Story: How Trucking Went From One Of The Best Jobs In America To The Worst

I posted the facts about the research and all hell broke loose.

No, hell certainly did not break loose.

Someone falsely dismissed the article, claiming there was no real research behind it.

None of this is news to us, is what we're saying. This same stuff was being talked about all the time when I started in trucking in '93. Do you really think that Viscelli broke some sort of news here? Do you really think his research turned up anything we didn't know 25 years ago? Maybe this stuff is news to you, but deregulation happened in 1980, wages have been dropping for over three decades, and companies have been leasing trucks to drivers even longer. Where have you been?

Viscelli drove for 6 months, did some interviews, and wrote a quick article full of stereotypes, cliches, and old news. I drove for 15 years, wrote an entire book on the subject, and have a 10 year old website with literally over 50,000 pages of information. Old School has been driving for a number of years with an amazing record of safety and performance and also owned his own manufacturing business for 30 years which included his own small fleet of trucks. So forgive us if we're not easily impressed by Viscelli's credentials or the work he's done.

The fact that you're defending him as if he's said anything new or interesting is starting to make me a little suspicious of you myself. If you've been in the industry as long as you claim then why are you acting like any of Viscelli's work is new or interesting stuff?

No, no it isn't because when you have unexperienced enough to absolutely 0 experience writing laws and doing DOT checks it creates CHAOS! I see the trucking industry as a step UP from hourly wage!

He got a job and wrote this as a COLLEGE PAPER. Steve Viscelli is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Swarthmore College. He is the author of The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream.

Rick

Just to give you a little better insight into Swarthmore College; My sister graduated from there in the 80s. She is almost a genius (perfect SATs). She came out of there with some of the worst liberal progressive beliefs you can imagine. Not commenting on this post in particular, but no Swarthmore thesis paper has America and Great in the title without NOT being in there somewhere. It does not matter how many interviews you conduct Ivory tower syndrome is rampant there.

You know, I think I'm not even going to open this thread again to look for updates. Rajinder is trying to rouse some rabble against the lot of the common truck driver. People like this have come through here before, posting all kinds of stuff on their favorite topic but contributing very little to helping new drivers excel in their new vocation. See ya!

I posted the facts about the research and all hell broke loose.

No, hell certainly did not break loose.

Someone falsely dismissed the article, claiming there was no real research behind it.

None of this is news to us, is what we're saying. This same stuff was being talked about all the time when I started in trucking in '93. Do you really think that Viscelli broke some sort of news here? Do you really think his research turned up anything we didn't know 25 years ago? Maybe this stuff is news to you, but deregulation happened in 1980, wages have been dropping for over three decades, and companies have been leasing trucks to drivers even longer. Where have you been?

Viscelli drove for 6 months, did some interviews, and wrote a quick article full of stereotypes, cliches, and old news. I drove for 15 years, wrote an entire book on the subject, and have a 10 year old website with literally over 50,000 pages of information. Old School has been driving for a number of years with an amazing record of safety and performance and also owned his own manufacturing business for 30 years which included his own small fleet of trucks. So forgive us if we're not easily impressed by Viscelli's credentials or the work he's done.

The fact that you're defending him as if he's said anything new or interesting is starting to make me a little suspicious of you myself. If you've been in the industry as long as you claim then why are you acting like any of Viscelli's work is new or interesting stuff?

I never said it was news to me. What surprised me was (1) that the subject is getting some scholarly treatment in the academic world and (2) the dismissive attitude of some here, as if these are not important issues. The fact that drivers have been complaining about them for years attests to their importance.

And, in case you missed it, Viscelli also wrote a book (not just some quick article), in addition to a Ph.D. dissertation on the subject, the culmination of many years of research.

He is a friend to drivers. Why treat him like an enemy?

I posted the facts about the research and all hell broke loose.

No, hell certainly did not break loose.

