Questions About Local Driving

Are local driving positions with carriers tougher to get than OTR positions?

Depends on where you live. If you are near a large city then there are probably lots of local jobs available. The hiring standards for local driving jobs are usually higher than for otr jobs (as they should be, since local driving tends to be more challenging than otr). They usually require one year of class A driving experience (driving a tractor-trailer). So in that sense, yes they are tougher to get. However, local companies are, more and more, hiring inexperienced CDL holders and training them "their way." I had multiple offers from local companies when I finished CDL school.

What is the typical work schedule of a LOCAL driver?

I work 5 days per week, and average 11 hours per shift. I know guys that do four 12 hour shifts per week with extra work available if wanted. I would say 5 days a week and 55-60 hours is about typical.

What is the greatest distance from home traveled on the job for a LOCAL driver?

As far as one can go and return before their clock runs out. About 300 miles or so.

I am now in my mid-50's and consider myself "too old" for that OTR s_hit. I consider life in a sleeper at my age to be a hardship. I would hope that some employers would be sympathetic to older people who might seek local driving due to age considerations and understand that the long-haul stuff/sleeper crap is generally for the young and the bold. Being a service Veteran I might get some slack there too. Yes, I would be willing to train the company's way to get preferential close-to-home employment.

You should look into YRC in Austin. Ther're always hiring it seems and they will take some right out of CDL school. Call the director of operations their and tell him your story and ask him what CDL schools they hire out of. Another thing, that you'll probably like, they're teamsters union.

I do have a couple of pluses in my favor.

Perfect driving record, no points. No DUI. I don't smoke. No tobacco use. No criminal record. No drug record. No alcohol record. No registered sex offender. I don't drink. I don't do drugs. I think if I do try to get into this racket, I would try to pound the pavement hard to find one of those rare exceptions to get a local job as a rookie. My credit score is about 675.

I don't want my mind and body destroyed over the hardships and bad dietary practices of OTR life. Going into crime-ridden places like New York City, LA, Chicago scare me to death. I have arthritis, aches in my old bones, I need my comfy home bed most every night. I don't want to fart around with having to find parking overnight.

When I say "log books" I mean the legal requirements of recording HOS by any methods.

Aren't log books only required for interstate commerce? I figure many local jobs will be intrastate only.

Where do you come up with this? It's not factual.

There is an exception to the ELD rule for a small number of local jobs. Drivers using this exception must be done working within 14 consecutive hours, must return to their original starting point, and must remain within a 150 air-mile radius from their starting point.

Another important thing to realize about most local jobs is that they aren't entry level jobs. They almost always require experience.

I would hope that some employers would be sympathetic to older people who might seek local driving due to age considerations and understand that the long-haul stuff/sleeper crap is generally for the young and the bold.

You are silly, and naive. Employers don't hire folks based on their sympathetic leanings. I guess I must be old and bold, but I am sure not lazy. I love the over the road lifestyle.

You will more than likely need some OTR experience to land a local driving job. Your career will benefit from that experience too. You better starve yourself for a couple of years before jumping into this career. That one year of OTR experience you are going to need is likely to ruin your health. That nasty food those toothless waitresses will be serving up at the truck stop is gonna cause you to balloon into a blimp and clog your arteries so bad that you won't be able to get any sympathy from those folks that are hiring for local jobs. I just don't know how you are going to do this. There are just too many barriers for you.

I love all the comforts of home. Sleepers really ain't my style. What if I were to have documentation from my medical doctor to submit to prospective employers stating that he recommends a local position over an OTR position for health reasons and/or psychological reasons? Employers might have to be careful.

Here is a good question:

For all American drivers combined, what is the percentage of drivers for:

1. OTR? 2. Regional? 3. Local?

What is the turnover rate in each category above? Is OTR the least-desired category for the drivers themselves and the toughest for carriers to fill positions for? My theory is that railroads and cargo planes handle much of the long-distance freight. Even so, is OTR driving still in the highest demand for these three range categories of motor freight?

Preston I hate to break it to you, but as it’s been stated already, it’s very difficult to get hired as a local driver without OTR experience. These jobs are in high demand, so they go to those drivers who have already established themselves by “making their bones” doing the tough lifestyle first. Local jobs offer nightly home time, so they go to experienced drivers who want to be home with their families. They don’t go to rookies with no experience who want sympathetic treatment due to old age and health considerations. Starting off with a local driving job is like asking to start off with a corner office because it’s closer to the elevator than the mail room—not going to happen. You start at the bottom and work your way up.

And also, what you consider “pluses” — a clean driving record and no drug, alcohol, or sexual offense convictions (I can’t believe I’m answering this) — are nothing more than the bare minimum hiring criteria.

