Why Did You Start Driving A Truck?
Topic 8520 | Page 1
What made you want to start driving a semi over the road?
because there is always work in hauling freight
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
What made you want to start driving a semi over the road?
Wanderlust, burnout from my white-collar world (I'm am attorney whose practice was divorce and custody), my own horrific divorce which made me want to flee the very place I was born and raised in, and the solitude; just me, my dog, and my music. I've always loved solo road trips! The relatively low pay for the time you're giving the company doesn't really bother me. That is, as long as you're not fighting them to pay you for the miles you've driven!
So I have had a rough start: I have a current complaint under investigation with OSHA with a Denver-based company (think: blue-eyed Native American female on orange and white trucks), and after just three months with my last company, I was let go for an incident where my California trailer skirt caught a four wheeler's trailer and turned it on it's side. It happened on private property so no ticket, but my DAC shows I was let go for "unsafe" driving. The company also reported a second incident they claim happened the very next day as "hitting a parked vehicle." It didn't happen, but my fight work Hire Right is going nowhere in getting it removed. The actual incident occurred on November 10th, the second phantom incident occurred on the 11th, and they fired me exactly a month later. Common sense would dictate that if I had two accidents in as many days, they wouldn't have waited an entire month to fire me??
As a female, I have found the physical elements of the job, e.g., maneuvering the landing gear a bit challenging, but there is almost always another trucker around more than willing to lend a hand. I love that part, feeling safe and looked after in a way, the camaraderie. I don't like the noise, there's a lot of noise inside and outside the truck, an element I never considered.
I broke my arm just several weeks after being dismissed from my last job, and an finally at the point where I am actively seeking another job. I hope my problem with Hire Right won't prevent me from returning to this new and exciting career!
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I worked at a horse farm, witch I loved... but started thinking one day about a career and not just a job. I started browsing craigslist in the job section and immediately saw job after job for class A drivers. I thought, that's it, ill be a truck driver. And 3 weeks later I was enrolled in school, from the first time I sat in the international, 10 speed and started driving I was hooked. I got my class A license yesterday and I start trucking as a new career this month. I know I'm inexperienced out in the trucking world, but so far I wouldn't turn back and I Know I made a good choice.
I'm not an otr driver but I've known I wanted to drive truck for a very long time. It wasn't till recently that I finally got sick of customer service work that I took the plunge and got my cdl.
My biggest problem wasn't choosing to be a truck driver. It was finding a way to not go otr right away. I have two young children at home and was not about to sacrifice my life with them for a job. Even if it was my dream job. So after much research and phone calls I figured that I had a really good chance of staying local and so I went for it.
Sometimes,like in my case, you know you were born to drive And you more or less don't choose this career it chooses you. Other times you may really have to take a lot of things into consideration before diving in.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
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What made you want to start driving a semi over the road?
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.