Be a Professional Driver On the Road and Off

by Hervy
(OKC)

This simply means you are not on the block with your homies. Show some home training. Don't be cursing, talking about sex, drugs, or gossiping negatively about your trucking company, etc.

If your wondering why I am stating this, it's because I have talked to customers (with an S....customersssss) who complain about drivers with just that attitude! I know,Wow.

While driving you are also expected to drive in a professional manner. You will have formal training, insight and experience. In other words, you should be one of the most defensive drivers on the road.

You can't drive like other drivers on the road even if before you got in the truck, you yourself was an aggressive, irresponsible, immature four wheeler.

You don't want to get back at those drivers either. More is expected and required of us in order to be safe! Lol, sure it will be tough sometimes but that's trucking life.

I have said this already but I will include it because it......

Never blow off appointment times or schedules. People need to be able to depend on the schedule. Sometime operations in the company are planned based on appointment times of freight delivery or pick-up.

If they used what called JIT (stands for just-in-time) inventory or warehousing your delivery could shut down an entire shift or possibly a plant depending on how long you goof off. Don't goof off.

Now, will you be lied to about the time that you need to be there? Yes sometimes. Will they make YOU wait sometimes? Yes. These are the problems that government should make trucking companies and shippers/receivers solve.

Trucking companies AND drivers should be compensated for delays, by shippers and receivers. Since they don't do it often on their own instead of continuing to play with the hours of services. (which is a symptom of one of the problem, not the problem)legislation should force them to compensate after a certain period of time. (and they could fine us after a period of being late too without breakdowns, that's fair)

HOWEVER..... That should not make you try to retaliate by blowing off you appointments. You don't know when they really do need you there at the time expected. The truckers that don't care about their appointment times are expendable. Don't be that guy/gal.

If you sign up for trucking, be a professional driver and remember how important you are to the economy.


The Professional Truck Driver