Job description - Truck driver

What is truck driving?
What is the job description of typical highway truck driver?

Many people do not know exactly what it takes to be a professional truck driver before starting a trucking career? It’s definitely not seating on driving seat, put on the cruise, listen the music and watch the scènetic route.

The job description of truck driver may not include all of following but in reality a OTR truck driver is going through all of them other then driving.

Route Planning, Map Reading, Trip Planning...Must be able to find most practical and time efficient route while avoiding truck restricted routes. Must be able to find new places in new cities on a nearly daily basis. Must know how to avoid dangerous situations such as low underpasses or impassable routes. Must read road signs - and fully understand the routing/sign system in order to avoid getting lost, wasting time and fuel and other potentially dangerous situations (i.e. low underpasses). Must know how to plan trip's fuel stops according to company policy.

Money Management...In order to make a good wage, a driver must learn good money management skills. A driver must also plan ahead for job related expenses, such as tolls, unloading fees, truck and/or trailer washes, etc. He or she must keep good track of expenses for purposes of taxes and to ensure proper reimbursement for company expenses.

Time Management...A driver must be able to accurately plan a trip to squeeze the most out of the time allowed. Without good time management, a driver will be late for pickups/deliveries and this may lead to job loss. Less severe but just as important, poor time management leads to unnecessary fatigue. A driver must learn the best routes to take, the best times of day for travel in certain areas and the nature of the terrain and how these factors affect travel time.

Paperwork...A driver is responsible for completing paperwork for each load hauled, as well as paperwork required for Hours of Service. Not completing this paperwork properly or on time may result in a paycheck being withheld or in the case of HOS, a hefty fine.

Diplomat...Must deal with dispatchers, safety department, other motorists, truck stop employees, shippers, receivers, law enforcement personnel, including highway patrol, local and city police and DOT officers as a professional.

Loading & Unloading... While many carriers pay for loading and unloading when required, others do not or at times, a receiver will not allow a driver to hire this work out. In such a case, the driver must be able to load or unload the freight.

Knowledge of Rules & Regs...A driver must know the rules and regulations that govern him. Ignorance of the law will not excuse a driver or get him out of an expensive fine. A driver must know, at minimum, rules that pertain to Hours of Service, FedReg and equipment related requirements. A driver must know how to load the freight in order to comply with weight limitations and how to adjust weight (between axles) in order to bring an overweight load into compliance.

Patience...A driver spends an unbelievable amount of time waiting on others. This may be at a dock or sitting in a traffic jam. Patience is an absolute prerequisite. Other vehicles will do obnoxious, irritating and dangerous things around you all day, every day. You get "cut off" numerous times every single driving day. People constantly pull directly out in front of big trucks, with no thought for their safety -- or yours. Many drive selfishly - others drive foolishly - and others have no idea that they are causing a problem. It doesn't matter, really, because the important thing is that you must learn to deal with these things on a daily basis and not to become angry every time because in the end, it only distracts from the job you need to be able to do. A truck driver is not immune to road rage - but he or she must learn how to deal with and control him/herself when dealing with other motorists.

Ability to Adapt...A driver must be able to adapt quickly according to the environment and the demands of the job. One day you may deliver a load at 8:00 AM but the next unloading appointment may be at 1:00 AM. Work hours are never the same. Along with work hours, eating hours and sleeping hours are rarely the same, either. They must constantly change according to the load. Beyond these issues, other factors are quick to change, also. One day a driver will be in the mountains and the next, in the desert. The weather changes can be dramatic, too.

Personal Safety...Must understand dangers of life on the road.

Mental Strength / Fortitude... A driver must often work when tired or very stressed. A driver is not "off" at 5:00 PM, and may actually just be starting his/her workday. Traffic, paperwork, law enforcement, dispatchers, etc can all contribute to a high stress level. While many people work when stressed, it is especially important that a driver learns to deal with stress factors because of the nature of the job - in other words, a big truck has great potential to cause massive injury. A distracted driver is not a safe one. Add to this the added worry about loved ones back home, homesickness, etc, and stress becomes a major factor.

After all of these skills, you have to know how to drive the truck.

Of course, a driver must be capable of safe operation of the vehicle - often nearly 70 foot of vehicle with a pivot point - in all situations and places.

City Traffic: Streets lined with cars on both sides with lanes so skinny in places that clearance is a matter of inches on either side. The driver must also be able to turn the vehicle into places not intended for 70 foot vehicles - meaning some creative and well thought out maneuvering is required. Cars will not usually understand what you are trying to do and will often honk, yell and go to extremes to go around you. Heavy traffic and congested freeways are par for the course.

