My husband is a truck driver and let me tell the money stinks. Everyone says whats the big deal how come they make all this money and all they have to do is drive. Well to those people go out get in your car and drive 4000 miles this week and never leave your car unless its to use the bathroom or eat. Sleep in your car and drive 14 hours straight wihtout sleep...do this for a year and then you can say what you want. Oh by the way do it all alone without anyone else there with you to talk to and converse with.
Trucks drivers are so under respected...yeah they might be grouchy sometimes and look unkept but you know what all of us would if we were driving a 60foot truck with millions of dollars worth of merchandise on it in traffic like say New York or Los Angelos....most of us cant even stand it in a car let alone trying to take said truck across four lanes of traffic to make your exit. They get flipped off and horns blowed at em all the time. Cars are constantly jumping in front of them and cutting them off and not stoping to think that the truck they just cut off needs alot more space to slow down than a regular vehicle. Here are some cons of being a truck driver that most people dont think about.
The money stinks unless your working for a very prominent company...not likely since when you decide the pay isnt enough they can always grab some kid outta school to do it for them at lower pay.
Unless your a company driver you have to pay all your fuel...think about spending 800 bucks for a fill up in a truck that gets about 10 miles per gallon.. you have to pay all your tolls,scales and for all the permits you need to go from one state to another...you have to pay to have your own authority and you have to pay for all repairs needed and regualr maintence..people complain about a 30 dollar oil change you should see the bill for an oil change on a semi. or new tires that wear out faster than normal cause your always moving.
You are self employed so you have to keep up with all your taxes and deductions all year. And you pay self employment tax which is double since you have no employer paying half like those with a 1040.
You are away from home 90% of the time missing holidays birthdays and you have no sick leave. If something happens that you need to take time off then no money comes in during that time.
You live out of a suitcase constantly truck drivers dont stay in motels they sleep in thier truck which can be a pain alot of the time...Yeah you can put in a TV or something but when would you ever have time to watch it? when your not driving your sleeping.
You might take a load to CA and half to sit and wait for days to get one back towards home cause you cant just turn around and go home if theres no loads. You would lose money that way.
The only pro at this point about being a truck driver is at least you have a job..some get lucky and land a good paying job driving but 7 outta 10 drivers are barely making it by. And they are doing it alone. They dont see thier kids and family for weeks sometimes.
So next time your out on the road and your thinking about cutting some driver off please think twice...you wouldnt have that car your in if a driver hadnt delivered it..in fact look around you right now and point out some things in your home that a truck driver didnt deliver at some point. If they all quit tommorow what would America do? Just alittle something to think about.How come truck drivers dont get the respect they deserve?I have to agree with you on most of the stuff you say. Truck drivers are not respected mostly because the majority of our population is so shallow that they only see the outside image of a person and judge them by it. It is very obvious for anyone who traveled cross country in their car that after doing so you get scared looking at yourself in the mirror that traveling 5 - 10 straight without being home it is very hard to keep yourself in good shape. By saying truck driving is not a real job, it like saying an airline pilot is not a real job, there are a lot of similarities between them. A professional truck driver not only drives the truck, he also keeps it well maintained (for you diesel mechanic), keeping up with tight schedules/deadlines/appointments, filling out proper documentation, and self managing yourself on the go. As regards to pay, it varies quite dramatically from place to place. You can make anywhere from $30,000 - $70,000 as a driver and anywhere from $40,000 - $100,000 as an owner operator so in reality you can make a pretty good living (if you can call this %26quot;living%26quot;) driving a truck as long as you are not standing around.How come truck drivers dont get the respect they deserve?OH BOO HOO!!!!!, It's very simple, go out and get a real job!How come truck drivers dont get the respect they deserve?wow. what a rant. I think a blog would be a better place for this.How come truck drivers dont get the respect they deserve?I feel the same about it being the fact that i am truck driver my self. although some people may not consider this a job it is . Because if we were to stop one way or the other they would end up loosing there jobs. Cause we transport 99 % of things anyhow. thanks for the concern
