Difficulties For American Truck Drivers

Do you have a truck driver in your family? For those who have a trucker in their family, they are likely familiar with the obstacles a driver has to go through. However, they are primarily focused on how the trucker life affects them. For many truck drivers, the decision to be an over the road, OTR, isn’t always the easiest to make.

Over the road truck driving is brutal. While many could shrug their shoulders that the profession is just sitting in a truck driving to each destination, the life of a trucker is challenging. There are tons of things they have to do, safety rules to follow, on top of being away from their families weeks at a time.

Throw Out The Book

Keeping a log of break time has been around for decades. The DOT, Department of Transportation, has made it mandatory that truck drivers get enough rest off the road to maintain safety. Back in the day, many truck drivers would side skirt this practice to make more money. For example, truckers get paid by the mile. If they stayed up driving instead of taking a break, they could almost double their income. But in a move to avoid this practice for good, many trucking companies Throw out the book in favor of onboard recording devices.

This eliminates all the needs to track and keep a record as the device will do it for them. The rules for electronic logs may not be avoided. Most trucking companies are making the switch before penalties can be assessed due to the FMCSR 395.16. The challenge for those that have been in the industry for a long time will need to learn how to use the technology. But ultimately, this could help simplify the sector too, as long as the tech isn’t faulty.

Being Gone For Weeks

Over the road driving is usually more profitable than local driving. But it also means being away from their family for long periods. The time apart has contributed to higher divorce number for truck driving families. In addition to family woes, the health of a truck driver is often under fire. It is far simpler to have diner food than eat healthy on the road, and this has contributed to health issues like heart disease and diabetes for generations. With new safety laws in place, it has made it a crucial aspect that a truck driver must not only get enough sleep but be in good health too.

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Created on Nov 17th 2019 23:14. Viewed 409 times.

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