User-agent: Mediapartners-Google* Disallow: Trucks World News
Google
 
Loading

Mar 9, 2008

* USA - Just What is the Stereotypical "Truck Driver"?

What do you think of when you think "Trucker"? A southern "Good Old Boy" or "Redneck"? You would be surprised!


USA -Truck Driving and life on the road, by eslorence -March 7, 2008: -- ... While "old timers" had to sleep on boards across the front seats, the newest tractors have spacious sleepers, wide beds, and even closets. Aerodynamic bodies and power steering means that smaller people can now handle an eighteen wheeler.This has given rise to record numbers of ladies joining the industry. Combine this with the volatile job market, trucking has seen people from all walks of life joining the industry. It is just as common to meet an x-factory worker as it is to meet his former boss now driving a truck... I've met former doctors-yes doctors, pushed into trucking by high insurance rates. Former engineers, accountants, and all sorts of professionals. While many join for the "adventure" of the open road, many just start trucking for the income, or maybe just to "get away" from it all... In closing just remember that we're all just people out there, just trying to make a living down a long lonely... (Video from YouTube, by giraserg -May 13, 2007: "moldova truck drivers in the usa " - moldovenii in usa)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 7:52 AM  0 comments

Mar 1, 2008

Independent Truckers * USA - See End of the Road

Truckers, who felt unappreciated in the best of times, say they feel even more marginalized now

USA -The Associated Press, by ELLEN SIMON -1st March 2008: -- Trucker Robert Griffith is on the road three weeks out of four, pulling oversize loads like crane booms, railroad ties and air conditioning ducts. One of his biggest worries: How he'll find the money to buy his daughter a prom dress... As the cost of diesel doubled over the last four years, his take-home pay has plummeted, from $50,000 to $11,000 last year. He's literally burning money; he spent $64,000 on diesel in the last eight months. Since he canceled his satellite radio, he's on citizens band radio constantly (handle: Instigator) talking about what needs to change so truckers like him can survive... About nine percent of the nation's 3.4 million truck drivers are independent owner-operators, according to the Department of Labor. Without the independents, trucking will turn into a group of "regional and national oligopolies" that would send shipping prices higher when the economy improves, said John Saldanha, who teaches logistics at Ohio State University...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 6:22 PM  0 comments

Sep 16, 2007

Independent Truck Drivers * USA - Have It Tough

It has never been easy to be an independent truck driver and with the high fuel prices, high cost of insurance and over regulations and bureaucracy; including out of control taxes it is a wonder that there are any Independent truck drivers left at all.

USA -Truck Driver Jobs -September 15, 2007: -- And the ones who are left are upside down in truck payments and are not making very much money... Indeed, I am deeply troubled with the Trucking Industry in the US and the number of “Independent Truck Drivers” who have been forced into BK and trucks repo’ed... I remember once talking to an OK State Trooper and he said that he could flag 95% of the trucks from Mexico with Out of Service tickets... It is amazing... Anyway, I understand all these issues having been in the Trucking Industry. I see the same problems with Independent Truck Drivers and Owners as the American Farm Family in America. There are issues, and no it is not funny at all; the larger companies force undo restrictions on the small business person, who then cannot compete, even if they lower price... Then what do we get? Well, we get the larger companies cutting costs to bare bones, hiring mal-contents and newbies and increasing accident rates, although they try to hide them at the GAO reports and modify the statistics at the DOT and then we get more restrictions and regulations... (Photo from ensign.ftlcomm)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 5:10 AM  0 comments