The finest job I have ever had was over-the-road trucking; I am 45 years old. Trucking takes dedication, perseverance, hard effort, and a positive perspective to succeed. Unfortunately, many novice drivers damage their careers before they ever get started. Let us talk about a few frequent errors that rookie truck drivers make.
Get Ready For the Future Challenge
You first need to realize that trucking will be one of the hardest things you will ever do. Before you accomplish your objectives, you must navigate an emotional minefield. You will be pushed to your absolute limits throughout CDL training, and you could even come to second-guess your choice to pursue this line of work. Keep in mind that suffering is just fleeting. In the broad scheme of things, the difficulty of overcoming a few months of CDL training and a year of rookie challenges is nothing. Maintain a positive outlook and endure.
You could endure a year of learning from your failures and developing your trucking abilities if I managed to withstand 15 years of suffering in the postal service. You will eventually have the skills necessary to drive that 80,000-pound, 70-foot-long truck. You will also learn how to manage your time effectively, get acquainted with the roads, and locate parking even in the busiest places.
The pressure associated with learning then lessens. The only tension you experience now is the pressure of living a truck driver’s life. Less challenging support is required. You interact with dispatch effectively and are aware of their expectations. You are familiar with mechanical faults and know how to recognize and fix them. You have accumulated a great deal of experience and the associated confidence.
Life is awesome!
Have The Right Expectations
You must first get rid of preconceived notions about trucking to survive your first year on the job. Forget it, whatever your idealized interpretation of it may be. It is just as much fiction as the dream I had the night before about Gerard Butler’s loincloth from the movie 300.
There may be days when you will sweat profusely and feel sticky even after two showers. There may be times when you are driving through a storm or snowstorm, and the wind is brutally rocking your vehicle when you realize you need to go to the bathroom. There will be days when you want to punch your obnoxious trainer, smash the truck with a hammer, and cut the driver’s head off for refusing to allow you space to reverse into a dock.
You must be adaptable since things out here may change in a heartbeat. A mechanical issue or a traffic jam might cause your delay. Maybe they canceled the shipment when you got to the shipper. You could go 1,000 miles with a shipment only to be diverted because another recipient needs the product immediately. The world of trucking is quite dynamic. The truth of life is that circumstances are always changing.
To deal with these circumstances, you must be a versatile problem solver. These actions are not being taken on purpose. Nobody is to blame. You are not a victim of a failure on the part of someone. Deal with that; that is simply the way trucking is. Trucking is not for you if this atmosphere makes you unhappy. Okay, But before you abandon up, give it a year to work.
These situations could irritate a novice driver, but they are unimportant to an experienced one.
A driver had a three-stop load and was aware she lacked time to complete the appointments in a single day. She tried her hardest, yet she fell short. A knowledgeable driver would have communicated to dispatch, “By receiver #2, a delay. Today’s ETA is 1800.” The vehicle would be parked, we would go to bed, and the dispatch would take care of it. They may either reschedule the appointment or send a different driver to pick up the cargo from us.
Nobody except yourself is harmed by worrying about things you cannot control. Once, I texted my dispatcher, “I apologize, but my “turbo booster” is in repair. I have no chance of making deliveries to two locations at once.” Both novice and expert drivers show concern, although the latter know how to manage the circumstance without becoming too anxious.
Many drivers, such as myself, sometimes have inflated notions of who they are. I believed that I would ace the CDL test the first time around and get my license straight away. I didn’t, which devastated me.
The same thing happened to one of my trainees, who battled for a week throughout the assessment. It eroded his confidence and caused him to make foolish errors.
Be Confident, But Humble
While confidence is wonderful, being haughty may get you into much trouble. Drivers who are too confident often struggle and cause more accidents. The same arrogant people believe they should be paid more since they “topped the class at CDL school.” That is meaningless. Or “I should not earn 2 CPM less since I did not have an accident in training.” Then what? You traveled between 10,000 and 15,000 kilometers, and you believe it has some significance? We will check to see whether you are still accident-free when you return in another 100,000 kilometers. You are just worth the initial payment that the business gave. Expecting a better salary is ludicrous since they will probably be paying for part of the harm you will do.
