Truck Driving is not for Woosies/Pansies.
Truck Driving is not for Woosies/Pansies. If you are thinking about driving a truck you had better take into consideration the long hours that you will put in. The Department of Transportation (DOT) regulates the number of hours you can drive in a day as well as the number of hours you can work. Truck drivers are allowed to drive eleven of the fourteen hour workday each day. This means that they get to break down three hours across their fourteen hour day to take breaks from driving. These breaks are normally used up for refueling the truck, going to the rest room, stopping to check things that appear to have gone wrong with the truck while driving, doing enroute inspections at every stop, oh, and eating meals if you have enough time left over to do so.
The other ten hours out of your day is your break time. During this time you try to get at least five or six hours of sleep, which leaves you with four hours to do with what ever you want to. You had better want to do your trip planning during some of this four hours or you may get lost. Ten hours to shower, eat, sleep, and shit (and trip plan) is not a lot of time off at the end of the day before it starts all over again. So if you think you are going to watch a little TV, a DVD, video, or entertain yourself, you had better plan on letting go of a little sleep, shower, trip planning, eating, or forget about Mother Nature (It is not nice to forget about Mother Nature, she will catch up with you sooner or later.).
You can work up to 70 hours, which is only counting your work and drive time, before you have to get at least 34 hours off. No, 48 hours off is not guaranteed. DOT says truck drivers only need 34 hours off in order to reset their 70 hours in order to start all over. Canada is now requiring at least 48 hours off in order to reset the 70 hours. So if a truck driver is going to drive into Canada, the driver had to have at least a 48 hour break during their last break before driving into Canada.
Don't get me wrong, I love driving a truck. I am no woosie. I am 51 years old and still have a lot of years left on me. It is funny seeing some of these kids laboring to do work that is so easy for me, even though I have sat in front of a desk for the past 25 years of my life pushing paperwork and running computers. I welcome the change.
Our country is so beautiful, and the peace and quiet I get while driving down the road is so serene, it makes all of the rough times of driving a truck worth it. I do miss my Wife and our pets, but I do get to see them on a regular basis since I have started driving the dedicated account. When I drove national I was lucky to see them once every couple of weeks. Now I see them every weekend.
The other ten hours out of your day is your break time. During this time you try to get at least five or six hours of sleep, which leaves you with four hours to do with what ever you want to. You had better want to do your trip planning during some of this four hours or you may get lost. Ten hours to shower, eat, sleep, and shit (and trip plan) is not a lot of time off at the end of the day before it starts all over again. So if you think you are going to watch a little TV, a DVD, video, or entertain yourself, you had better plan on letting go of a little sleep, shower, trip planning, eating, or forget about Mother Nature (It is not nice to forget about Mother Nature, she will catch up with you sooner or later.).
You can work up to 70 hours, which is only counting your work and drive time, before you have to get at least 34 hours off. No, 48 hours off is not guaranteed. DOT says truck drivers only need 34 hours off in order to reset their 70 hours in order to start all over. Canada is now requiring at least 48 hours off in order to reset the 70 hours. So if a truck driver is going to drive into Canada, the driver had to have at least a 48 hour break during their last break before driving into Canada.
Don't get me wrong, I love driving a truck. I am no woosie. I am 51 years old and still have a lot of years left on me. It is funny seeing some of these kids laboring to do work that is so easy for me, even though I have sat in front of a desk for the past 25 years of my life pushing paperwork and running computers. I welcome the change.
Our country is so beautiful, and the peace and quiet I get while driving down the road is so serene, it makes all of the rough times of driving a truck worth it. I do miss my Wife and our pets, but I do get to see them on a regular basis since I have started driving the dedicated account. When I drove national I was lucky to see them once every couple of weeks. Now I see them every weekend.
posted by RickSmith | 8:49 AM
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