In order to survive in the trucking industry, you have to have a bit tough. Being a truck driver can mean weeks, sometimes months, away from your home and your family. While you can communicate with other drivers via radio and with family via cell phone, the life of a truck driver can be very lonely. If you are able to make it through your first year of driving, however, you will be well on your way to becoming a career driver.
Obtaining Your License
No matter where you live, it is likely that you have a school, which provides truck driving training in your town or at least nearby. Considering how lonely, stressful and dangerous the profession is, drivers are tough to come by and companies are always looking for more. These schools can be a bit pricey, but just consider it an investment, in your future. You likely will need a loan of some sort, in order to pay for the tuition. Even with a low credit score, there are many companies that specialize in loans for bad credit people can take advantage of. Whether it is a personal loan or a student loan, your first step towards your new career will begin with a loan application.
Living the Life
Luckily, truck driving does pay very well and digging yourself out of the hole created by your new loan debt can be fairly easy. Once the excitement of your new salary wears off, though, the reality of the position sets in. As a truck driver, you will be expected to travel hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles per day. While drivers are required to obtain a certain amount of sleep per day, many drivers take a while to adjust to their new schedule.
Again, the first year is always the hardest as your body becomes accustomed to its new sleep and eating schedule, as well as sitting for hours and hours at a time. Just remember that it’s worth it and if you can make it through the first year, you have already beat many of your driving school classmates!
Tags: loans, money, trucking
The trucking industry is one of the largest occupational categories in America. Trucks play an important role in our daily lives in all aspects. At work, at home, how we get our food, how goods are delivered to the stores we shop in, trucking is an integral component of how things are moved from place to place. Even when consumer goods are transported via air or rail, trucks are used to reach the final destination. The number of occupational injuries that are possible throughout this vast business are innumerable. In addition to the drivers and their safety, regulations have to be in place to govern the places truckers visit while delivering their goods. Warehouse, docks, commercial businesses, and all other delivery and pick-up locations must comply with safety and health regulations. OHSA, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration governs the standards and regulations of the trucking industry. Truckers who are self-employed are not regulated by OHSA but the places they deliver to and pick-up from are regulated. The actual workplaces are regulated and the walking and working areas, and the floors and walls and many other factors must comply with OHSA regulations. Drivers should familiarize themselves with the governing regulations and be vigilante about compliance to protect themselves from avoidable injuries.
How to Keep it Safe
By recording and reporting all activities and injuries on OSHA standard forms and following their guidelines for reporting, drivers can protect themselves in case an accident or injury occurs. If proper documentation is not in place and a trucker is injured but did not report violations or negative occurrences they are not protecting themselves. A site that fails to meet standards can be penalized and may face closure if compliance is not forthcoming. OHSA does inspect job sites and anyone who suspects that their workplace is not safe should contact OHSA and request a site visit.
What To Do If You Are Injured
Accidents do happen, even through efforts are in place to avoid injuries. A call to an Indiana injury attorney is a good place to start compensation proceedings if a driver sustains an injury. If the trucker has followed safety regulations and guidelines then monetary compensation should be forthcoming to compensate for injuries and loss of wages. Be sure to keep up to date on OSHA guidelines, follow the proper procedures and document any accidents or injuries to assist your attorney with his handling of your case.
Tags: attorney, law, Truck Driving
The trucking industry is a very important industry, because truckers get all of the different merchandise moved from one place to another. Consumers need to have truckers bringing products, so people can eat and function. If you have given some thought into starting a trucking company, and you are trying to research all of the different avenues you have to choose from, then figuring out a few things is going to be necessary.
Trucking Software
Most people would not believe that a trucking company would need software, but software is actually very important. The reason for the software is because the inventory or cargo trucks are carrying needs to be monitored, so the trucks are able to be paid. Finding software with inventory tracking capabilities is the best move to make. Once you are able to find that type of software, your company will be very easy to run and function.
Implementing The Software
Getting your cloud inventory control with Quickbooks up and running will be very important. The software needs to work well with all of the merchandise and goods that will be shipped. You should be sure anyone in the accounting department understands the program well. The great thing about Quickbooks is you can also do your billing with this remarkable program. Tracking your inventory and also paying and receiving bills is a great way to keep it all together in one program. You might need special training or you might need to take a class in order to understand all of the cool features this program will allow you to use.
