What Advice Do You Have For New Drivers Facing The Road Reality?

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?

This is an exact repost of a thread started by BK last week

You need a I don't care attitude. 4 wheelers will make you nuts if you let them. Best laid plans in trucking will blow up in your face.

Be able to adapt to changes very quickly and leave your emotions out of the job. Also, have a very short term memory when you screw up (like a major closer who blows a 9th inning save, or an NFL kicker that misses the game winning field goal from 35 yards out)

Adding to what has been said, work-life balance is necessary. Even for those of us who live in the truck and grind out miles, time off the truck is taken to decompress. OTR trucking is a lifestyle, but it doesn't mean that a life outside of trucking can't exist.

I agree with Ryan work life balance is huge. I also think enjoying the journey in general can make the overall experience more delightful. Enjoying seeing new places and being of service to the people you are delivering the loads for. If you have gratitude in the small parts of your day when you are on the road it will go very far in allowing you to go the distance in trucking.

I’m gonna say the biggest thing is to try and never get in a rush and to relax. Any near bind I have ever been in has been due to a time crunch and self induced stress. Eat when you are hungry Stop when you are tired You can never turn too slow but will only turn too fast 1 time. Good luck!

Repost bots again.