Longevity And Temperament

What do you think is the relationship between longevity as a driver and driver temperament? Do you think most hot headed, aggressive drivers burn out early?

Perhaps this is a coincidence, but at my company all the really long time drivers seem to be very mellow and laid back. We have the longest tenured driver who has been with the company from the get go, 28 years. He is very calm and modest and is willing to talk shop and answer any questions.

How do you train yourself to have the right temperament despite all the stress and aggravations? What advice do you have for new drivers facing the road reality?

Great post. I would also like to know.

I've been extremely lucky. In my 20's and 30's I drove a box truck and had a terrible temper.

I'm 44 so I did start chilling in my middle 30's. I've been doing a lot of rural driving in Minnesota and getting extremely angry with cars pulling out in front of me lately. Made a pass on a solid yellow line just entering a small town. I need to get this in check now so I don't screw up my career.

My default state is pretty chill, and I usually laugh at stupid things that people do rather than get mad. However, I find that if I am spending much time around angry people (in person or on the phone), I tend to absorb that negativity, I get kinda surly, and I definitely end up with a lot more cursing in my vocabulary, even in my thoughts. So maybe try to be aware of who you associate with, because they rub off on ya.

Several years ago I wrote a similar post. It’s still a relevant topic and absolutely contributes to overall success and longevity.

Here is the link:

The Right Temperament

G Town, that thread is fantastic. I read about 1/4 of it but it’s six pages of comments so I’ll have to go back later and finish it. Anyone interested in this issue should make it a “must read” discussion.

While early in my career this subject is at the forefront in trucking but applies to any office in life. Boiled down into the simplest terms "Don't take life (or trucking) so personally." As drivers we cannot control the actions of others. We now live in society where people are oblivious to the dangers of driving 70-100 mph on the freeway, much less cutting in front of a 40 ton truck that requires 1-2 football fields to stop in ideal conditions.

My philosophy is to be grateful God has blessed me with a job that will save my family's American Dream and he also blesses me with the patience and skills to safely navigate the road for myself and even the lesser lights. My relationship with the Lord has grown tremendously since I began my trucking journey. To actually practice the character of "God's man or woman" is to practice humility and selfless action. Hey, seeing a theme here??!? Regardless of your spiritual beliefs one thing the Bible teaches and even non-religious self help models is to be more patient with others and yourself. We really can't control the actions of others, only how we safely react to mindless acts of others and then how we emotionally reconcile it. So that is the big question here, how do I not get ****ed at the jackwagon that cut me off then flipped me off? Well.....what is your long term goal in life? Don't have one? GET ONE!! When you focus on your goal, it will occupy the focus of every action. The stressful events of the day we have NO CONTROL OVER (i.e. dumb 4 wheelers, break downs, weather, rude yard jockeys, delays at shippers/consignees, etc.) are not a part of your grand goal of being a successful professional driver in whatever that translates to your career whether it's income level, company driver rankings, million miles accident free, whatever.

I was blessed with an awesome in cab coach for 3 weeks. He was working on reducing his own stress levels. Instead of blowing up and flipping people off, he would place a blessing on motorists for better wisdom on following distance, better wisdom in decision making etc. I added that any time a motorist flips me off, he/she is not cursing me, just simply reminding me that I am always "One with God"

So ultimately YOU decide who you give your power away to to play your emotions like a video game. Blowing up at people impairs your ability to think clearly and make safe decisions operating a CMV , is very toxic for your health, and in the end accomplishes nothing except reminding one of how little control one has have over their own destiny. The best self improvement one can work on is mastering emotions so they don't take over your day. Doesn't mean you become a cold reptile and stop all feelings like a Vulcan. Again, it is getting a written goal or mission statement and recognizing that adverse events in your day are simply opportunities to adapt and improve your skills while not allowing your emotions to compromise your safety and the safety of all those participating in "Charles Darwin presents..The U.S. Interstate Suicide Olympics", its about giving yourself the self-respect which can only come from self control.

Systems eliminate stress. The place everything in control. There is a certain amount of inherent chaos to what we do, but when I first decided to go into trucking, I decided to make everything as systemic as possible.

One thing I've noticed about old timers in most professions, myself in construction as well, is that nothing they do is arbitrary, it might seem on the surface to be, but it's actually just a pattern. They just go through Systems really quickly. After you've experienced something going unexpected enough times, you just calmly react automatically and address it in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

A couple years into trucking, and far less things stress me. The Systems I use are just automatic patterns now. Probably the hardest thing for me to do is manage people but even that, I just use words sparingly more and more. Polite and professional and then on my way.