About 10 years ago, I was driving at like 2am in either Arkansas or Missouri with a friend (driving from Chicago to Houston) and we saw a huge adult bookstore full of big rigs in a packed parking lot. There were even big rigs circling the lot looking for a spot to park since it was so packed. When we drove a little further there was another one on the other side of the highway, same situation. Have you ever been to one of these? If so, what is it like? Me and my friend figured it was full of meth and hookers, big trucker orgys or something.
I can see where you would imagine that, but in all likelihood there were no truckers in the store, truckers will park anywhere that it's legal and sometimes when its illegal to park. Parking is a huge problem and we have to park somewhere so if there's a parking lot big enough, then we're going to park there. I'm sure the adult store gets some business from it. You can go to a truck stop with a hundred trucks parked there, go inside and there a just a few drivers in there. Most drivers now have TV, refrigerator, microwave, lap top, xm radio ,nice bed and everything they need. They have no need of going in.
And like that, my 10 year fantasy has been debunked..... Just kidding, thanks for the insight. This explanation completely changes my perception of truckers
btw: regarding the OP question ... Naismith here is a retired trucker. I once discussed with him what the tire tracks of trucks going off the road were from. I thought it was truckers ditching when confronted with an accident in front of them versus the alternative of staying on the road clobbering the accident victims, taking the moral hero road (so to speak). He said it was more likely truckers falling asleep versus there being an accident in front of them. What's your experience, bigdaddy?
Ive learned a lot in this thread! Interesting stuff and really makes you realize a lot of the myths and thoughts you have about truckers are, in fact, false. Not all of them but most of them
Doubtful I'd bet money that happens lol.. I was more or less talking about the driving by each other taking up all the lanes on the freeway.
Ain't no Trucker thread complete without the classic by Little Feat, Willin'... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb5xyLLgKbU
cant lie, something about just you and the road and the stars. AM radio or I guess nowadays its high tech satellite amirite? how do you feel about self driving trucks? are you going to transition to that? how? What is the chatter around the campfire about that one? can you do your own self driving truck? go fund me self driving trucking co. ftw. who is with me?
Not a trucker but I did a courier trip from NYC to Houston with a husband and wife team that was a huge learning experience about the life. He had been doing short haul for years but wanted to do long to build up more money to build a better life for them. She joined him somewhat against his wishes because of how hard it is but now it is kind of nice as they are doing it together. He said he had gained about 50 pounds in two years because of the bad eating habits and everything. Usually with their cargo (and certainly with what I was there for) there always had to be someone in the cab for security and insurance reasons. I "slept" for a couple of hours buckled into the top bed. You really feel the wind and movement up there. I heard a lot of the chatter and "hey driver" kind of stuff. Some of it was funny but there were also some real nastiness. My guy would just turn it off when the arguments started. Also had to ride through a serious rain and wind storm which wasn't much fun. Was really fascinating because they were independent operators within FedEx Custom Critical. So they had no idea what their next jobs would be until often at the very last minute. Or they would just drive to a city where they would expect better jobs would come in (I think they said they would drive to Dallas on their own dime because of the time of week with more jobs going out of there). Then they had to calculate the pay versus the distance and expenses and such to determine it was worth it. Hearing about all of that and then the decisions that go into when they will allow for the splurge of paying for showers or even a room every now really floored me with the constant uncertainty and calculations. Seems they were doing well in their savings, though.
I use Iheart radio and listen to all of my old am stations including 790. Xm for all Astro,Rockets and Texans games. We do the cell phones more than anything, hands free of course. I have a group of about 10 drivers that we all conference call we do with each other, some more than others. Talking with each other helps pass the time, we also look out for each other in many ways. I do enjoy riding at night, listening to the radio, ballgames are my favorite, excited about the Astros coming up. There is talk about self driving trucks, but it's mostly just childish banter. Everyone looking forward and saying they will always need drivers, I think it's a defense mechanism to protect themselves. I have no worries about myself, because they will surely have a need for drivers, like in any automated process, people are still needed. But when the time comes I will definitely look at it.
I guess I could be called a truck driver. I got my CDL about 20 years ago. I drove vacuum trucks and roll off container trucks for about 10 years. We serviced refineries, chemical plants and occasionally the oil field. All local. We typically made $15 per hour then. Its up to around $20 now. I have been on the management side of the above for 10 years. Started at dispatch, then operations manager and now fleet manager. Pay is ~75k a year. Depends on size of company.
During the playoffs I'm on the highways endlessly. To Chicago for one game, Indianapolis for another, Milwaukee last year, on and on. Between that and other summertime pursuits I rack up thousands and thousands of miles. On behalf of idiot non-truckers everywhere, let me apologize on behalf of us. For not recognizing blind spots. For not getting over with a truck on the shoulder, or not recognizing that you're trying to get over because there's a truck or car stuck on the shoulder. For not signaling. For **************!*&(*^&^(*** cell phones, the worst things that have ever happened to traffic safety. For those that pass you and immediately slow down in front of you, forcing you to downshift. For those that just camp out 20 feet behind you for miles on end. For those that don't blink their lights "OK, go ahead" when you need to pass. For those that don't check your mirrors from below when either passing or boxed in next to each other to see if we see each other. And, again, for those that use their cell phones while they drive.
That means he is driving a truck without a trailer. Either a truck capable of pulling a trailer, such as a 18 wheeler without trailer, or a truck that does not have the capability to pull a trailer, such as a dump truck or a cement mixer truck.
