It Would Scare You What Truckers Really Go Through

Welcome to my very first podcast “Truckers Have Feelings” Should I talk about you, Should I talk about me … nooooo I think we should talk more about the truckers on the pavement in the crazy public sea. Ok a bit cheesy, maybe …. Way before this pandemic, way before the recent Truckers Protest, I have had many thoughts on the trucking industry and what our truck drivers go through each day. Hi this is JC Tambo; you might be wondering is this JC character a truck driver? Well, the biggest truck I have ever driven was a 26 Foot U-Haul moving truck … in fact over the past 35+ years I have driven quite a few of these trucks but only for personal needs not commercial. I did spend over 10 years working with a trucking company in Canada and I can firsthand tell you the crap these truck drivers would go through each day. From the politics inside the office to the public perception outside the office... Before I go any further most of you may not be aware the difference between an owner operator trucker and a company/contract truck driver. An owner operator owns their own truck and trailer – they are 100% a business on wheels – they are responsible for all expenses and revenues of their units at all times therefore they should have a say regarding the loads they haul each trip – what I mean is if they are dispatched on a load that pays low revenue to their tractor/trailer then within reason they should be able to refuse that load. Now the nature of the beast is there are times when an owner/operator needs to take a low income load a short distance so they can get to a higher paying load. You might be thinking – WHY!! By taking a lower paying load this at least pays for the fuel to get to the better paying load and hopefully is enough to cover wear and tear as well. However, in saying that, sometimes they may be just as well to not waste time and drive empty to the pickup. A company driver does not own their own truck/trailer – the company driver is however, like an owner/operator, responsible for the legal and safe operation of their unit but not the expenses of the units. A company driver must obey laws and public safety as it is the utmost importance regardless if they own their own rigs or not. So far the comparison of Owner/Operators To Company drivers is assuming they all work for the same company under a different type of contract. Then we have independent truckers who run solely under their own name with no connection to the larger trucking companies other than times when a trucking company has too many load commitments in an area where their trucks are not plentiful. At this time the trucking company will broker loads to reputable independent truckers however there are some companies who will turn a blind eye to certain conditions and wash their hands to any possible catastrophes. We have seen a lot of this in recent years. It comes down to greed of money and survival mixed into a twisted cycle. In 1980 the average truck driver was making close to $110,000 annually and was adjusted each year for inflation. In that time Truckers had more clout in the industry, they were part of change and to be a truck driver was exciting … One phrase you heard a lot was “See the world through the windshield” – this type of career was quite enticing for a young buck getting into the workforce but years later the average young buck is now pissed off, if they are even still alive. For most stuck in an industry which has one of the highest divorce rates, mental health challenges, poor health and lower pay, higher cost of living, higher fuel rates than ever before, huge competition in the industry driving the rates down. Our roads are crowded more than ever with trucks, regular public vehicles, safety hurdles, increased protesting which is not always related to the trucking industry. All this while today making $40 – 60,000 annually as a truck driver. Now think about that for a minute – would you work in an office, a store, a factory, a hospital and accept a 55% decrease in pay, higher cost of living, higher product cost, higher risk to you in an ever changing, money grabbing world while the executives above you get rich, stay in good mental/physical health and wizz down from their ivory corporate / government towers on your very existence. Does any of that even make sense????!!!! So for my first audio I want to leave you with a question to ponder. The next time you complain about people not wanting to come into the trucking industry – what will you say? What you can expect from me the upcoming episodes: - Touching stories of real truck drivers. - Experiences of a Canadian Truck driver being shot at on a Phillidelphia highway. - Pain in the ass dispatchers and the crap they tell drivers – I use to be in this inner circle. - A Truck driver who saved his sons life by throwing him out of the truck while driving. - And many more things we need to talk about. The only thing I ask of you the listener is to help me bring more positive attention and compassion to a broken industry. As this channel grows and it will, I would love to interview close family of Truck Drivers as well as Drivers themselves... As a final note What this channel is not about is bashing on our political climate, racism, hate speech, right or left-wing vigilantes. My purpose is to help change public opinion of how to see some of these truck drivers in a different light – Good, Bad and the ugly. Thank you for listening.