Is there a stigma around the Truck Driving industry? How do you view truck drivers? Do they never shower while on the road? Do they live in trailers and never go home? Do they go to the bathroom in a bucket to save themselves five minutes of stopping time in a rest area? Are they running a truck so old they get poor fuel mileage, and have to spend each waking minute fixing the truck themselves? Unfortunately, I would have believed those things being a normal part of truck driver life viewing a video I saw on social media lately.

A film came through my social media stream that was a short documentary done by a college student about an independent owner-operator. The student drove with the truck driver for a two day trip from the South to New York State. The video highlights the fact that the driver is making little money and consequently had to fix his truck himself due to lack of funds. He lived in a trailer in Virginia that he only went home to for a few weeks each year. The trailer had a variety of snakes living under it that he seemed happy to let stay there. He had many unpaid loans and bills and had to run around a certain State due to problems with his permit. His main issue was that the “hours of service” rules were holding him back from making money although he had plenty of time to walk the dog that rode with him. As I watched this video, many red flags rose up in my mind about things this driver had done wrong, and I was aware of how this video comments poorly on the trucking industry as a whole.
Everyone has their right to live the way they want, let’s get that clear right off the bat. This man has chosen to stay out on the road for much of the time. A truck as old as his should have been replaced many years ago. Some financial issues from the past seemed to be the reason he was repairing the truck himself. He talked about having to repair a cross member because it was rusting out, a sure sign you have kept your truck too long. As an independent he didn’t have a solid contract and was getting all his loads through a load broker causing him to have unsteady mileage income. Ultimately the video showed the driver to be more of a nomad than anything else.

Again, I have no problem with someone living this way if it is the way they choose to live. However, that isn’t the way we all live, and the trucking industry can look very different from that. I know some independent owner-operators, and they have much better equipment than what was shown in the video. A majority of the drivers and owner-operators on the road have done their research and do very well on the road. In fact, in an unrelated article on small businesses from a trusted business website, it was reported that the fastest growing small businesses are owner-operators in the trucking industry.

What upsets me about the video is the public often views all truck drivers like that person and that is far from the truth. Making a video that showed both sides of the industry would have been much more realistic. Perception is everything! Let’s show the public the real industry and the people involved with it. Let’s promote how valuable the transportation industry is to the economy. Let’s promote the real trucking industry and not the stereotypes. Can we even wonder why there is a recruiting shortage?

About the Author

Bruce Outridge has been in the transportation industry for over 30 years and is author of the books Driven to Drive, Running by the Mile, and host of The Lead Pedal Podcast. Challenger Motor Freight Inc. is one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies (platinum member) and is looking for quality team members. To learn more about opportunities with Challenger visit their website at www.challenger.com