(Quality) Driver Shortage

I have been reading about this for quite some time -- more than a year.  We need a lot more Over The Road (OTR) truck drivers.  I have never really 'got it', to be honest.  It seems like if someone TRULY wants to make money and is willing to make the effort (read 'attitude' here) then I have found OTR driving to be a fantastic way to see the USA while generating $$$.

Now, after more than two years with my own Motor Carrier Authority, I have experienced this 'driver shortage.'  I have more freight than I can move myself.  So I have added drivers, which quite often don't last.  A big part of the problem is me.  I know.  I have very high standards, very low patience and not too open to people who want to do it 'their way.'  But it's MY name on the side of the door and MY reputation (word) and MY signature on the bottom of the settlement checks.  I don't HAVE to be right.

But it seems to me a smart driver would look at the success that not only I personally have had but look at the growth STS has experienced over the past 2+ years and then follow the same path.  So often, I have leased on 'experienced' drivers -- thinking that was a good thing -- only to find out they are already so smart that they already know everything.  And in fact they don't.

I am a numbers guy.  I am always crunching numbers to make sure we are maxing out our dollar per mile income -- THE number that means the most, to me.  I know my cost of operating, my fixed costs, my anticipated maintenance costs --- I try and watch it all and am constantly re-calculating.  I have learned most owner-operators really don't have a clue.  They look at how much money is left in the checking account at the end of the day and then whine because there's not enough.  But they don't know EXACTLY where it went.

One of the most important things to me is attitude.  I have mentioned here before; there are three things you need to have to be successful at ANYTHING you do:  Skill, Knowledge and Attitude.  Skill is earned with time.  Knowledge is taught and also gained with time.  But Attitude is what YOU bring to the table.  If you don't have a positive, "can do" attitude, we are not going to get along.

I seem to have some difficulty identifying that trait.  Many times have I brought a driver on with skills and knowledge only to find out (sometimes within a day or two) that they are not driving a truck because they really WANT to.  OTR truck driving is a lifestyle, not a job.  It takes a special attitude and it starts with LIKING to drive.  Then I need someone who will trust me enough to follow the sequence of events we have in place; PROVEN success!


So, if you have a diesel pick-up truck and live within 100 miles of St. Louis and have (or will get) a CDL-A and are a 'Git 'R Done' type personality -- we should talk!!