Someone falsely dismissed the article, claiming there was no real research behind it.

None of this is news to us, is what we're saying. This same stuff was being talked about all the time when I started in trucking in '93. Do you really think that Viscelli broke some sort of news here? Do you really think his research turned up anything we didn't know 25 years ago? Maybe this stuff is news to you, but deregulation happened in 1980, wages have been dropping for over three decades, and companies have been leasing trucks to drivers even longer. Where have you been?

Viscelli drove for 6 months, did some interviews, and wrote a quick article full of stereotypes, cliches, and old news. I drove for 15 years, wrote an entire book on the subject, and have a 10 year old website with literally over 50,000 pages of information. Old School has been driving for a number of years with an amazing record of safety and performance and also owned his own manufacturing business for 30 years which included his own small fleet of trucks. So forgive us if we're not easily impressed by Viscelli's credentials or the work he's done.

The fact that you're defending him as if he's said anything new or interesting is starting to make me a little suspicious of you myself. If you've been in the industry as long as you claim then why are you acting like any of Viscelli's work is new or interesting stuff?

I never said it was news to me. What surprised me was (1) that the subject is getting some scholarly treatment in the academic world and (2) the dismissive attitude of some here, as if these are not important issues. The fact that drivers have been complaining about them for years attests to their importance.

And, in case you missed it, Viscelli also wrote a book (not just some quick article), in addition to a Ph.D. dissertation on the subject, the culmination of many years of research.

He is a friend to drivers. Why treat him like an enemy?

I've kept quiet up until now...Rajinder you are annoying. I do not know what your end game is, but there is such a thing as "beating a dead dog, deader". Please,...put your bloodied stick away. If you are the experienced driver you claim to be (although my doubts are mounting), add some value for the good of the forum. It's one thing to have an opinion and live with dissenting viewpoints, but you Sir seem to be Evangelizing as if on some sort of Crusade. 9 posts, all on this one subject. Starting to wonder about your MO.

I like many others who have already replied, understand how to make a really good living at this, and do not agree with all of Viscelli's opinions or his attitude towards the industry. 4-6 months of driving experience (whichever it as) does not make him an expert. Barely scratched the surface, still absorbing the learning curve. And he was a "Lark", he went into this with an agenda, likely a negatively charged attitude to prove his theories. Once he believed he had enough evidence and 200 pages of content, he got out. He is a novice driver...at 4 months, a novice. An outsider, that I cannot trust.

I am not going to set my watch by either of those articles. But seriously, if in need of a non-pharmacological sleep-aid, either article is effective... Zzzzzzz

If you want a really good book on trucking,...read this one: Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving . If you happen to know Viscelli, pass it on, he might learn something.

Beyond this..."Crickets" Rajinder, "Crickets"

I can't take anything a sociologist says seriously, they don't cover the hard sciences at all and most wouldn't know the scientific method if it slapped them in face. This to me, means i can't accept any statistics he throws out because I can't be sure he did any of the sampling correctly.

All that said, you can make more than 40k your first year if you do your homework before hand, run hard, and act professionally, something you won't find in many other careers. This is my last semester in a mechanical engineering degree that I pursued because Uncle Sam is paying me to do it (post 9/11 gi bill) my employment options with this degree and 0 experience pay about 14-16$ an hour, after a year of experience it goes up to 20-22$, at 20/hr 40hrs a week, is 800$ before taxes. Thats AFTER a year, with a college degree....

In the Army, I was making 2200/month with 3 years in and jump pay, thats 26,400/year before taxes, and worked days, nights, 24 hour shifts, my birthday, Jesus' birthday, holidays etc... Compared to that, the MINOR things listed that pertain to company drivers, and the increased pay (literally twice the amount for no experience and no one shooting at me) seem like a vacation.

