HOW'D YOU DO THAT?

Mile Marker #1

Unbelievable....It's been 22 years and over 2 million miles since I was considered a rookie truck driver. Times in the trucking industry have changed dramatically. Like everything else, you adapt and move on. Some of the changes I disagree with, however most of the changes are for the good of the field. When I started, truck driving schools were not as popular as they are today. My first experience started at age 21. I had two friends that were truck drivers and they invited me to come along with them on a couple of their trips. Being an immature youngman, I did not have any intentions of becoming a professional truck driver. Curiousity got the better of me and I agreed to go along. After a few "behind the wheel" lessons and experiencing the open road, it was in my blood. I never thought that I was capable of driving the biggest, most overwhelming rig allowed on the road. It was indescribable!
After my lessons on the fly, it was time to venture out on my own and start my trucking career. I called a reputable big name company in my state and set up an interview and road test. As for my past experience in driving, I told them that I used to run team with an owner-operator and that I had about 150,000 miles under my belt buckle. That figure was fabricated by about 140,000 miles. I miscalculated.... Surprisingly, everything checked out. Then it was time for a road test. I gave it everything I had and kept my inexperience hidden. A couple of days later, I was assigned a tractor and I was on my way to Philadelphia.
My story for getting started probably wasn't unusual for back then. There just wasn't that many options to get started like there are today (driving schools or companies that offer on the job training). In my case, a little creative experience got me a job.
I gave my services to that company for a year in a half. During that time I obtained the experience I needed to pursue a higher mileage paying job. Those type of jobs were out there, but I needed the miles to work for them. I was young and ran hard in my assigned International cab-over with no power steering. I didn't think of my truck as a piece of crap when I got hired. What did I expect with my creative resume. I was just happy that I finally had my own truck. At that time I thought it was beautiful. What a piece of crap!
Time flew by...I had accumulated 9 years of over-the-road experience. With a lot of luck, those were 9 years without any accidents. Being accident free gave me a huge advantage.
My wife transferred to a different hospital in a different state. So, I quit and we packed up and headed North. We settled in and then it was time to job hunt. I figured with my experience, I would get a job fairly quick. A casual aquaintance told me that one of the big union carriers was looking for a city driver. When he told me, I was skeptical. Back then, landing a union job was by word of mouth; vacancies were filled quickly. He was right, they hired me. Getting this union job pretty much changed my life. To show my appreciation I sent him a thank you card and 40.00 to take his wife out to eat. It's been 13 years that I've been employed with that carrier.
Unbelievable, it's been 22 years and over 2 million miles since I was considered a rookie truck driver....

Next blog : Mile Marker # 2: First Gear - Getting Started