In da hood?

[grote90]

Hello! I am 19 so pretty soon I can go get my cdl, (4 months 1 year away). I got some questions-

1)Is it easy to get a truck driving job? Like are they always needed?
2)One of my main questions is getting stuck in da hood. I am not sure what you call it but like I guess bad areas. Will you be in bad areas when dropping or picking up loads? If so, ever have any problems?
3)Is pay better than flipping burgers and such?

*Yes I want to drive, I have been wanting to ever since I could talk. I know it might be weird lol but this is my dream job. Also for the being alone part, I do not care at all, I actually like a lot of time away from people.*

Thanks for all the help, keep on truckin!

 

[TruckerTrash]

2)One of my main questions is getting stuck in da hood. I am not sure what you call it but like I guess bad areas. Will you be in bad areas when dropping or picking up loads? If so, ever have any problems?

one wrong turn could get ya killed....yes sir! remember the trucker who was nearly beaten to death during the rodney king riots in LA? oh.....you might be to young to remember that

 

[cajuntrucker59]

one wrong turn could get ya killed....yes sir! remember the trucker who was nearly beaten to death during the rodney king riots in LA? oh.....you might be to young to remember that

his name was reginald denny.......and yes he was nearly killed by a mob while trying to do his job driving a truck....and why? because he was white! about 10 guys took turns beating him. and when they were thru, and he lay half dead in the street, they robbed him of his wallet. took 30 major operations to put him back together after the whippin he took. mans still blind in one eye. thats what can happen to ya when you drive a truck in da hood!

 

[grote90]

Well I looked that up and it seems that he was in area where a riot was lol. I would stay away from a riot, so are you like often put in to a bad area? Please everyone still answer my questions so I know weather to pick this job or not....thanks!

 

[TruckerTrash]

Well I looked that up and it seems that he was in area where a riot was lol. I would stay away from a riot, so are you like often put in to a bad area? Please everyone still answer my questions so I know weather to pick this job or not....thanks!

recently in houston tx a truck driver for budweiser was hijacked in a rough part of town. they whipped his ass, took all the beer they could fit in their stolen car and took turns pissing on him as he lay bleeding on the ground.

 

[cajuntrucker59]

recently in houston tx a truck driver for budweiser was hijacked in a rough part of town. they whipped his ass, took all the beer they could fit in their stolen car and took turns pissing on him as he lay bleeding on the ground.

there was a truck driver about 10 years ago driving thru the mountains of tennesse when he was hijacked by two dudes straight out of the movie deliverance. took him out in the woods and made him squeal piggy piggy for two hours. poor man cant even watch porky pig without shakin and screaming. so you dont have to be in the hood for bad things to happen.

 

[cajuntrucker59]

Well I looked that up and it seems that he was in area where a riot was lol. I would stay away from a riot, so are you like often put in to a bad area?

the riot was in da hood. i believe thats the point being made. so if your scared of da hood this is what could happen at any given moment. and yes, you may be asked to go into some bad areas to pick up and deliver. just be aware of your surrondings and since your young i assume you can run fast and long.

 

[patriciajnsn]

Grote are u having second thoughts yet after reading the replies?oh and welcome to the forum.You should'nt have any trouble at all getting a job.Companies would rather hire new drivers then the veterans as long as u have an almost perfect mvr.You fill out 1 application on a trucking site and you'll get 50 emails if not more along with many calls.As far as being stuck in bad areas,thats a possibility but if u want to pursue trkdriving u have to take the good with the bad.I've delivered to a few bad areas but nothing has ever happened.Just deliver the load and find the nearest truckstop even if youre about out of hrs to drive,dont stay in a real bad area.If your company says something about u driving over hrs,u just tell them the bad area u were at and u will not stay in a place like that.One time with Werner I had to deliver in a real bad area in NYC by that time I was just about out of hrs.I drove a few hr over and heard about it the next day.I didnt get a warning for it.

