Fed-up With The Trucking Industry

Why the moderators let you keep commenting is beyond me. You have nothing constructive to say.

Why the moderators let you keep commenting is beyond me. You have nothing constructive to say.

Well I guess I can't convince you that the experiences I was were true, however I did 100% experience them and they are why I gave up on the trucking industry. Even if I could find another job, they'd just give me the same rushed training and it'd be no better. And who knows, maybe they might fire me and lie about the reason I was fired. I lost all my trust in the industry.

So you're not driving a school bus?

I give up.

I think that your experiences you had indicate a few things. One is that given the difficulty of dollar general type accounts and the likelihood of a new driver getting a career ending accident within the first couple months is exactly why we recommend staying away from them for inexperienced drivers and certainly not a first job.

Two is that its often recommended to go through company paid school and training with a larger carrier rather than paying for it at a private school. the OP's experiences confirm this. Even a cursory glance through the diaries section here shows that most of the classes are smaller with excellent training. Obviously a carrier has skin in the game with you after putting thousands of dollars into you just to get you to the point where you get your CDL so they want you to succeed. In the even that you do have some newbie accidents, they are likely to be far more forgiving and probably will allow to continue to build a career.

I can say that having taken the advice here on Trucking Truth, My experience in the trucking industry is vastly different than the OP's. I loved the training I have received, I found my company to be very professional and overall feel very satisfied with the direction my career is going. I dont think thats a reflection of the company I work for as much as how I conduct myself. Our success and or failures are determined by and large by our own hands.

Why the moderators let you keep commenting is beyond me. You have nothing constructive to say.

Well I guess I can't convince you that the experiences I was were true, however I did 100% experience them and they are why I gave up on the trucking industry. Even if I could find another job, they'd just give me the same rushed training and it'd be no better. And who knows, maybe they might fire me and lie about the reason I was fired. I lost all my trust in the industry.

Why the moderators let you keep commenting is beyond me. You have nothing constructive to say.

Well I guess I can't convince you that the experiences I was were true, however I did 100% experience them and they are why I gave up on the trucking industry. Even if I could find another job, they'd just give me the same rushed training and it'd be no better. And who knows, maybe they might fire me and lie about the reason I was fired. I lost all my trust in the industry.

Trucking takes moxie. My husband's been at it for 20 plus years, and paid off the homestead. Dollar accounts, take a special breed. As mentioned before, look up Papa Pig ... on TT.

Here's another view into his world: Papa Pig

Wish you the best, either way ~ this industry has BLESSED my life!!

~ Anne ~

So you're not driving a school bus?

I give up.

There's such a SHORTAGE here in Ohio, schools are offering parents $700/year to transport their OWN kids!

~ Anne ~

I think I know what Jonathan means by making cars back up. A middle finger is not needed, though. Sometimes you need to borrow extra space from the oncoming lane while making a tight turn. If it is just dirt or low curb on the right, who cares? But it can be a mail box, a tree, a post, so you need more space. Some drivers are naturally polite or clever enough, or maybe drive trucks too, so when they see a truck trying to make this turn, they back up when they can. Of course, it is their good will, nobody must do that by any rules, I always roll down my window and wave. So if cars don"t move, you have to wait until both lanes are free. This is my understanding of tight turns.

I think I know what Jonathan means by making cars back up. A middle finger is not needed, though. Sometimes you need to borrow extra space from the oncoming lane while making a tight turn. If it is just dirt or low curb on the right, who cares? But it can be a mail box, a tree, a post, so you need more space. Some drivers are naturally polite or clever enough, or maybe drive trucks too, so when they see a truck trying to make this turn, they back up when they can. Of course, it is their good will, nobody must do that by any rules, I always roll down my window and wave. So if cars don"t move, you have to wait until both lanes are free. This is my understanding of tight turns.

Yeppers.... good ole' back up for my BUTTON HOOK~!!!

~ Anne ~ '

Why the moderators let you keep commenting is beyond me. You have nothing constructive to say.

Well I guess I can't convince you that the experiences I was were true, however I did 100% experience them and they are why I gave up on the trucking industry. Even if I could find another job, they'd just give me the same rushed training and it'd be no better. And who knows, maybe they might fire me and lie about the reason I was fired. I lost all my trust in the industry.

Well, Jonathan, it looks like a mutually beneficial outcome, because the trucking industry has lost all trust in you, based on what you've told us.

