No one can argue that the world of trucking has been through so many changes in the past twenty years are so that many are having a hard time keeping up. Just as we begin to learn and understand the rules and regulations, we are faced with new ones to learn. The morale of the “trucker” is down and so is our reputation in the public eye. It didn’t used to be that way. Truckers used to be a happy group of people loved by everyone. The truck stop diners used to be “The Place” to take your family for sunday dinner. The American trucker was one to be respected because not only was their job important but as a whole, truckers used to be respectable people who our kids idolized. Anymore, some parents are afraid to bring their kids to a truck stop just to use the bathroom. Why is this? What happened to the respectable American trucker’s image?
As our nations towns became more populated, our roads became more crowded. The demand for products to be hauled from place to place went up and more truckers were needed to get the job done. I’ve heard many drivers say that some companies lowered the standard by putting just about anyone with a pulse behind the wheel of a truck. Then what happened? The 
government stepped in and implemented the “CDL”. Companies started doing back ground checks and training became mandatory for most carriers. I believe the growing pains of this industry are far from over. I also believe that many of the new rules and regulations we are dealing with as well as the ones being proposed are necessary. Think about it. The work ethic is down, attitudes are bad, drug use is still a problem, the divorce rates are high, and driver health is worse than it’s ever been. Piles of human feces in plastic bags, plastic bottles with urine and other disgusting garbage is constantly littering the truck stop parking lots. Every day we see more drivers that can barely get in and out of their truck because they are in such bad health. How many times have you been standing in line at the cashier and wish you had a bottle of air freshener cause somebody just walked in that smelled so bad you were gagging. And the language coming out of the mouths of some of these drivers is just downright vulgar. So why has the american public seemed to have turned their backs on us? Hmmmmmm I wonder.
The days of the “bad boy hero” are over! It’s time to clean up our act and hopefully, sometime in the future, truckers will be respected again. It’s not going to be easy. We all need to take responsibility for this task by learning and following the rules. What? You don’t like all these new rules? Well, the way I see it, we do not have a choice. We either get with the program or get out. Yes, it’s that simple. Sitting around bitching and complaining gets nothing accomplished and when others overhear us doing this it brings our reputation down even further. I am not like this and maybe you aren’t either,but there are so many out here that are and they are ruining it for the rest of us.
I am grateful for the opportunities that have come my way through tucking. My life has changed in so many ways. I have become a much simpler person and less materialistic that I used to be. we are able to participate in charitable events, make new friends, experience new sites and even visit relatives and friends. I must admit though that not all my family members are happy with the path I have chosen and a few are even embarrassed to admit that they are related to a truck driver. Yes, it’s sad but when you think about it, who could really blame them. I don’t let it bother me. In fact, it motivates me to accept the changes and do my part to make the trucking industry better. I can’t change the rules, but I can follow them and I do realize the reason they are there.
Many of you are probably cussing me right now and think I’m crazy. Maybe I am. All I know is that by accepting and following the rules, I feel safer on the road and confident that I will always have a job.
It doesn’t matter if you a company driver, leased on to a company or an independent owner operator. The rules are the same for everyone. I don’t like some of these rules anymore than some of you. I have the same fears and concerns as everyone else. But, is bitching and complaining really the answer? I just don’t see where it will get me anywhere.
Some say that I have a positive attitude to a fault. We have worked for large companies, small companies and even an itty bitty one for a short time. I have been ripped off by employers to the tune of thousands of dollars that I will never see. I’ve seen some illegal activity taking place not only by one of the companies I used to work for but by drivers as well. On the other hand, I have also been treated very well by most of the people I have met in tha past ten years. I have had the pleasure of meeting so many like myself that care about each other and about themselves. People who take pride in what they do and aren’t afraid to follow the rules. Well dressed, clean mouths, and respectable behavior and driving habits are becoming more and more common. Safety has become a priority. This is a good thing and I hope it continues.
No matter what happens, there will always be those that are not happy and things may not always be fair but if we try to keep a positive attitude, play by the rules, and be the safest drivers we can be, we will know in our hearts we are truly doing our best. We will, one day at a time and one driver at a time, raise the bar for this industry and we will all eventually benefit!
Have a Safe Day!
I will only address the part about slovenly drivers, because I don’t know enough about CSA2010.
I have never seen a slovenly FedEx driver.
I have seen few slovenly UPS drivers.
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that they provide either uniforms, or minimum standards, for their drivers.
Perhaps if more companies made standardized clothing available to their drivers, at reduced cost (like $5 or $10, not $25-40), AND provided 3-5 initially, AND required those clothes to be worn at all times, it might improve.
The standard response would be “How can the company check what you’re wearing when you’re out on the road”, but lacking anything now, the companies have made it clear they’re not that concerned about it.
I certainly never got the impression the companies I worked for were very concerned.
And for the reasons Allen pointed out, the drivers aren’t very concerned.
Jim,
Your post states 2 major points:
1- Drivers aren’t the well groomed respectable people they used to be
2- The new rules and regulations are going to be good for the industry, and complaining about them isn’t going to do any good.