Backing: While some places will provide sufficient space, a great many warehouses provide only ample space - if that. A driver must be able to dock the trailer where the shipper/receiver wants it. It may take 5 minutes or it may take 45 minutes, but in order to load or unload, you will not have a choice. In the city, you may have to stop traffic from either or both directions. You may have to jackknife into a dock. You may have to back down an alley. You may have to back in blind. Anything goes. No matter how bad or how tight the dock is, if you hit anything, it is 100% your fault. You may have to get out of the truck 100 times, you may have to stop 100 cars, but one way or another, you will have to get the trailer in the dock.

Mountains: Mountains present an extra challenge. A driver must be able to properly gauge at what speed and in which gear it is best to descend. He or she must understand how the weight of the load affects this decision. He or she must also make allowances when the weather and/or visibility is poor. The driver's carrier may expect the driver to put tire chains on when conditions warrant.

Bad Weather: Bad weather driving comes in many forms. A driver must learn to adjust to everything Mother Nature might throw at him, such as: Thunderstorms, Hail Storms, Tornadoes, Sand Storms, Snow, Ice, Sleet, Freezing Rain, Temperature Extremes, Fog.

Let me ask a new driver, "Is this what you thought it was before opting trucking as a career?"

GPS - I

GPS is the most important utility in the cab which makes life easier on the road. I can not imagine driving without my GPS.

Way back I have started driving without GPS unit and lost directions many times. In those days I was driving in team and we used to decide the route from the map book in advance and write it down in a peace of paper and keep it handy while driving. But that piece of paper was lacking much vital information which is on the GPS screen now. For e.g. exit no., truck stops’ falling on the route, whether the exit is on left or right, or far is the exit from now, any constructions on the route etc.

In those days I still remember, when I wake up from sleeper birth and take a passenger seat with map and check how far my team driver is? Is he making more stops while I am sleeping? I also tell him in advance when he takes over driving that we need to be at this place in next 11 hours. And to find out that you check those miles tables between cities located on the back of map book. It is very time consuming and painful.

I still see many drivers sitting on the driving seat and checking the map book when I park my truck at the truck stop at the end of day. I can imagine how difficult it would be for LTL drivers to see the map book and find routes.

There are many options when it comes to buying GPS for truckers. You can go for either handheld units or laptop with GPS chip and routing software. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

With Handheld units, it’s very tiny and compact compared to laptop, easy to carry and much cheaper. It also comes with FM tuner and mp3 player as added functionality in many handheld GPS units. It does not take more space in the cab and very easy to power up and always on. With touch screen bit easy to operate and having voice commands makes it more comfortable while driving.

Well, having above advantages it might be good for city driver or for small cars but not good for 18 wheelers. It does not give you truck route directions, many handheld units do not have street level routings, hard to update new routes and many of them does not give you multiple route choice with more additional stops in-between.

I strongly recommend laptop with GPS chip and routing software. It cost you more but has more advantages and wider functionality. You also have to buy power inverter which converts 12v DC to 120v AC for laptops which has least 100 Watt capacity and a laptop stand. You can save on laptop stand by either making your own, putting laptop on passenger seat if your cab is small or using your portable cooler as laptop stand which I use it in my truck.

Since I use laptop with GPS chip and routing software, I will provide more insights into what to look for buying in GPS chip and which are the best routing software available in the market. What are the problems with this routing software and how to deal with it. Stay tuned for next post in this GPS series.

About

For Truckers, Wanna’ be Truckers, Recruiters and all involved in transportation industry

OTR Trucking is about taking a close look into OTR driver’s life. How much OTR Trucker can make, recourses to make life on the road easier, pains and gains on the road, an insight for those aspirants looking commercial driving as a career, shippers and recruiters to know what it takes for driver to move their freight and all directly and indirectly involved in commercial driving/ trucking/ transport industry.

This blog is a humble try to put my experiences on the road and knowledge gained in this career for all those involved in this Industry. Many times I think, I wish some one could have told me this before and it could have saved my lot of energy, time and money. With this blog, I wish to provide a common platform to share those time and money savings tips for new and seasoned truckers.

Who is behind the OTR Trucking?

I am a professional OTR driver, now owner of a small fleet but still driving regularly to stay close with the industry and make more. I am in mid 40’s leaving in Toronto, Canada with wife and two kids.

Besides trucking I have passion for new technology and writing. I love to play with new software, electronic gadgets and video games and off course eating chicken at Popeyes. I love their spicy fried chicken.

You are always welcome to drop me a line anytime. I will appreciate your suggestions and tips on subjects/ areas to cover or already covered.

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Email: OtrTrucking [at] gmail [dot] com