| Truck Drivers: Not The Dangerous Ones On The | | | | name one either. |
| Road | | | | The bottom line is this: it's more difficult to get a job |
| Many people believe that truck drivers are "the | | | | as a commercial truck driver than it is to become an |
| dangerous villains of the highway." That they are | | | | EMT Basic, and ambulance workers are viewed as |
| constantly driving dangerously and erratically - scaring | | | | heroes - rightfully so because they save lives. I ask |
| anyone in their path with their 80,000-pound vehicles | | | | that you try to change your view of truck drivers |
| of menace - to deliver their freight of goods. | | | | and I'll name a few additional reasons why - food, |
| I've asked people what they envision a trucker to be | | | | clothes, cars, gas, home building supplies, and the |
| and they often describe/stereotype someone that | | | | computer you're using to read this. If you ate it, |
| might resemble a member of the Charlie Daniels Band. | | | | wore it, drove it, put it in or on a car, lived in a home |
| I hear "a smoker, a drinker, a criminal, a drug user, | | | | or apt, and are viewing this article then you've |
| uneducated, dirty." (please note this is not a slap at | | | | reaped the fruits of the trucking and transportation |
| any member of the aforementioned band - in fact, | | | | industry. Everything we eat, touch, or use has been |
| I'm a big fan of the CDB) | | | | on a commercial truck at some point. Everything. |
| The facts of life, and in this case the facts of the | | | | Think about it, unless you grew it or made it out of |
| modern day trucking industry, are quite the opposite. | | | | the earth with your own two hands, it was trucked |
| Truck drivers have to go to trucking school in order | | | | in to a store for you to purchase. I say it again: |
| to obtain the license to drive commercially. Then they | | | | Everything. |
| have to go through a long list of tests in order to | | | | Here's a ratio for your consideration - 4,000:1. |
| obtain employment with a trucking company. After | | | | Commercial truckers drive 4,000 times the number of |
| they're employed there are then miles upon miles of | | | | miles and get involved in an accident as compared to |
| legislation (no pun intended) governing every aspect | | | | standard drivers - referred to as 4-wheelers by |
| of their job. Everything from the hours of service | | | | those that drive 18-wheelers. This means, that if you |
| drivers can operate, the amount of freight they can | | | | drove 10 miles to work and got in an accident, and |
| carry, the type of freight they can haul, and the | | | | drove home from work that day and got in an |
| weight involved with their truck, trailer, fright, and | | | | accident, the commercial truck driver would have |
| fuel. As you can see, it's a lot more difficult than | | | | driven 80,000 miles and gotten into 2 accidents. Have |
| obtaining a standard state issued driver's license and | | | | you driven 20 miles and had 2 accidents? It's no big |
| delivering pizzas. | | | | deal for commercial drivers to go MILLIONS of miles |
| Then you have the trucking company standards. | | | | accident free. This can be attributed to the care |
| Almost every company requires a "clean and kept" | | | | these men and women take towards operating |
| look about their applicants. All companies perform | | | | safely on more than a day-by-day basis - it's moment |
| drug screens prior to employment and random | | | | by moment. The regulations and restrictions these |
| screens during employment. They all perform | | | | drivers abide by can also be attributed to their miles |
| background checks and MVR reports (motor vehicle | | | | upon miles of safety. |
| reports). They also perform what's called a DAC | | | | I authored this article with the hopes that it would |
| report - which is a transportation specific agency set | | | | get published and read by people not affiliated with |
| up to keep track of truck drivers and their work | | | | the trucking industry. I hope that in reading you may |
| histories. Trucking companies have tremendous | | | | have gained a new understanding of the men and |
| criteria they must meet just to get an approved | | | | women that are quite literally driving America. They |
| applicant, much less recruit and offer a job to a | | | | work hard and don't get the greatest of pay. It |
| driver with the hopes that they'll accept. Company | | | | takes a special person to commit your career to the |
| recruiting budgets to find quality drivers can run in the | | | | road so next time you see a truck driver, give them |
| millions of dollars - per month. Name another industry | | | | a wave. They'll appreciate it. |
| with these stringent of hiring standards and also has | | | | Authored by Kyle Jernigan |
| this high of an expense to recruit employees. I can't | | | | Copyright - 2007 - HiringTruckDrivers. |