I do have a couple of pluses in my favor.

Perfect driving record, no points. No DUI. I don't smoke. No tobacco use. No criminal record. No drug record. No alcohol record. No registered sex offender. I don't drink. I don't do drugs. I think if I do try to get into this racket, I would try to pound the pavement hard to find one of those rare exceptions to get a local job as a rookie. My credit score is about 675.

I don't want my mind and body destroyed over the hardships and bad dietary practices of OTR life. Going into crime-ridden places like New York City, LA, Chicago scare me to death. I have arthritis, aches in my old bones, I need my comfy home bed most every night. I don't want to fart around with having to find parking overnight.

When I say "log books" I mean the legal requirements of recording HOS by any methods.

Assuming! you are acting in good faith with this absolutely spurious line of thought: you are still worthless in the eyes of a company seeking a local driver. OTR work has some of the lightest external pressure for a driver. Old School is a testament to internal drive and the pressure someone can place on themselves. Local will do to anyone what Old School does to himself, and more.

You are living in a fantasy world and on a high horse to boot, so until you snap out of that you will never make the cut in this field.

How many brownie points could I score by not even being a smoker? Non-smokers are less likely to be distracted while driving. This is what auto insurance commercials have been saying for years.

Ok, are REGIONAL jobs also much harder to land than OTR ones? I've been doing some thinking and I might rough it for a year if Regional could be possible career path to local. I might do a stint with regional if push comes to shove and the door is open, or cracked. Could regional driving be a likely open door for a noob? To me, it's still seems much better than OTR. I figure being regional while based in Texas would keep me in the more desirable nearby states to drive still. Flatter and warmer climate, last Deep Freeze week in Tx notwithstanding. None of the hoopla of coastal states, mountainous states or the high crime rates of major cities in anti-gun blue states. I'd want to stick to the more southern red states as a regional driver. I don't see traffic or bridge clearances as being a major problem in these southern states also. It's seems as Texas and neighboring states are quite trucker-friendly, wide open in landscape with little congestion.

Some people here already said it might be hard but not 100% impossible for a greenhorn to land a local job still especially out of CDL school. At times some local outfits might be severely shorthanded and therefore more lenient in hiring and willing to train noobs.

I'm now going to do some reading here on the pros and cons of OTR, regional and local driving.

A some LTL companies have waived the dock requirements for their CDL programs, I know OD has at some locations so has YRC, and I believe FedEx. Fab express hires right of school, JB Hunt has been know to remove their experience requirements based on need, especially now. You can probably find a local job right out of school, heck you may even find one to train you now.

**this is more ment for anyone who is seriously wondering and not OP who is a know troll. His posts for several years now all follow the same format, vocabulary and general condescending attitude towards the trucking industry and other various aspects of life in general.**

Reading this thread, I believe the OP has to be either a troll, or is on mind-altering substances. "Brownie points for not being a smoker"? The statements made and questions asked reveals unrealistic expectations, or pulling our chains. Companies are careful" alright. You make demands right out the gate, and your employment will be short, if you even get hired. Trucking companies purpose is to deliver product to their customers. We work for them (unless OO), they don't work for us. It isn't their objective to cater to our personal health or emotional wants. Want a local job? You have two options: 1. Go OTR for at least a few months, then apply at local companies. You may get lucky as I did and be hired. 2. Apply to local companies right after getting your cdl. Again, you may get very lucky and get a local gig. As many have stated, a local job right out of CDL school may be a tough learning experience. You will be expected to back into some really tight docks in inner citie's. Constantly dealing with city traffic on a daily basis can be more stressful than driving the Interstate. You have to constantly "have your head on a swivel" watching for frequent unexpected traffic movement. With all the responsibilities and new situations you will come up against as a new driver, the stress can be compounded.

I love all the comforts of home. Sleepers really ain't my style. What if I were to have documentation from my medical doctor to submit to prospective employers stating that he recommends a local position over an OTR position for health reasons and/or psychological reasons? Employers might have to be careful.

Todd, I’ve read dozens of your posts here under your various aliases, going back 5 years, and am convinced you have some kind of weird complex where you’re compelled to banter with actual truck drivers on this forum to make yourself feel like a truck driver. Your questions are so ridiculous they simply can’t be serious, which is why everyone keeps calling you a troll, and you debate every response ad nauseam like an insane reductionist deconstructionist.

Seriously? You think being smoker vs a non smoker is even a point worth arguing? You’re literally here to do nothing but waste everyone’s time. Please, spend as much time reading through the high road trucking program and the tens of thousands of other posts going back 15 years on this forum, and stop wasting the time of people who volunteer from their 10-hour off duty clock so they can focus on helping people who will actually enter this career