Let’s address the image of drivers first.
A major reason that you see drivers of the caliber you speak about is because of the CDL training schools and programs that you mentioned in the post( but did not expand on)
You mentioned that companies did a “background check,” however, that background check was usually minimal, in most cases only including MVR requirements, not much in the area of crime, domestic violence, anger management, or other areas which will display personalty characteristics.
Years ago, before CDL training recruiting tactics, people became truckers because they loved trucks, driving, or the lifestyle of being out for months at a time.
Here’s the problem:
Recruiters have since then painted a very rosy picture of a trucking lifestyle. “See the country, be your own boss, have the freedom of the highway, blah blah blah.
This type of recruitment attracts MANY types of people, good and not so good, looking for a new career and job security. Many of those that the recruitment style has also attracted, are people who have had difficult times in life, criminal backgrounds, or problems being hired or keeping a job.
Now, nowhere is it explained during recruitment that you will spend weeks out at a time, not be paid for “sitting”, have very little sleep, or be forced to “do things” illegally ( such as fudging logs or run faulty equipment)
Not only that, but when all is said and done, and the pay checks start to roll in, many drivers sit down and figure out the actual:
sacrifices, time away from being home, hours spent without pay, (and we won’t even get into some of the shenanigans that many companies play with their drivers)… just isn’t worth it to them!
So what happens then? Those who went into trucking looking for what they were actually promised start to realize that “this isn’t what it was described to be” Some just leave the industry, then others would go from company to company, looking for that perfect job ( THUS THE former 125% turnover rate)
Many others who stay are those who have no other skills, or who just like driving, or who would not be hired because of questionable backgrounds.
It is the industry itself that has openly invited pretty much anyone in, giving them an opportunity of a new career, and it is that same industry, through abuse and lies that has driven many of the desirable drivers away.
SO who’s left driving from all this?
a) those who love trucking
b) those who don’t have any other real skills
c) those who would not be hired anywhere else because of either questionable backgrounds or undesirable personalty traits which would not be socially acceptable
It is the people that are mostly in group “c” that you are describing in this post.
Make no mistake, CDL schools and training programs have openly invited and encouraged what you have described, and now the government would like to see it all changed.
Solution: Better CDL training, training programs, and stricter background checks
2- Now lets address the second portion of your post stating that these new rules and regulations will be good for trucking.
In many ways they will, because it will target companies and drivers who do not act in a safe or professional manner. ( includes greedy and reckless)
However, there are those drivers who have driven for companies, companies who have not just “allowed” unsafe behavior from GOOD drivers, but have encouraged, and at times even threatened or retaliated against drivers who would not comply with THEIR “ways of doing things”, which at many times were unsafe and unacceptable.
You know about DAC, right? You’ve heard about “starving out?”
Many of these drivers have been forced to run illegally, run with faulty equipment, or just break rules for the sake of company profits.
Now, these drivers are going to have a 3 year look back, there PSP not at all an appealing one, and now, they are no longer wanted, needed, or desirable to the companies that created them.
Why? Because now companies are going to be “punished” by the FMCSA for having drivers with violations ( as they will also possess driver points on their own company scores)
Many of these drivers are GOOD DRIVERS, manipulated in a system that the government is attempting to crack down upon. Because of CSA 2010, these drivers are pretty well stuck with the company they’re with because their pre- employment screening looks terrible, and they “appear” to be unsafe.
On the other hand, their companies no longer want them either, because their own past is going to reflect and catch with their own poor company safety habits.
These same companies have even attempted, through formal requests to the FMCSA ( on behalf of the ATA) to be able to TERMINATE these drivers and REMOVE these driver violations from their company records/scores.
Imagine that!
These drivers, who have complied with company policy for many years, would be discarded by their companies in order to clean up their company scores. Where would that leave these drivers? WITHOUT A JOB…no one will want them.
I don’t believe the FMCSA will agree to this request. I’m sure they see past all of it.
A Major company executive was quoted recently, that he feared his best drivers were going to be in danger of CSA 2010? Really? Your best drivers? What have you benn forcing your drivers to do that they are now in fear of CSA 2010?
The intentions of CSA 2010 are to clean up the industry, however, I believe the FMCSA is getting a real eye opener when they realize just how things have been going on.
Drivers who drive for safe companies ( and who are safe themselves) and owner operators who are safe ( such as yourself Jim) should not have a problem with CSA 2010. It’s the drivers who’ve been used, abused, and manipulated, and now want to be discarded by these companies and made “un-hireable” to other companies who are in a bad way.
A final food for thought:
CDL drivers coming into a company will have a “0″ safety rating because obviously there will be no 3 year violation look back for them. These driver zero “scores” will be added to company safety score averages and can give the illusion of having a safer company safety rating.
So, do you think there will be a big driver on CDL trainees and training? hmmmm
CSA 2010 is not as black and white as it appears. I could go on with many more aspects, but I’ll just leave it like this for now.