6 Myths About Long Haul Trucking
Everyone has come across long-haul truck drivers in their daily lives. However, very few know what it’s like to be behind the wheel. Regardless, this hasn’t stopped people from making assumptions about what it’s like as a long-haul trucker—how much they earn, how many hours they have to drive, and how lonely they must feel on the road. However, once you move beyond your perceptions, you find that life as a truck driver is an extremely rewarding profession.
In this article, we’ll explore and debunk six of the most common myths we’ve heard about long-haul truck driving.
Myth 1: You Can’t Make Good Money Driving Trucks
This is perhaps the biggest misconception and one that is easily dispelled. The average annual salary for long-haul truck drivers in the United States is between $57,000 and $74,500. Additionally, depending on experience, some long-haul truck drivers even make well over $100,000 annually.
Even if long-haul trucking isn’t your immediate focus, short-haul truck driving pays well, with most trucking companies providing an upfront signing bonus, excellent benefits, paid time off/vacations, and consistent work.
Myth 2: You Don’t Get to See Your Family
Yes, there will be times when you might be away for a week or more as a long-haul truck driver. However, this idea that you don’t get to see your family isn’t true. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT) has strict laws governing the number of hours a driver can drive within a day and the number of consecutive days they can drive before taking time off.
Long-haul drivers cannot drive more than 14 hours a day, and the 60/70 hours regulation states that a truck driver cannot drive more than 60 hours within 7 days and more than 70 hours within 8 days. Additionally, before drivers can restart their next 60/70-hour shift, they must take a minimum of 34 hours off.
In addition to these federal regulations, you get paid vacation time, which gives you plenty of opportunity to enjoy family time.
Myth 3: You Can Only Eat Fast Food
What you eat and how much you eat is entirely under your control. Long-haul trucks have a sleeper cab, which almost always includes a small refrigerator. Even the most basic sleeper will provide you with a comfortable bed, microwave (or toaster oven), small fridge, and storage space.
Eating properly while on the road is extremely important, and while you are certainly welcome to eat fast food, you are ultimately in control of your diet and can prepare plenty of healthy foods to take with you.
Myth 4: You’re Totally Alone On The Road
The truck driving community is a close-knit group, and you will always be able to interact with dispatchers, other truck drivers, customers, your family, shipping personnel, and even random people when you stop to refuel.
One of the allures of long-haul trucking is the fact that you decide when and if you want to speak with people. For many truck drivers, that’s a comforting feeling, as is seeing parts of the country they may never have had the chance to see.
Additionally, some companies like TSI have team driving opportunities, meaning that you and another truck driver would handle shipments together and take turns driving.
Myth 5: Truck Drivers Cause Accidents
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) assessment of the cause of road accidents across all 50 states in 2022, large trucks were the least likely to be involved compared to cars, SUVs, motorcycles, pedestrians, and bicycles. Large trucks accounted for 2% of fatal road accidents in the U.S.
While driving fatigue and exhaustion can cause accidents, this is entirely under the control of the long-haul truck driver and their employer. Your employer should always be your best friend when enforcing and adhering to the FMCSA regulations. And, when you’re a team driver, your partner can take over when you get tired.
Myth 6: Truck Driving Isn’t a Fulfilling Career
Truck driving, whether short haul or long haul, can be an extremely rewarding, enjoyable, and fulfilling career if that’s what you want it to be. As a career, truck driving creates incredible opportunities, allows you to chart your career path, provides you with lasting friendships, and empowers you to one day become your own boss as an owner-operator or manage your own trucking business.
Remember—your career is your own, and you make it what you want it to be.
Start Your Truck Driving Career Today
TSI has helped people achieve their dream of becoming truck drivers for over four decades. Whether it’s being a long-haul truck driver operating across the United States, Canada, or Mexico or a short-haul truck driver sticking closer to home, TSI provides numerous employment opportunities.
If you’re interested in becoming a truck driver, the best way to start is through our comprehensive training program, which includes three days of in-class work and six weeks of over-the-road driving.
Please contact us today to learn more about our program and current opportunities, or click here to sign up for the program.