The trucking industry is a great way to make money if you know how to bill all of your clients properly. There are many different aspects to factor in having a trucking company.
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The trucking industry has the most smokers of any other industry except construction workers; and while cigarettes are banned from most workplaces, the workplace of a tractor trailer has pretty much been left alone. This is not an unusual scenario but smoking while driving is among the top three causes of traffic accidents today. A driver looking for cigarettes or a lighter is distracted from the road; same for a driver lighting a cigarette or other tobacco while driving. A dropped lit cigarette in the cab can cause a driver to overreact and possibly cause an accident because they’re trying to find the burning object and become distracted again.
Think About What You’re Doing
Driving a rig is a huge responsibility. The driver has to take responsibility for whatever he’s carrying in the load, all 18 wheels and tires must be up to par, the mechanical condition of the tractor and trailer must be monitored to make sure no surprises are waiting around the corner and the driver is professionally trained to pilot that rig down the road in the safest manner. But when you start letting the tobacco urge interfere with what you know best, your concentration fails and things can go wrong real fast.
Breaks and Alternatives
If you’re a driver who smokes, you’re no different than any other driver in the fact that you know that truck inside and out…or you should! The only difference is you have a need for a little tobacco now and then; just to settle the nerves and raise that nicotine level up a bit so you can carry on. Some truckers say they adopt a rule when they’re driving. They won’t have a cigarette or pipe or cigar until they’re stopped; or when they decide to take a fuel or rest break. Smokers will tell you that when the craving hits, they have to have a cigarette right now. If you look at any health blog or E cigarette blog you can find information to point you in the direction of alternatives to smoking regular cigarettes.
Tags: cigarettes, smoking, Truck Driving, trucking industry
A businessperson, a truck driver, or anyone else who has to leave for long periods of time can get lonely when they are away from their friends, family, and other people they care about. It can be hard when you miss a great deal of events that they would have attended if they were at home. But thanks to the modern culture of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, people are able to maintain friendships and relationships from the road. They can connect to these sites from their phone, laptop, or other wireless device. It is a great way to stay connected and not feel lonely.
Open Chat In Real Time
People are flocking to websites where they can video chat in real time as well. It is a fun way to maintain close contact with anyone that they care about. They can chat with their kids, friends, and husband or wife. These awesome websites allow people to hear their loved one’s voice which is very comforting for someone who is missing their friends and family. These video chatting websites also allow people to take snapshots from the video so they can have pictures with them of their loved ones no matter where they go. These social networking websites really are a blessing to people who have friends back home who they miss terribly. And because these sites are free and can be accessed almost anywhere, people are flocking to them by the droves so they never miss a moment of their friends’ or family’s lives. Social media is vastly becoming more popular than phone calls, because there are no long distance fees as opposed to phone calls. And since more and more people are signing up for these websites, it is getting easer to find friends who they miss from back in school days and the like. So for anyone who wants to maintain old or new friendships on the open road, social media is making it easier then ever before. In order to maintain a friendship, all anyone has to do is click.
Tags: long distance, on the road, Relationships, trucks
When talking DIY motorcycles and cars present their own unique challenges but trucks really take the cake. While the classic pickups of the 50s and 60s had fairly straight forward engines which are easy to repair, the bigger and more modern the truck, the bigger the headache. Most modern trucks need several electrical systems in order to provide for maximum efficiency. Depending on the problem, it may be time to call for a tow.
CAN IT BE FIXED?
If you have one of those great old classics that you have been lovingly maintaining for the past 50 years, chances are you will know immediately if your breakdown is quickly fixable. With a more modern truck, it may not be so easy. Of course, fixing a flat tire is a fairly easy fix but beyond that, it may get difficult. A good idea is to carry a repair manual in your glove compartment. A quick read should let you know whether or not it can be fixed quickly and easily.
KNOW WHEN TO SAY WHEN
If you decide to make the repair yourself, determine beforehand how much time it should take. Once that limit has been reached, reevaluate the situation and determine if more time should be spent on it, or if you should just let it go.
Due to size alone, a broken down truck in the road is a bigger hazard than most other vehicles. Whether you decide to do it yourself or decide to take that tow, the quicker it is off the road and on the way, the better.
Tags: car repairs, cars, truckers