I also can't believe "working harder, longer hours, and with less job security." ; primarily because of technology and breakdown service. In decades past, If you were lost or had to reroute due to weather or a crash, you had to grab a map and figure it out, we didn't have cell phones or GPS, there were quick passes for tolls, and there wasn't a contact truck coming out to fix something if you broke down. Job security, if i took my degree and went to work for a manufacturing or robotics company here, and lost my job, it would take me atleast a month to find another one, if you have a CDL and a clean driving record, and the company you work for closes down, or you get fired because of a small infraction (nothing serious about safety,drugs, or theft) you can literally have another trucking job the same day.

So in short, yeah the guy made some valid points, but they're very few and most of his article is focusing on the O/O niche and not the wider driver population as a whole. If it were that bad, and the pay so horrible, why would there be so many veteran and rookies alike posting their stories here daily, and talking about how much they enjoy their company?

Hi Guys, Boy, it's a pretty tough audience on this site, huh?! So, it's true, I'm a sociologist, not a truck driver. And I did only spend about 6 months in the industry as a driver as part of my research for the book. It was intended as preparation for my interviews primarily, so that I could better understand what drivers told me, not so I could learn all there was to learn about being a truck driver - though I did learn a lot from my time as a driver, including what it is like for new drivers coming in and working for a big company. I did spent almost ten years beyond that researching and writing the book and it draws on every kind of data and evidence available on the industry from interviews with drivers, to historical accounts and statistics. Does it contribute something new to current debates or the history of the industry? As I suggest in the preface of my book (I think you can preview that on Amazon), I hope so. For drivers like yourselves with lots of experience, there might even be a thing or two in there about wage benchmarking, the relationship of business consultants to industry media, and carriers etc. that you didn't know. Maybe not. The audience for the book is not veteran drivers, because as I wrote in the preface, I was essentially a research assistant to the experienced drivers I interviewed on many points. As for my motivations, even if the book sells really, really well, I'll never get more than a penny or two per hour for the time I spent on it - I don't even get royalties on the paperback - and on a daily basis I am actually working to make the industry a better place to work. Not because it is going to make me rich, but because it's the right thing to do. And I try to do that by getting drivers' experiences and perspectives out to audiences that don't hear from them directly. And I do a lot of other stuff including consulting for government agencies and serving as an expert in class action lawsuits for drivers that get misled into independent contracting with false claims. Anyway, just wanted to say, we are probably all on the same side on the big issues and hello to all the drivers out there. Steve Viscelli

it's a pretty tough audience on this site, huh?!

Quite discerning, indeed. I have to say that when I started driving in '93 it quickly became apparent that one of the big problems in the trucking industry is that the people governing the industry have little or no experience behind the wheel. Trucks aren't spec'd properly, logbook rules make little sense, drivers are constantly being put in catch 22 legal situations, turnover is as high as ever, there are no minimum standards whatsoever for training drivers, wages when adjusted for inflation have been dropping for decades, the Federal Govt still doesn't back student loans for truck driving schools, and for 25 years the same old cliches have been proposed by "experts" to fix everything which at best make drivers roll their eyes and shake their heads.

We face all of the same problems and challenges we've faced for decades and nothing meaningful has changed. Nothing. So when the millionth academic shows up purporting to try to help the industry, dabbles on the fringes a bit, writes a book and does a massive press release for it, but ultimately draws the same conclusions people have been drawing since the 80's, veteran drivers tend to toss you on the pile with the rest of the "experts" who make a good living for themselves through book deals and consulting, but otherwise taught us nothing new and accomplished nothing tangible for the industry. That's not me being a jerk. That's just the cold reality of the situation. If you can point me to some tangible benefits that truck drivers or the industry in general have gained from any of this work I'd love to learn about it.

