Do you have what it takes to be a truck driver? Do you have the grit of withstanding arduous journeys? Do you have the mental fortitude to keep you in check? Before we proceed, you have to keep those in mind.
What it takes to be a truck driver
Driving a truck is not an easy task. Every other vehicle on the road are practically dwarves that you really have to be careful with. Think of it as a school playground situation; the truck is like that big oaf you see getting picked on by a bunch of tiny children because of their inferiority complex. You, as a truck driver, is exactly like that. No matter how you want to put it, you have to be careful of the little ones, even if you meticulously plan out your journey, or if you look at every side/rear view mirror religiously, they will curse at you with severe passion. The best thing to do is to pay no mind and move on.
Being behind the wheels of a truck is a huge responsibility. It’s not something that an individual can wake up one morning and decide to be a truck driver (well if they did, I’m sure that a lot more cars will be flattened due to the sheer recklessness of inexperienced drivers). You have to go through training and driving courses. In most areas of the world, there will always be an all truck driving school or something of the sort to earn your license.
Endurance
Let’s throw the theory out of the window for now and talk about your body first. Sure there is a lot of material to learn and knowledge to absorb when earning that truck license, but do you have the stamina to endure 8-hour rides? You have to be able to chug that coffee in preparation for a long journey down south and make sure your eyes are peeled on the road. If not, then your wheels will be peeling somebody else's car instead.
You have to adapt to specific assignments that are going to be tasked with you. You CAN NOT be rigid in terms of your approach to driving a truck and stubbornness is the downfall for everything, especially if it’s your first year. It’s not like the truck companies are giving you a horrible time because they feel like it, they are giving you a daunting road to go through to harden you up in the future. If you have no endurance for that then forget about trying to be a truck driver.
Mental
Remember I mentioned about trucks are the stereotypical, overside lad that’s in the playground at school? It’s true actually. All the other cars find your very presence intimidating and will result in them making rash decisions, but you know what’s worse after they make those rash decisions? They blame YOU. Not because you did anything wrong, but simply because you’re too damn big for them to do anything about it. All you can do is suck it up, apologize for something you didn’t do, and move on.
If the thought of having road rage lingers in your mind and you want to be a truck driver, forget it. A truck driver must remain calm and vigilant to be able to observe the road and prevent any accidents and casualties. The slight loss of track (figuratively speaking, of course) could cause you into making dumb decisions, and there’s this saying of “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”. You wouldn’t want to topple a whole truck in the middle of the road, do you?
Truck training courses
The thought of being a truck driver is pretty daunting. You have these humongous side view mirrors that can miss a small object slipping by you. You don’t even have a rear view mirror to see what the “truck” is going on behind you, and any small mistake can prove to be fatal. This article is not meant to scare any potential truck drivers away, but more like to keep those on their toes and know what they have to face in order to commit in this field.