 

[TruckerTrash]

really my man, trucking is something you really must have a desire to do. its not for every one. your disrespected and underpaid in alot of the trucking sectors. however, once you get some experince, learn the diffrent types of driving jobs available, you can make a living at it. you may have to start over the road for little or next to nothing and away from family and freinds for extended periods of time. for a young man like yourself you will have to decide if you want to make those sacrifices. i started in the oilfields with halliburton in the late 70s. went months without being home. and i get real cranky if i go 24 hrs without some trim (sex). but you learn to deal with it. after i gained about 5 yrs of experince, i started hauling offshore rig supplies to docks and was home every night and weekend. today i work for a constuction company hauling bulldozers, front end loaders, scrappers and backhoes to job sites. gotta be careful in this line of work, cuz i travel thru residental neighborhoods and people will call the cops for gettin mud on the roads and all kinds of stuff. i would pursue college if i were you and if you still want to drive thats cool. one of my codrivers is a college grad in the field of geology. but whatever you do investagate all options. your already headed in the right direction asking questions in this forum. theres a ton of knowledge in this forum. most all the moderators in this site have been driving for years and will answer any question you have. if they dont know, they will find someone who does. start saving your money now and go to a private trucking school if thats possible. find one thats at least 280-300 hrs in training. stay away from the company cdl schools. they rush you thru and the quaility of training suffers. or maybe you know someone with a truck and can learn from them. you dont have to go thru a school to go to your local dps station and take the test. study and go down there and take care of business. anyways good luck and if there is something else i can help you with, post in here and we will figure it out. later!

 

[patriciajnsn]

Dont scare the poor kid trash,LOL. When I first started driving even when I was attending truck driving school,this is'nt something I wanted to do,I could take it or leave it.But I got laid off from my job and they paid for my schooling.So I thought what the heck i'll give it a shot.That attitude lasted well after a yr driving.Now almost 8 yrs later here I am still driving trk.Trash is right,u have to have a strong desire to do this.I don't care if jobs are plentiful or not,this is what I intend to do as long as I am able.I love driving trk.I am OTR,I get home once a month sometimes I stay out longer.Alot has to do with whether u like the company or not and I like this company I drive for so I dont mind staying out.My first company was with Werner for 3 yrs and hometime could'nt come soon enough.Grote,the first yr out here is THE MOST HARDEST. But with more exp u gain,trucking becomes second nature.It was so difficult for me at the beginning now it's a piece of cake.But u can't come into the industry with the idea of making money.I have yet to meet a rich truck driver.Trucking is one of the lowest paying job there is.Its not really a job more like a lifestyle.Every yr though its getting harder and harder to get a trk driving job.The federal regulations are so strict u almost have to have a perfect everything before a company will even consider u.If u do deside to go to trk school,make sure u have a job before u graduate and do alot of research on the company and ask lots of questions.There are so many bad companies out there.If alot of drivers give u bad feedback about a company then dont even go there because you'll just quit in a month or less.

 

[grote90]

Thanks to all for the helpful information, it helps a ton. I would love to drive a truck, like I said I wanted to do it all my life and not sure why lol. I am not in it for being rich and like I said I am totally fine being away from people for a extended amount of time. Some like a lot of away/alone time and I would be one of them. Please continue to answer my questions if anyone can and would like to give their input on it. So is 20k a year at least a reasonable amount to say a trucker would get? Cause that is more than flipping burgers right? Lol. Anyways please continue to answer them 3 questions and any input you got, thanks for the wonderful information and forums!

 

[Sinister]

I left out of Carson today and drive through Compton on the interstate. Even on the interstate everything has spray paint on it. Then, as you passs through Compton, it pretty much stops. Well...slows anyway. Tagging is TERRIBLE out west now.

Anyway, I startede sending random text messages to my friends.

Let 'em rackanize from Long Beach to Rosecrans!"

Straight outta Compton! A crazy ass nigga. A bruva dat'll smuva ya mutha, and make ya sista think I love her!"

Most of my friends didn't get it.

Then, I played It Was a Good Day and Check Yo Self on my Ipod. Because those are the only two rap songs I have on my Ipod.

You know that part in the movie Office Space, where the geeky white dude is sitting in traffic listening to hardcore gangsta rap, then sees the black hobo, and gets nervous and locks the door? That's me.