I understand that you believe 100% in your stories. However It's obvious you live in a fantasy world where the only truth is what comes from you.

I will always be angry at Werner. I'll take my hatred for them to the grave.

Jonathan is good enough to keep with his diatribe. In fact he will take it to the grave. Very sad commentary on an individual. It's also very common among those who fail at trucking.

I take responsibility for starting this conversation. We didn't have to let Jonathan's original comments even get posted. They are revealing in a way that is educational. Here's a person who underestimated trucking. It is a common rookie blunder. He's said a lot of things. As is usual in cases like this, he keeps adding more details to the story to justify his wrath against the industry and the company that fired him. He has now revealed that he had several incidents.

they told me they were firing me... they specifically said "three incidents"

Folks you can't go through this career playing bumper cars out here. You can't get away with that. How Jonathan can blame his poor driving on Werner is beyond me. He even blamed his running into the building on the fact that Dollar General trailer's tandems are set up differently. I have no idea what he is talking about. Tandems move, and we set them where we want. It is pretty obvious to any experienced driver that he hit the building because he failed to G.O.A.L. He is obviously unaware of that and it shows how his silly remarks are almost embarrassing to read. Perhaps the tandems are set up differently to allow for the lift gate. I don't know, but I do know you never back up close to something without getting out and looking. You sure don't just watch your tandems. You've got a lot more things to consider than where your tandems happen to be sitting when going backwards.

Jonathan, you made a lot of mistakes as a trucker. That is why you are a bus driver now. Had you come in here acknowledging your poor judgement, and your absolute misunderstanding of the great responsibilities trucker's have, you would have been much more well received. You have blamed everything on your employer. You've done that with a bunch of responsible successful truckers who know better. We don't buy it. We have succeeded at this career and some of us have done quite well at it. We pride ourselves on being responsible for our own errors. We learn from our mistakes. We don't point our fingers at others and claim nobody ever told us this or that. Truckers are unique people who do a very unique job. We know there are challenges. We know we must rise to conquer them. You want to blame all your shortcomings on poor training and a mega carrier who you claim treated you badly. That makes no sense when Werner has thousands of successful drivers. Some of them right here in this very forum.

I pity you. I don't know how you can hold onto such venom. It is foolish and unhealthy. Werner had nothing to do with your car getting repossessed. You bear that responsibility. You signed the note. You got in over your head with the bank just like you did with your trucking career. You were not able to fulfill your obligations. We don't buy any of it. We are truckers. We do this job everyday. We face the problems and we come out on top. You can't fake it in trucking. If you try you will get chewed up and spit out. Trucking brings it's realities upon us rather swiftly. We conduct ourselves responsibly or we get cast aside. Unfortunately you got cast aside without even understanding how poorly you were performing. Enjoy your new bus driving career. We will continue enjoying our careers as professional truck drivers.

Folks, trucking is a unique career. It takes responsible individuals who have a strong work ethic and a strong motivation to succeed. It is obviously not for everyone. When you read the kind of comments that Jonathan makes you have to realize that they come from someone who feels hurt or mistreated. It's not because they were. It's because they underestimated trucking. They miscalculated the career. They thought they were just going to be driving a big car and getting paid lots of money for it. Trucking casts aside a lot of folks. Most of them could have been successful. We are empathetic with the rookies, and we devote a lot of time to helping people understand this career. We do not coddle those who want to smear the good name of our careers or our employers. Jonathan lost his career and his "nice automobile." Anybody that thinks Werner was at fault for that does not belong in a truck. The day that Jonathan realizes he screwed himself over will be the day he might have a chance at being a professional driver again. I predict he is just going to settle for bus driving. His problems will come back to bite again. I just don't know if he will be willing to share them with us though.

I apologize if I have come across a little harsh. I can't sit here and let a great company like Werner be slandered when they have no way to respond. The only fault I can find in Jonathan's tale falls squarely on his shoulders. He casts aspersions all over the place. He even seems to know better than his employer how "dollar stores" should be handled. It is one of his many rookie mistakes.

We all have to learn from our mistakes in this career. That's why he didn't get fired until he had three incidents. Werner was hoping he might learn something from his first two mistakes. He didn't. You cannot learn your own responsibilities when you are focused on blaming others.

I'm just gonna say it and if it makes me appear rude, so be it...

I'm frankly a bit terrified that someone who couldn't handle commercial cargo (and hit a building FFS) is now responsible for human cargo. Just sayin'