Still drive, and love it, about 4,000 miles a week, give or take. But it's getting harder to make ends meet when everything is going against the driver. Between Hours of Service, D.O.T., fuel, and everybody else that think they need a piece of the truck driver's pie. I've made almost 120k this year and over half has gone to expences. My dad grossed as much as I do now in the '70s. With a fourth the overhead. You have to sacrifice a lot to drive O.T.R. and make money. Hometime being the main thing. Plus, the hours, 70 hours in 8 days. No more than 11 hours driving in a 14 hour workday. Then a manitory 10 hours off duty/sleeper berth. Basicly your life whittled down to 15 minute increments in a log book that any law enforcement can request at any time. And you must comply. And dangerous. I've had a shotgun, a knife, and a tire bat pulled on me in the last 11 years. Not knowing if the car at the intersection in front of you is paying attention to the traffic or their MP3 player, TV, or Bully Dog. Always looked down on, as a drug user, criminal, "Guilty until proven innocent." Even though most are not. But, even with all the negitive things, there is something about it, mostly freedom
, that makes it irresistable. Knowing that tomorrow you'll be someplace else. Not to mention the satisfactory feeling you get from a job well done:burnout . And the pay's not too bad either.
Last edited by Ford 1 : 10-21-2006 at 06:55 AM.