professional driver. They teach you the minimum you need to know in order to shift, steer, and back up so you can go out there and learn your craft and become that true professional we'd all like to be. It takes years and years to get to that point though.

Definitely consider that first year in trucking as a year-long training session. It won't be until about 3-5 years into your career that you really start to hit your stride and can handle that rig and life on the road like a pro. That probably seems like an awful long time to really get good at driving a rig, but trust me, you'll see once you're out there just how complex and difficult it is to do this safely day in and day out, year after year.

AMEN!

I have 12 years (+) of driving experience and another 12 (+) in the trucking industry, with logistics, warehousing, and dispatching. When I decided to come back into trucking I was scarred. "Am I going to remember everything, can I still shift, will I make a fool of myself, can I make my turns, can I back...". I thought about all of it.

You know what saved me? TuckingTruth. Plain and simple. I was searching, looking for helpful study guides. I wanted to be ready that first day of school. Not only did I read until my eyes were blurry from too much reading. I had pencil and paper in hand and wrote things down and walked around talking to myself everyday.

When I got to school and we finally got out there to the back parking lot, I couldn't think! Dang. What do I do now? I came in every morning at 7:00 am a hour before everyone else and started pre-tripping that truck. With in a few days I was comfortable, but that didn't stop me from coming in. Other students started showing up at 7:30 and would be there with me.

I am still looking for a job. I have to do Local work with home time every night. I have several other things that I do. But I want to drive. I just emailed 20 pages of application and documentation. I'm praying I get a chance. That's what I asked for.

You are so DARN right! Any driver starting out is trusted with $300,000.00 (+) when the head out on the road. That says a lot about you, because they chose you, But they are taking a big risk! A new driver should have the utmost respect for the company that has hired them. You're lucking to have that job. When I started out years ago, it was dang near impossible to get a job without experience. And their were very few schools out their that trained you. The industry was just kicking into the driver trainer programs.

You said a mouth full. Really a HEART full!

It's called being HUMBLE. It will get you a great deal further in this world than that truck will. I promise you that.

Thank you StarCar!

At all of these other "trucking" websites you will hear...

"Hey! Won't you play. Another, somebody done somebody wrong song."

I look at it this way, and I am a good example. If I get fired from a company, I might cry for a minute or two, but after that...TIME TO PUT IN THE APPS, for the next company I am going to work for.

Dave

Over a year later I still have days where I feel like I am a student again, all crooked in the middle of the yard, trying to figure out how the heck I got into this position. That being said, I also have days where I feel like a pro. Luck, obviously!

I remember how proud of myself I was for not pulling a TruckerMike and locking my keys in the truck. Oops! A couple months ago I did it. Now I carry an extra key in my pocket at all times. I call it my $115 key, since that's what it cost me to get someone out there to help me get in the truck.

I high-pinned a trailer once, also just a few months ago. Luckily I was able to crank it up and get out from under it. I have heard MUCH WORSE stories about this situation.

I felt sorry for a guy that I saw pull out from under a trailer with the landing gear up. I helped him crank it up. "Glad I am smarter than that!" I told myself. Well, also a month or so ago, I did it. Twice in one day! At least I realized what was going on and didn't pull all the way out from under it... first time it was empty, second time it wasn't, but wasn't hard to crank up.

There are a couple more embarrassing situations I won't share. But, let's just say, IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU (ME). One can't get ****y. Don't skip steps when in a hurry. Several times I have gotten out to double and triple check things just to make sure. It's worth it.

Also, I remember almost every day when I first started driving solo I would see trucks off on their side on the side of the road. What dummies, I thought. Well, it happened to me. Didn't roll it, but ended up in the ditch. Could have easily rolled it but I was very lucky. Don't test the limit of your ability and what is safe! It will get you eventually, and hopefully it won't take anyone else with you. Prison time is a reality for drivers who get too ****y with unsafe driving habits. I would rather slow down and be safe than end up suspended and possibly lose my career. So what if I get out 6-10 times while blindsiding into that spot? Yeah, I look stupid, but how much dumber would I look if I hit something, or someone? I have come close to Bubba's long-nosed Pete and lived to tell the tale. If I hadn't been cautious... who knows?

I have come to the conclusion thst about 60 percent of "experienced" drivers are Crinch Cry Babies who know it all and will complain about the sky being blue. We all have our good days and we all have our bad. True Story one day going home I stopped at tge Petro in Carlisle, PA to shower. I had to wait for a guy to do 10 pull ups to get in his spot. I set up, did a half pull up jumped our and was off 2 shower. I ended up grabbing lunch and sat next to the guy. He had 35 years of experience and I had one! Wouldn't have been able to tell by out parking jobs. That being said ive had days where I cant land in a football field. Its all par forr the course. At the end of the day you WAKE UP, PICK UP THE LOAD ASSIGNED TO YOU ON TIME, DELIVER IT ON TIME and START ALL OVER AGAIN THE NEXT DAY. Your not special. You dont deserve special runs. You cant drive banker hours. You cant do what you want when you want. Your a driver PLAIN AND SIMPLE. If you want to be treated like royalty you better hit up the castle.

Well sad. Wake up, drive, go to sleep. Isn't there a Johnny Cash song... "All I Do Is Drive." That sums it up. lol.

Wow! This thread is rich!

I have come to the conclusion thst about 60 percent of "experienced" drivers are Crinch Cry Babies who know it all and will complain about the sky being blue.

Ma'am, you are one astute individual. You hit the nail on the head!

Another thing about those complainin' posts, for every one with a disgruntled driver, there are probably fifty happy drivers. Nobody signs on there and says they are happy with their job. They only get on there when they have something to gripe about. And if you read the posts closely, if 90% of the complaints were true, the company would not be in business. It's just the driver got his panties in a wad over getting caught doing something he shouldn't have, or got caught in a lie. And like RedGator said, a lot of drivers will complain about anything just to hear themselves talk. Give them a bag of gold, and they'll gripe that it's too heavy.