Perfectionists are another personality type that may suffer. They often criticize themselves for making foolish beginner errors that all drivers commit. In their first year of driving, 95% of new drivers will lock themselves out of their vehicles, have a small accident, get lost, be late for appointments, and almost drop a trailer. Therefore, when you make a mistake, you are in good company. Accept it and use it as a lesson.
One of my students made a very little beginner error, and rather than persevering, she gave up and left the class. Despite my best efforts to reassure her that she was doing well, she continued to cry and insist that either she improve or quit.
Sometimes new drivers who have not even finished CDL school will say they want local drivers during the day, to be at home every day, to have weekends off, to earn a lot of money with good benefits, to haul mostly drop-and-hook freight, to work with new equipment, and to have an automatic transmission. It is ridiculous to anticipate obtaining all those things right out of CDL school. These are attractive positions, and experienced drivers will be given preference. If you expect to get them immediately, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
Even if you get nearby employment, developing the skills required to do the chores safely and on schedule will take time. As a novice driver, doing a local job can make you more stressed out and might result in an accident. Finding another work will not be easy since every accident you have will be on your record. I believe a novice looking for a local job immediately is ignorant of the danger involved or the necessary abilities.
Don’t Be A Know-It-All
The new driver who attempts to dictate how things are or will be to us is the one that worries me the most. The fact that this motorist often downplays their prior traffic violations, drug use, or work ethic shows that they have no regard for the law or other people. They act as if they already know everything, disrespecting the information and expertise that actual drivers have accumulated through time.
Initially, trucking will wear you out, so try to maintain concentration. Do not stress about paying for hobbies or online education. There will not be any time. We are not attempting to spoil your celebration. We are telling you the truth about adjusting to a new way of life that involves a 24-hour workday and continual change.
I like writing, but even though I have had five of my books published, I can not find time to get back into creating novels. I now fulfill my ambition to write by contributing to Trucking Truth. I have to change and evolve. You will need to make concessions and get used to your new way of life if you want to pursue a career in trucking.
When your expectations do not match reality, pause to reflect on the distinction between desires and necessities. Two former pupils boarded my truck because they “needed” to earn $800 a week. This is manageable. Both were making between $1300 and $1500 per week when they finished their training and moved solo.
Soon after, they were whining to me about the freight slowdown and their dismal profits. My answer was, “Do you need or desire $1500 per week? You informed me that you simply need $800. Be glad that things are going so well since some weeks you almost doubled that. They will return once things start up again because you have shown you can manage those distances.”
Once they saw their potential, the lesser payments were no longer satisfactory. Even though they exceeded their initial expectations, both people now felt disappointed. While they were still producing more than they said they required, this was no longer enough for them.
Avoid becoming your worst enemy.
For new drivers, adhere to these fundamental rules:
- Do not demand more of yourself than is reasonable.
- If you are giving your best effort, be content with your outcomes.
- Do not overvalue yourself.
- Be prepared to compromise.
- Maintain balance
- Think about the distinction between desires and necessities.
- Be honest with yourself about your abilities.
- Be prepared to make errors, and do not punish yourself for them.
- Be open-minded
- Pay attention to people who have achieved success in this field.
- Make every encounter a teaching moment.
Utilize every chance to learn. Ask the technician many questions if your vehicle needs to be serviced. Ask for further details while you circle the vehicle with him. Talk with your dispatcher as you see him working for a while. Take notice not to be “that driver” after hearing the absurd scenarios that drivers put themselves in. If you are a novice driver, enjoy the learning process. If you are an experienced driver, keep learning and teach others what you have learned.
Good luck and stay safe.