Is a Career in Trucking Right for You?

Have you ever heard the phrase "if you bought it, a truck brought it?"  Well, that's because trucking is the main driving force behind America's economy! 70% of everything you buy has traveled on a truck at some point.  In the year 2006, trucks transported over 10 billion tons of freight, and the trucking industry was a 645 billion dollar business!  Here are some things that you're going to want to know if you intend to take on truck driving jobs as a career.

Truck drivers are generally excellent behind the wheel- they spend a lot of time there!  They are involved in traffic collisions less than half as often as passenger car drivers are.  However, truck driving jobs do present its own unique set of challenges: the hours are long and lead to fatigue, the profession can be very lonely, and there are significant health and safety challenges.  Drivers are also subject to strict Federal regulations and must submit to random drug tests, as well. 

Consider the following:

Truck drivers experience 10% of ALL the workplace fatalities in the US and 8% of all workplace musculoskeletal injuries.  It has even been suggested (with strong empirical evidence to back it up) that a long-term career as a trucker can reduce the average person's life span from 10 to 12 years! That may be why the industry experiences such a high rate of turnover- 136% in the 4^th quarter of 2005.  That means that for every 100 people that took a trucking job during that time frame, 136 of them quit!

Now that you're armed with a little more knowledge, get out there and get yourself your CDL, your first truck driving jobs will follow!  You'll be hauling freight as an integral part of our economy, in no time!