Interview with a Truck Driver

A long-haul trucker shares his perspective on working life, job conditions, and today's hottest topics in the world of work.

Dustin, a Texas-based truck driver, and I crossed paths in an online Work Reform forum. He posted a comment asking what 4-day workweeks would look like for truck drivers. Many forum participants, self-proclaimed worker advocates, responded with an air of hostility and superiority. I’ve summarized some of that exchange below. And I reached out to Dustin to ask if he’d be open to an interview so more people can learn about the working life of truck drivers. He kindly agreed to respond to written questions. I’ve left his responses intact almost verbatim, making only minor edits for clarity and/or brevity.

First, from the 4-day workweek discussion…

Dustin wrote:

I see a lot of people talking about a 4-day workweek or 9-5 (8-5 or 9-6) but no one talking about truck drivers and how it would work.

Did you know truck drivers routinely work 70 hours a week? Only getting 10 hours in-between 14-hour shifts? This means 10 hours to shower, which can take hours of waiting if there is a line, eat, relax, and sleep. Not counting morning routines.

Also… paid by the mile. Also, sitting at shippers and receivers for hours on end sometimes for no pay. How would a 4-day workweek work for long-haul truck drivers without some extremely major reform in the whole industry? I’m not trying to be cynical. I’m just genuinely wondering…”

One reply was, “...Do not crap on a 4-day work week for some just because others can’t have it.”

Another was: “It’s easy to get ‘woe as me’ because the same solution isn’t possible in one field…”

Many told Dustin to “stop complaining.” The prevailing advice among those who supported him was that truckers should unionize and companies should hire more drivers. (Easy peasy!)

I followed up with Dustin about his post, then we delved into some of the nitty gritty of his working life:

Bob: What motivated you to post the comment, and how did you feel about the response?

Dustin: Just bringing to light others’ situations and the struggles with obtaining good working conditions. I don’t feel super positive about the response, but I am glad there were some people who were able to see what I was getting at.

So, what is your job, and how long have you been doing it?

My job is just a normal flatbed truck driver. I've been doing it for almost 5 years now. I am a contractor technically. I’m a lease operator. I signed a contract with the company and they “gave” me a truck.

You’re self-employed? Do you get any employee benefits (like health insurance) through an employer?

I’m technically self-employed. I'm a 1099 contractor. I do not get regular employee benefits. I have to go through the healthcare marketplace and pay my own taxes accordingly. I work exclusively for one company because they are the ones I leased the truck from. No credit check, no down payment.

What’s your work schedule like? Do you have say in your schedule?

As a contractor, I do have a say in my schedule. But as with any truck driver, if I don't work, I don't get paid. I almost always work Monday-Saturday. It’s not usually by choice, just how it works out. But that’s ideal for a truck driver who is over the road. Get a 34-hour reset during the weekend to have a fresh clock on Monday.

Photo by Zetong Li on Unsplash

Does over-the-road mean the same thing as what the public usually thinks of as “long haul”? Maybe most people know this, but... You sleep in your cab? Where do you park when you do that?

Over the road is indeed long haul. I do sleep in my cab and I park where I can. Usually at truck stops, but I also like to park at shippers and receivers when I can. I’m actually parked at a receiver right now. And for the invariable question… yes, I pee in bottles. But I don’t leave them about. I don’t litter at all. Sometimes shippers and receivers don’t have bathrooms for truckers. Sometimes you get to a rest area and the bathrooms are closed. Sometimes truck stop bathrooms are closed. Sometimes nature calls and you’re stuck in dead stop traffic. Feel free to include this if you want; I don’t particularly care.

If work-life balance is important to you… How do you feel it’s affected by your job?

Work-life balance is super important. A good chunk of truck drivers see home very rarely — every few weeks or even a month or more. Some like it that way. But I don’t.

What do you like about your job?

I like driving and seeing the country.

What do you dislike about your job?

I dislike nearly everything! Ha. But seriously, the pay isn’t worth the lack of home time to me. But it still pays very well so I put up with it.

A hot topic in the work world these days is working-from-home and employers cajoling employees to return to the office. As someone who doesn’t work at home or in an office, do you have any perspective on this?

Working from home is amazing. I’m not a fan of middle or upper management. People working from home have shown that it makes little to no difference in productivity and in some cases has shown a net positive. Also, fewer people on the road means safer roads!

