Heavy and Tractor trailer Truck Drivers
Additional Information
Duties
Driving a tractor-trailer or other large commercial vehicle involves a variety of tasks:
- Make lengthy trips.
- Contact a dispatcher if you come across anything unusual on the road.
- Traffic regulations must be obeyed at all times.
- Carry goods safely by securing them with ropes, blocks, chains, or other means.
- Before and after the journey, inspect their trailers and document any flaws they discover.
- Maintain a record of their working hours in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws.
- The right personnel should be notified of any major technical issues.
- Maintain the cleanliness and operability of their vehicles and other equipment.
Dispatchers allocate the majority of heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers' routes, while some independent operators still design their own. Drivers must take into account any road limitations that prevent heavy vehicles while planning routes. Additionally, drivers must factor in any mandated rest stops.
Some drivers stick to a few routes, while others go throughout the country on a slew of various routes. As a further option, some drivers offer trips to Mexico or Canada.
Teams of drivers are occasionally used by companies on lengthy routes to save downtime. At night, one driver sleeps in an enclosed area behind the vehicle, which is used for team runs.
Drivers are required to follow specific safety standards when transporting certain types of merchandise. When transporting hazardous items like chemical waste, certain heavy-duty truck drivers must take extra measures while driving and may have specific safety equipment on board in the event of an accident. Liquid-carrying drivers and those transporting vehicles that are too big or heavy must abide by their own set of traffic laws.
In certain cases, long-haul truck drivers, or "owner-operators," own or lease their own vehicles and become their own bosses. In addition to driving, owner-operators have a variety of responsibilities related to their businesses, such as attracting and retaining customers and performing administrative duties.
Education
A high school diploma or its equivalent is often required by most trucking businesses.
Many would-be truck drivers attend truck driving schools to learn the ins and outs of operating a huge vehicle on congested roads and city streets. As part of these seminars, interstate truck drivers also learn about federal restrictions. It is possible for students to take a three- to six-month course at a local community college or a private truck driving school.
Certificates of completion are issued to drivers who successfully complete their training.
Registration, Licenses, and Certifications
A commercial driver's license is required for all long-distance truck drivers (CDL). CDL requirements vary from state to state, but often include passing a written test and a road test. Anyone who has had a CDL suspended in another state might be denied a CDL in their own state.
A CDL can be endorsed to prove a driver's competency to operate a certain vehicle. A hazardous materials endorsement is required for drivers hauling HAZMAT (H). An extra knowledge test and a criminal background check are required for this endorsement.
Every two years, CDL drivers must pass a physical test and maintain a clean driving record. They are also subjected to drug and alcohol testing at random. In the event that a truck driver is caught driving under the influence of alcohol, narcotics, or any other illegal substance, their CDL might be suspended.
If you commit other offenses, you may be subject to further suspension. You may see a complete list of these infractions on the FMCSA's website. The federal government mandates some criteria, but some corporations go above and beyond those requirements.
Training
A truck driver's first few weeks on the job are often spent learning the ropes of the trade after finishing truck driving school and landing a job. A more experienced mentor-driver sits in the passenger seat with them while they learn to operate a truck. For this reason, new drivers are given on-the-job training in order to understand more about the sort of truck they'll be driving and the materials they'll be transporting during this time.
Characteristics That Are Very Important
Coordination between the hands and the eyes. Truck and tractor-trailer drivers must be capable of concurrently controlling their legs, hands, and eyes in order to respond to the issue at hand and safely operate their vehicles.
Ability to hear. The ability to hear well is an absolute necessity for truck drivers. A motorist must be able to hear a forced whisper in one ear from a distance of five feet or more in order to comply with federal laws (with or without the use of a hearing aid).
Wellness of the body People with medical conditions like high blood pressure or epilepsy, which might impair their ability to drive a truck, are prohibited from becoming truck drivers under federal restrictions. You can find the entire list of medical problems that preclude someone from driving a long-haul truck at FMCSA.gov.
The capacity to see clearly. To become a truck driver, one must pass a vision exam. At least 20/40 vision, with a 70-degree field of vision for each eye, and the ability to discern the colors of a traffic signal are required by federal requirements for drivers.
Pay
For heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, the May 2020 median annual wage was $47,130. It is the salary at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount, and half earned less. The bottom 10% made less than $30,660, and the top 10% earned more than $69,480.
Job Projections
About as rapidly as all other jobs, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers' employment is expected to expand by 6% between 2020 and 2030.