In the previous article I covered some of the areas that I miss about driving OTR (Over The Road) so I guess it is time to flip the coin and look at the aspects that I do not miss at all. Have a feeling this list is going to be much longer
Finding A Place To Park For The Night
Thankfully by working for a mega company they had a ton of terminals around the United States however sometimes getting to a terminal was just not possible so I had to find a place to park for the night and it caused a ton of stress especially at the beginning
There are areas in North America where rest areas and truck stops are few and far between so finding a spot after 5:00pm could be a real neat trick. Most shippers and receivers do not allow you to stay overnight on their property which just adds to the problem
If for whatever reason you get delayed at a shipper/receiver and you attempt to find a spot later in the evening it could be next to impossible. That truck stop that you planned on stopping at fills up really quickly when the sun goes down and the last spot at the rest area was filled up by an RV
I kept starting earlier and earlier in order to ensure I would find a spot at the end of my day
Trying To Keep To A Schedule
An area I struggled with at the beginning of driving OTR was keeping to a schedule and at times it was just impossible. Certain shippers want you to deliver at an exact time so you have to alter your schedule in order to comply. Of course once you get there you could be waiting for awhile to get unloaded even though you showed up early or on time which of course puts your schedule out of whack
Unless you are running a dedicated route you are constantly trying to balance your Hours Of Service (HOS) and keeping the shipper/receiver happy
Unpaid Work
The problem with being paid on a Cent Per Mile basis is that unless the truck is moving you are not making any money. Yes some companies cover ares such as border crossing, drop and hooks and so forth however they are normally a fraction of what you may make when your driving sixty miles per hour
The shipper/receiver takes hours to get you loaded or unloaded chances are you are sitting there for free. Companies normally pay a detention amount after two hours however those first two hours you are not getting paid.
The company does not have a load to get you out of the area you could be sitting all day for the next load. Sure they will give you a certain amount for waiting however it is a fraction of what you should be making
The CPM is an outdated method that should be thrown away as it encourages drivers to speed and drive recklessly. The second a driver steps into a truck he/she should be paid until he/she leaves the truck for the day
Waiting
As I mentioned in the previous section you could be stuck at a shipper/receiver for hours at a time. They want you there in a specific window but for whatever the reason they are unable to unload you in a reasonable time so you are stuck waiting
Your company sends you to Pennsylvania for example to deliver whatever however there is no freight that will send you back to your terminal or my case Country you are waiting again. I have waited more than two days for a load to take me back to Canada on numerous occasions
Home Time
This is an essential area for most drivers as we have obligations at home that need to be taken care of. Depending on the company you work for home time could be a thirty six hour reset at home so you get home Saturday morning and are expected to be back in the truck Monday morning or it could be you work for a couple of weeks straight and then you get a few days off
I use to work four weeks on with five to seven days off at the end of the period. So of course I used that time to book appointments, set up visits with family and what have you. I would book my days off weeks in advance yet the route planner would screw it up.
I know so many CDL drivers who quit their company because of screw ups surrounding home time
Lonely Oh So Lonely
What the average person does not understand is that the majority of time for truck drivers is spent by themselves. They may have the odd conversation with a shipper/receiver or a person working at a truck stop but the rest of their day is spent by themselves.
For some personality types this is not a big deal however if you need stimulation from another person I hope you have a good cellphone plan
CB radios in the past was a way that drivers would communicate with each other however the trend seems to have moved to those fricken headsets that every second driver seems to be wearing and that is attached to their heads
Health
It is a neat trick trying to stay healthy on the road. If the truck you are driving does not have an inverter you are stuck eating things that can be heated up in a lunchbox cooker or eating out of the truck stop
If you do have an inverter at least you can set up a microwave or a hotplate but still your food options are limited. Running to a grocery store when you run out of food is not a viable option in most cases with a semi truck
The other obvious factor is that you are sitting for long periods of the day, every day, which no doctor will tell you is a good idea
There is a reason that obesity is such a problem in the truck driving industry
Well there is just a few items that I do not miss when driving OTR. Needless to say everyone is going to have areas that get under their skin more than others. I guess there is a pretty obvious reason why OTR drivers start looking for a local job after they get their two years of experience under their belt.
