When it comes to truck driving advice, it can be tricky to come by. But after you’ve done something for a number of years, it’s easy to learn and grow from our past selves. The same goes for trucking. Here’s a breakdown of truck driving advice we’d give our younger selves and even reminders to our current selves from time to time.
Things I’ve Learned Through My Truck Driving Career
1.Driving faster does not make you a better driver.
It can be easy to let the other cars and trucks around us make us feel like we’re not going fast enough. Don’t let them. They can always go around you, so don’t panic and speed up when you don’t feel comfortable. This is one of the single most useful truck driving advice we could give.
2. Assume someone on the road will do something stupid.
We see accidents happen everyday. Most accidents are preventable. We just have to be aware of what’s going on around us at all times. You are the professional driver so it’s up to you to take the extra precaution of what’s around you.
3. Patience is definitely a virtue.
When it comes to driving, there seems to be more impatient drivers than patient ones. Do your best to not be that driver and if you see another driver being impatient, do your best to stay out of their way.
4. When it comes to careers, take the job that looks like the trucking career you’ve been searching for.
No matter where you’re at in your trucker career, your dream job is close. It takes time to become a seasoned driver with experience. Once you have that, find a company that works best for you. You deserve a life outside of driving on the road.
5. Family comes first.
This one’s a given, but easily overlooked in many cases. If you can find something that’s closer to home, take it. Kids grow up fast, so don’t miss out on birthdays and special occasions if you can help it! Of course, if you don’t have a family of your own, there are still important parts of your life that you shouldn’t have to miss out on. Your life is important outside of your career! Everyone needs a little balance.
6. Your health matters.
Start making healthy choices today, not tomorrow. You’ll feel better even though it’s not easy at first to skip out on the corn dog and fries. Take extra good care of your body, it’s the only one you have!
7. Parking your truck.
It takes time to get good at backing up and it takes a lot of PRACTICE. Don’t beat yourself up for messing up while backing up and cut yourself a break, you’re always learning.
8. Plan in advance.
This is important, especially for new routes. Give yourself time to plan out your route, plan where you’ll stop and have a few options of where you plan to stop should bad weather or delays happen.
Trucking Jobs Hiring in the SLC area
When it comes to choosing the next move in your trucking career, it can be scary to leave behind what you know to try something new. WM Transportation is a quickly growing trucking company and whether you’re a seasoned truck driver whose ready to make his (or hers) next move or if you are just looking to gather information on possibilities, we’re ready to talk. Give us a call and or submit a form and we’ll contact you. It doesn’t hurt to look into your options!
