OK. I just signed up for a blog here. This is a totally new concept for me, and I'm not even sure why I started it; just sounded interesting.
I will be reading articles written by others to get a feel for this, but for now I'll just begin typing.
Where to start? Well, let's see, I'm currently between jobs. I've been off work since November due to an accident.
I was/am a truck driver. I was in Ohio, bobtailing (tractor, no trailer) to a shipper to pick up a pre-loaded trailer to haul down to South Carolina when another truck, fully loaded, pulled out of a truckstop without looking.
He broadsided me, doing a fair amount of damage to my truck. My back was injured in the wreck, so the company had me take a load back to Pennsylvania to our main terminal. Once there, I saw a doctor who ordered me to take some time off to rest my back.
The company didn't want to allow me the time off I needed to recouperate, so I quit. My fiance had to drive up from southern Virginia to pick me up and transport me home.
Now, although my back still hurts a bit, I am looking around for another job. One nice thing about being an experienced truck driver, finding a job is more a matter of choosing the job than really having to go out and find it.
I posted my resume on a couple of truck driver employment sites a week ago, and have been bombarded with phone calls and emails ever since.
I have my search narrowed down to a couple of companies, and will probably make a decision at the end of the week. I want to take my time now, and make certain that the company I choose to work for is going to be a good fit for myself, and for them.
The leading candidate is a company located right here in town. The pay is good, they offer free health insurance (a huge plus), and I would be home every night. In the past, my trucking jobs have kept me out on the road for anywhere from a week to three weeks at a time. It would be nice to have weekends off and be home nightly.
The other big plus with them is the freight is all no-touch, meaning that the driver isn't expected to unload, or help unload the freight. That is the number one rule for me. I do not unload freight. Some companies do actually expect their drivers to do this, without pay or for very little pay.
It has always amazed me that a company will pay a lumper (unloading service) anywhere from $80.00 to $300.00 to unload the freight, but expect the driver to do it for free, or for a maximum of $45.00.
As a driver, I make my money driving. The DOT regulates how many hours a day a driver can work, drive, etc... If I spend several hours unloading a trailer I will be too tired to drive, and will have used up too many work hours to be able to get very far anyway. Thus, I will have worked all day and made little or no money. Sorry, not going to do that.
The other company I am considering also has no-touch freight, pays pretty well, and will get me home every weekend. They are a good company to work for, but being home every night is sounding pretty good right now.
Like I said, I'll make a decision the end of the week, but am strongly leaning toward the home every night deal right now.
Ok, I've written enough now to bore the pants off of anyone who is reading this, so I'll end it now.