1 YEAR EXPERIENCE DRIVES, R U HAPPY WITH COMPANY CHOSEN?

Well how has the road and company treated u after your 1st year?

Well how has the road and company treated u after your 1st year?

All depends on you totally. If you did your job the way you should and developed the trust of your dispatcher then things will go great. If you were lazy and turned down loads because you did not want to go into certain areas then your life will be hell.

As a company driver you are forced dispatched with only a few rare exceptions. Meaning if they give you a load to New York then your going to New York. If you refuse then you sit making no money and your next load WHEN you get one might just be going to New York.

Best advise ....take every load you are given. No matter where it goes. You will be thankful later down the road as you are getting extra miles while everyone else is sitting. In 16 years I have never ever turned down a load even when it was going to Jersey City NJ. Extremely tight roads and turns and you can't afford making a mistake there.

Guyjax is right. You need to be hard working and able to get the job done safely and legally. If you don't you will be treated accordingly.

I remember my first few weeks at Schneider I was down in Louisiana and it was raining VERY hard. Thunder, lightning, rain so thick I couldn't see anything. I was scared, I never saw that sort of storm before. I pulled over and called my driver manager and told her I was scared and don't feel safe driving. She said to just wait it out and call when I feel safe to drive. Now as I look back that was kind of funny, the weather probably wasn't that bad but I was brand new and didn't know what else to do.

Don't be afraid to speak up about things like that, but don't make a habit of saying there's bad weather whenever you get a load into Chicago, or NYC, or Atlanta, or whatever.

I get to drive in New York City almost every day now lol. You get use to it. Haven't taken any telephone poles or pedestrians with me... yet!

Guyjax is totally correct. You have to prove to your dispatcher's and managers you are a go getter and team player no matter what. I'm currently on a load taking me home but my central dispatcher called me half way there and asked if I could help out one of our terminals in LA that is short on drivers and do some regional dedicated runs for them for a couple of days. Of course I said sure because #1 it is work which equals money and #2 I will make sure to remind him of it when I find out about nice long, juicy back hauls in the future.

I am fortunate though that I drive for a medium sized company so all of the central dispatchers and many of the terminal dispatchers know who I am and they all know I will not refuse a load or diversion unless it's a family emergency.

But the same principal applies to all companies. Show them you are a safe, dependable, can be counted on driver and the good loads will come your way and you'll be treated fairly (probably even better).