I don't even get royalties on the paperback

No, but writing a book makes you appear to be far more of an expert than someone who hasn't written a book, as does getting your name in press releases from big players. So that means more consulting deals coming your way. It's "Marketing Yourself 101"..........I mean, the first three menu items on your website are:

Research
Teaching
Consulting

.........and how do you get research, teaching, and consulting work? That's right, with the fourth menu item on your website:

Media

It's "Marketing Yourself 101"

I am actually working to make the industry a better place to work. Not because it is going to make me rich, but because it's the right thing to do

Now that's really a stretch. You must already be super rich and super bored if you've taken up the cause of truckers just cuz it's the right thing to do. I mean, there's an awful lot of "right things to do" that would benefit the world a whole lot more than you focusing your time on the 1% of Americans who are driving trucks. Why not build playgrounds for children, or adopt abused animals, or raise money for cancer research, or help entrepreneurs get their first start in business, or any of a hundred million other things that would be of much greater benefit?

I'm certainly not saying you're a bad guy by any means. Certainly not. But other than making a living for yourself and maybe informing some really uninformed people about how the trucking industry has worked for the past 35 years it's simply not going to accomplish anything tangible that I can see.

Now here's what we really need.

• Convince companies to install 110 volt outlets and heated windshield wipers (amongst other things) on trucks
• Convince "safety experts" that having some annoying beeping sound going off every time you pass a bridge or a guardrail all day long does not improve safety
• Convince sleep experts to eliminate the 14 hour rule because humans don't operate well on 14 consecutive hours of work with only a 30 minute break. I thought we had figured that out decades ago.
• Convince the training experts at trucking companies that locking two strangers together in a walk-in closet for two months is extremely unhealthy psychologically for both student and trainer. Mix it up. Have trainers swap out students once a week or more so students get to learn from different trainers and no one has to be stuck indefinitely with someone they don't get along with
• Convince the Federal Govt that we need minimum training standards and that they should back student loans for truck driving schools the way they do for all other trade schools

Accomplish some of that stuff and I'll be impressed.

Hi Guys, Boy, it's a pretty tough audience on this site, huh?! So, it's true, I'm a sociologist, not a truck driver. And I did only spend about 6 months in the industry as a driver as part of my research for the book. It was intended as preparation for my interviews primarily, so that I could better understand what drivers told me, not so I could learn all there was to learn about being a truck driver - though I did learn a lot from my time as a driver, including what it is like for new drivers coming in and working for a big company. I did spent almost ten years beyond that researching and writing the book and it draws on every kind of data and evidence available on the industry from interviews with drivers, to historical accounts and statistics. Does it contribute something new to current debates or the history of the industry? As I suggest in the preface of my book (I think you can preview that on Amazon), I hope so. For drivers like yourselves with lots of experience, there might even be a thing or two in there about wage benchmarking, the relationship of business consultants to industry media, and carriers etc. that you didn't know. Maybe not. The audience for the book is not veteran drivers, because as I wrote in the preface, I was essentially a research assistant to the experienced drivers I interviewed on many points. As for my motivations, even if the book sells really, really well, I'll never get more than a penny or two per hour for the time I spent on it - I don't even get royalties on the paperback - and on a daily basis I am actually working to make the industry a better place to work. Not because it is going to make me rich, but because it's the right thing to do. And I try to do that by getting drivers' experiences and perspectives out to audiences that don't hear from them directly. And I do a lot of other stuff including consulting for government agencies and serving as an expert in class action lawsuits for drivers that get misled into independent contracting with false claims. Anyway, just wanted to say, we are probably all on the same side on the big issues and hello to all the drivers out there. Steve Viscelli

As someone who is preparing for the industry, I only have 1 actual question for you. Why just focus on the lease operator side of the industry? It would be far better to cover the company driver side, as a comparison in pay, benefits, etc. Drivers are all out there doing the same thing. Moving various types of freight. The job does not change, from company, to lease, to owner. The level of headaches do, for the many reasons the people here say to avoid leasing, or owning. Especially as a new driver.

You will not hear any arguments about the "Darkside" of trucking. But your neglect of the company driver side, is what is missing, to really balance it all out.