Do you feel passionate about your job — or does it give you a sense of purpose? How important is it for you to have these things in your work?

I don’t really. I take pride in my work but it’s not my passion. It depends on your perspective. Do what you love for work and you’ll never work a day in your life, but that might not be true for everyone. Doing the same thing over and over and over again can drain even the most passionate of people.

Rank these potential job-related resources in order of importance to you:

• Good pay • Flexible work schedule • Feeling valued at work • A boss who understands you • Medical benefits • Mental health programs (e.g. apps and access to therapists) • Leading a healthy lifestyle • Reduced job demands (e.g. amount and speed of work) • Safety training • A sense of belonging • Diversity, equity, and inclusion.

1. Medical benefits (ties in with mental health programs)

2. Good pay

3. Flexible work schedule

4. Leading a healthy lifestyle

5. Reduced job demands

6. A boss who understands you

7. The rest…

Feeling valued at work has never completely mattered to me. I know I can be replaced. I’m also anti-social so a sense of belonging and the other things never mattered to me much but I’m sure they are important to people who are not anti-social.

Is your job stressful? If so, what are the main causes of the job stress?

My job can be extremely stressful. The cause of stress is the lack of regularity in pay. One week I can make $3k and the next I’ll make $1k. There’s no regulation when it comes to what a load will pay and it’s stupid. Being away from home for weeks is also a major line of stress. I miss my wife and animals.

Trucking is a job with intense solitude. How do you feel about all that alone time?

As I mentioned, I’m very anti-social. I could be a hermit living in a cave forever as long as I had video games and the internet. But it can indeed be very lonely. But you are allowed to talk on your phone at some companies. It’s very rare a company doesn’t allow that.

Are you thinking about leaving your job and/or the truck driving profession?

I think about leaving it all the time. The problem is, I’m locked into it for the most part. I got sucked into lifestyle creep. I like being able to not have to check my bank account every day before I buy something from the store. I have almost no other skillset other than truck driving and can’t just job hop and make what I do now. So I’m stuck for now.

What is the single (or two or three) most important thing(s) your employer can do to support your wellbeing and that of other truck drivers? (Define wellbeing however you want).

The most important thing an employer can do to take care of their drivers is not forcing them to drive when they are sick or fatigued. Truck drivers don’t get sick days. You don't drive, you don't get paid. So the pressure is always super high.

Are there any changes you can make in your job that would make it a better fit for you?

My biggest gripe with my job is the 10-hour break, it really needs to be longer.

[Editorial note: “Once you have reached the end of this 14-consecutive-hour period, you cannot drive again until you have been off duty for another 10 consecutive hours…” — Interstate Truck Driver’s Guide to Hours of Service.]

Early in the pandemic, everyone cheered essential workers. Truck drivers are essential workers, but maybe were overlooked because they’re not “customer facing”? Describe how others perceived your role during the pandemic, and how that changed (if it did) pre- , during, and post-pandemic?

I don't think the view of truckers changed at all and they were indeed mostly overlooked during the pandemic. I was even told by my employer that they essentially wouldn’t care if I got Covid. I wouldn’t get paid time off to get better or anything.

Do you think the viewpoints you’ve shared here are common among other truck drivers?

Truck drivers are taken advantage of due to the low bar for entry, including education. Many don’t know any better or are desperate to take what they can get. So no, I don’t think my viewpoints are popular among other truck drivers. Otherwise, the industry wouldn’t be as shit as it is. But people put up with it because “It’s always been this way” or “It used to be worse,” forgetting that it doesn’t have to be that way.

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My thanks to Dustin for agreeing to and sharing so candidly in this interview. To all truck drivers: Thank you for your service. — Bob

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Be Heard on Heigh Ho

If you or anyone you know wish to share a comment that might make it into Heigh Ho (or its podcast), leave a recording of up to 90 seconds. Especially wanted: Messages from workers in retail, food service, mining, construction, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, trucking, health care, and call center operations.

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For Heigh Ho readers, I’ve curated a Spotify playlist of truck driving songs:

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In the next issue of Heigh Ho, we’ll unwrap Parkinson’s Law, “work expands to fill the time available for its completion,” which seeps into most aspects of working life and the post-work movement — shortened workweeks, personal productivity, paid family leave, “Bullshit Jobs,” layoffs, performative work, and burnout, to name a few.