Spending time away from home, dealing with varying shipper/receiver requirements, driving during bad weather, and more…all to ensure our product gets from Point A to Point B safely and on-time isn’t an easy task. On average, truckers drive 100,000 to 110,000 miles on an annual basis.¹ As driver shortage, hours of service, and driver retention continue to be some of the main issues facing the transportation industry, we sat down with 3 of our top carrier partners to better understand the challenges they consistently face and what it takes to be a driver.
Hyway Trucking Company – Dave
Dave has been a driver for 30 years. He typically gets on the road at midnight and then takes a break from 7-8am due to HOS regulations. Dave spends about 12-13 hours on the road before returning home. His favorite part about being a driver is having the ability to work by himself.
As a driver, the most common issues he faces are road construction, traffic, weather, and loads not being ready at their scheduled times, which all ultimately cause delays to his schedule.
Becoming a shipper/receiver of choice remains to be a popular topic within the logistics industry. When asked about a key characteristic of a shipper/receiver of choice, Dave mentioned that for the most part, the people he deals with are polite, but if they’re having a bad day or if the driver that was there before him did something to make the shipper/receiver upset, they will take it out on him. Therefore, always trying to have a positive attitude in any situation would help to make his job easier!
FS Transport – Juan
Juan has been a driver for 8 years. He typically starts driving at about 6am and then takes a break from 12-1pm. Dave spends about 10 hours on the road before returning home. His favorite part about being a driver is delivering goods to receivers and interacting with the individuals that work at the loading/unloading docks.
As a driver, one of the most important lessons he’s learned is being punctual as being late for a pick-up or drop-off can throw of the entire schedule for all parties involved. He mentioned that traffic and parking are the most common issues he faces.
To Juan, being a shipper/receiver of choice means that he is greeted with a great attitude and is able to load/unload in a timely manner!
Pride Transportation – Leonard
Leonard has been a truck driver for 32 years. He typically gets on the road at 2am and is on the road for 2 weeks before returning home. His favorite part about being a driver is that he gets to see different parts of the country!
As a driver, one of the most important lessons he’s learned is patience as traffic and bad drivers are the most common issues he consistently faces.
To Leonard, being a shipper/receiver of choice, means that he is respected as a truck driver and that the dock employees will work with him when things go wrong rather than taking their frustrations out on him.
Carriers like these are the backbone of our success. Without the carrier relationships we have established, we wouldn’t be able to offer our shippers the quality and reliability they’ve come to expect from us. For more information on Spot’s carrier base, visit spotinc.com/shippers.
₁American Trucking Associations