It’s More than Just Driving
#TruckerTuesday
When I share with people that I am a truck driver, after the initial shock, they say things like “that’s a lot of driving” or “you must really like road trips. While both of those things are true, driving is not all a truck driver does. I figured I’d take you through a trip and explain what happens.
First you get your load. This happens a few different ways. If you own your own truck you can check the load board or go through a broker. The broker gets the loads off the board and charges you a percentage of the load. Other drivers that drive for a company get those loads from their driver managers.
Your load tells you where in the country you will pick up the load and where you will deliver it. It also gives you any special instructions regarding the load.
Next you head to pick up your load. You have a street address and are responsible to find out where to go. While GPSs are helpful you have to be aware of truck routes. Once you have arrived at your pick up location you back into the dock or you stop and open your doors where they ask. Depending on the company they may load your truck or you may be asked to help them load.
You are there until your truck is loaded whether that takes them an hour or 8 hours.
After you leave you head to your delivery destination with your freight. You repeat the process although they unload rather then load 😉
During your day you must also abide by DOT rules. This includes your logs and how long you drive. I’ll go into that next week.
Have any trucker questions? Email me at [email protected] with Trucker Tuesday as the subject.
Safe Travels!
Love it! I used to track Freight for John Deere right out of college. There is so much people don’t understand!
I have a lot of respect for truck drivers! They do a very vital and important job that can be difficult at times and it takes them away from their families instead of just being able to go home from the office every day. I thank you and all the other truckers out there for doing what you do, I really appreciate it!
There really is alot that goes into truck driving. It is not an easy job. My son did this for a couple of years. Not only the hard work, you are also away from home so much if you are an over the road driver. I wish you the best. God Bless
I worked for a trucking company (safety department clerk) for almost 7 years. There is so much that goes into the job of a truck driver and I always think about that when I drive past a truck.
That is so interesting! 🙂
Yay! Trucker Tuesday is back. 🙂 I used to do the bills of lading when we had our business and my favorite drivers were the Con-Way drivers. They were always amazing to work with and I loved working with them.