With a slight hissing sound the vehicle stopped. After checking the brakes, parking lights, and instrument panel, the driver opened the door, jumped down to the white pavement and ran over to the building.
"Well, look who's here," the counterman called as the snow-covered figure slammed the door and stamped on the doormat. "You're ten minutes behind your usual schedule. Not going to let a little storm slow you up, are you?" he teased.
"You should see it up there," the other replied and pointed up the road. "I just barely missed two trucks that had jackknifed this side of the pass. I couldn't stop my rig on that slick. So I called for help on my CB. I'm lucky I made it down the grade without skidding off the road."
The woman shrugged out of her coat, shook it, and then brushed the snow off her hair. "My children should see me tonight," she observed. "They think their mom has a cinch of a job sitting up in that truck cab, wheeling down the highway at sixty. So does my husband, for that matter!"
Joan Doran is one of the many women who drive large long-distance trucks today. They drive because they need to earn money, they enjoy the freedom of the open road, and they like the responsibility of driving a $100,000 machine loaded with expensive cargo.
Joan is one of the growing numbers of women truckers. Most truckers live near large cities and manufacturing centers where there are many truck terminals. On the other hand, some drivers specialize in transporting such goods as minerals or agricultural products and live in rural areas.
A good proportion of these long distance truck drivers, work for companies that offer services to businesses in general. Some are employees of specialized companies, such as furniture manufacturers that own and operate their own trucks. A number of drivers also own their own trucks and either operate independently, serving a number of businesses, or work under a lease arrangement to a trucking company.
Note should also be made of the industrial truck operators who drive small electric-powered trucks and forklifts within industrial plants. Their vehicles haul heavy machinery, motors, parts, and other materials to and from all locations in a factory or industrial complex.
Employment Outlook
The job outlook for long-distance drivers is good. The number of jobs in this field is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2005. There will be a corresponding growth in the amount of freight carried by truck over long distances If the nation's economic growth lives up to economists' projections, thus increasing the demand for drivers.
Still, we should point out some interesting factors that might affect the job market for long-distance drivers. Larger trucks will increase the amount of freight each driver can haul, thus cutting down somewhat the number of trucks needed. At the same time, however, some experienced drivers will transfer to other work, retire, or die, creating many openings for new drivers. Nevertheless, since earnings are high and little training is required, there will be stiff competition for every job opening.
Wages, Hours, and Unions
As with other forms of transportation, job opportunities vary from year to year as freight volume increases or decreases. In good times, many new drivers are hired; in times of recession, some drivers are laid off and others may work fewer hours.
Drivers who work for large trucking companies usually enjoy the highest wages. Rates of pay are fairly uniform because this occupation is highly unionized. Union contracts are often master agreements covering all employers within a multistate region. Earnings of each driver will vary, though, depending on the number of miles he or she drives, the number of hours worked, and the type of truck driven.
In addition to the vehicles operated by the large, long-distance companies, there are firms such as dairies and bakeries that own their own fleets and pay their drivers on the same basis as their other employees. Usually the wage is for a specified number of hours, and if the drivers work additional hours, they are paid overtime. A workweek of at least fifty hours is not uncommon. These drivers sometimes belong to the unions that represent the other plant employees, whereas most men and women who are long-distance drivers are members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Qualifications and Training
Minimum qualifications for long-distance truck drivers who are engaged in interstate commerce are set by the Department of Transportation. You must be at least twenty-one years old, pass a physical examination, and have good hearing, 20/40 vision with or without glasses, the normal use of arms and legs, and normal blood pressure.
Some trucking companies have additional hiring standards. Many have a minimum age of twenty-five others specify height and weight limitations. Some require applicants to have had several years of experience driving trucks long distances. All employers seek men and women with good driving records who can pass a road test operating the type of truck that will be driven in regular service. In addition, they must take a written examination on the Motor Carrier Safety Regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and in most states truck drivers must have a chauffeur's license or commercial driving permit.
A high school driver-training course is good background, and a high school course in automotive mechanics is also helpful in as much as it will enable you to make minor roadside repairs. Some technical-vocational schools offer truck driving courses. But before taking such a course, check with prospective employers to make certain that the school's training is acceptable. A more common method of entering a truck driving career is to start as a dockworker and advance from this position to driving a small panel truck and then perhaps a larger truck in local service.
Newly hired drivers are taught how to prepare the forms used on the job, receive a small amount of driving instruction, and practice on a training course to learn how to maneuver the larger trucks. Then they will make one or more training trips under the supervision of an instructor or experienced driver.
Opportunities for promotion are limited, generally only to positions as safety supervisor, driver supervisor, or dispatcher. Most drivers are not interested in these jobs, however, because the starting pay usually is less than what they earn in driving positions.
