Lots of jobs in trucking, but drivers find it's a tough haul

[deathtopumpkins]

If they need additional capacity, there are plenty of other options available. Why not use the medians on interstate highways?

I think there is a similar set up in Los Angeles in the median of....I think I-10?

In reference to currently existing freeways, wouldn't you have to rebuild all of the overpasses to eliminate the bridge piers that are in the medians?  Then another overpass would need to be built to get the railroad out of the median.

I really like this idea....no grade crossings, plenty of space for multiple main tracks (in many places), & a fairly direct path from point A to point B.  But as with all great ideas, it would be costly.

It's being done more and more often. There are numerous examples of rapid transit lines in freeway medians (Chicago Red Line, Los Angeles Green Line), and a fair number of other rail lines too - there's the Metrolink commuter line in the median of I-10 that you already mentioned, recently a new line to the APM container terminal in Portsmouth, VA was added to the medians of VA 164 and I-664, and I know I've seen other examples I just can't recall now.

Edit: ...and NE2 beat me to the Portsmouth example.

[NE2]

It's being done more and more often. There are numerous examples of rapid transit lines in freeway medians (Chicago Red Line, Los Angeles Green Line),

Rapid transit is a different creature, since it doesn't have the same curvature and grade constraints as freight rail.

[deathtopumpkins]

It's being done more and more often. There are numerous examples of rapid transit lines in freeway medians (Chicago Red Line, Los Angeles Green Line),

Rapid transit is a different creature, since it doesn't have the same curvature and grade constraints as freight rail.

Exactly, which is why I didn't go into detail on it. Just thought I'd mention it in addition.

[kphoger]

Is it possible to make decent money as a truck driver without working insane hours or fudging the log book?

Many LTL drivers I've known have said LTL is the way to go.  Keep in mind that you have to do grunt work starting out, then work your way up.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Besides the difficulties in driving a large vehicle, the biggest problem I'd have being a truck driver is having to pretty much stick to the interstates and not being able to take the long way on a whim.

You'd quickly find you wouldn't want to in many places.  Trucks are not fun to drive on narrow, winding back roads.  I *prefer* to keep it on the interstate (or a high quality four lane divided) as much as possible.

Is it possible to make decent money as a truck driver without working insane hours or fudging the log book?

It is if you find the right company.  Starting out, you'll have to put in your time first.  Once you get a year or two of experience, you /can/ move on to greener pastures.  Things to look for in a company are an adequate number of drivers (i.e. not a shortage) and low turnover with *little or no advertising*.  Companies that advertise on every restaurant napkin are to be avoided - after all, /why/ do they need to advertise so much?

Many of us are out here (myself included) because we love to drive all over creation, so living in the truck isn't as big of an issue as many make it out to be - therefore, if we're treated right, we're not going anywhere - so if a company has to advertise like crazy to keep the seats filled, there's likely a problem with that company.

[triplemultiplex]

I can see some advantages to driving truck as a roadgeek.  I don't get to go to other places around the country often enough.  Plus it's one of those jobs that seems really cool when you're a kid.  I'm always impressed how truckers can back those rigs up using their mirrors as well as I can drive forward.

But there's a lot that could suck about that job, even if you didn't have a wife and/or children you'd be away from.  I bet a lot of guys get stuck driving the same goddamn route pretty much every day.  And maneuvering one of those monsters in heavy traffic must suck total balls.  I don't even like driving a manual car in stop and go traffic.  Not to mention it'd be so easy to kill someone in a collision.  I hear some of those bigger companies have dozens of vehicles involved in wrecks every single day.  I'd be willing to bet that any mistakes you make driving truck follow you around a lot longer.  Any minor moving violation is probably an excuse for somebody to pay you less money.  Because treating their drivers like auto insurance companies treat their policy holders is what I would expect them to do.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

I don't think I've ever heard of a tractor trailer job that entails driving the same route every day.  That's something generally relegated to paper routes and mail/parcel carriers.

I can only name two times where I drove the exact same route. They were over a month apart, and it hasn't happened to me since.

Heavy traffic is not fun, but it's nowhere near as bad as I imagined it would be.  In fact, I'd wager to say it's tougher to drive a manual car in heavy traffic.  You're clutching every shift in a car; in a truck, you only use the clutch to stop and start; you float-shift these things.

Most companies only search 5 years back on your MVR, regardless of your experience.

Yes, it's easy to kill someone in a collision - very easy - but good training can give you very helpful techniques to avoid this.  There are plenty of old drivers with millions of safe, accident-free miles under their belt.   

[Brandon]

I don't think I've ever heard of a tractor trailer job that entails driving the same route every day.  That's something generally relegated to paper routes and mail/parcel carriers.

Wouldn't a driver delivering to a retail operation such as a grocery take a similar route each time?  I remember seeing the same drivers on these routes when I had to unload trucks at a few different grocery stores during college.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

You might drive the same routeS every week in certain dedicated situations, but driving the same route every day is extremely rare.

[vdeane]

One of my relatives is a trucker working for Wegmans (before that he drove a cement truck and we made mafia jokes because he was an Italian driving a cement truck).  He goes to lots of different stores in many states rather than servicing just one or two.