 

[Rigjockey]

grote yes u do get sent "to da hood" sometimes ur dispatch sends u to west hell .my best advice on that is sleep at a truck stop in a safe location do ur pick or del get in and get out. if u can t get loaded or unloaded by the end of the day leave get out of there get to a safe place. go back the next day id rather drive 50 miles than get hurt or killed.you hear about it all the time a driver gets killed out there just trying to thier job.

 

[TruckerTrash]

I left out of Carson today and drive through Compton on the interstate. Even on the interstate everything has spray paint on it. Then, as you passs through Compton, it pretty much stops. Well...slows anyway. Tagging is TERRIBLE out west now.

Anyway, I startede sending random text messages to my friends.

Let 'em rackanize from Long Beach to Rosecrans!"

Straight outta Compton! A crazy ass nigga. A bruva dat'll smuva ya mutha, and make ya sista think I love her!"

Most of my friends didn't get it.

Then, I played It Was a Good Day and Check Yo Self on my Ipod. Because those are the only two rap songs I have on my Ipod.

You know that part in the movie Office Space, where the geeky white dude is sitting in traffic listening to hardcore gangsta rap, then sees the black hobo, and gets nervous and locks the door? That's me.

LOL!

 

[cajuntrucker59]

2)One of my main questions is getting stuck in da hood. I am not sure what you call it but like I guess bad areas. Will you be in bad areas when dropping or picking up loads? If so, ever have any problems?

yes, you may have to go to some bad parts of town, and as is already been stated you might get cornholed if your not careful. stay alert, keep your doors locked, and dont make eye contact. also remember you have the advantage driving an 80,000lb vehicle. run their ass over if you have to. you have every right to defend yourself. take some karate lessons. DOT dosent allow guns in the truck, but neither does the state of texas without a carry conceal permit, but it hasent stopped me from doing so. if someone jumps up on the side of your rig and tries to open the door, cap dat ass!

 

[cajuntrucker59]

3)Is pay better than flipping burgers and such?

if you go thru one of the trainer companies that offers CDL training in return for one year of service, you will make more money mopping the floors of that burger joint.

 

[grote90]

LOL@ Sinister, another thing to ask would be like how many times do you load/unload in da hood? Like 1 in 100 or what? Lol, thanks. Also, as I take it you can load or unload then travel down the road to be safe for the night/day? Thanks!

 

[Scorp]

another thing to ask would be like how many times do you load/unload in da hood? Like 1 in 100 or what?

That's hard to give a number. It just happens from time to time. A lot of companies are good about telling you in the directions if it's a bad area. Not so much because they care about you, but rather, the freight...

Also, as I take it you can load or unload then travel down the road to be safe for the night/day? Thanks!

Sure you can as long as you have hours to drive and a place to go

 

[Scuba78]

Grote90,

Just fyi, most housing around industrial areas are rough or rough looking. Like everyone else has said, you will have to deal with it from time to time. I've turned down a load picking up in Compton. Dispatch got a big F U ! I got lucky with that though, it was questionable if the shipper was good on paying. If your sent to a place like that, just keep your head on a swivel. Personally I hate going into a place where I'm the minority (happens a lot), it's amazing how people get attitude by the color of your skin. So your going to need some thick skin to tolerate it. It's also really funny how attitudes change when I pull out my 4ft metal bar to crank down my straps (another story for another time....that guy stopped chewing me out real quick).

Like Scorp said, there is no way to figure out how often you will visit the really bad areas. Just be careful and watch what is going on around you. Figure out what the neutral color is. lol

Another little trick, if you can pick up some Spanish and other major dialects, that will go a long ways. Attitudes will change in a hurry.

Welcome to the forum !

 

[boone315]

I left out of Carson today and drive through Compton on the interstate. Even on the interstate everything has spray paint on it. Then, as you passs through Compton, it pretty much stops. Well...slows anyway. Tagging is TERRIBLE out west now.

Anyway, I startede sending random text messages to my friends.

Let 'em rackanize from Long Beach to Rosecrans!"



Straight outta Compton! A crazy ass nigga. A bruva dat'll smuva ya mutha, and make ya sista think I love her!"

Most of my friends didn't get it.

Then, I played It Was a Good Day and Check Yo Self on my Ipod. Because those are the only two rap songs I have on my Ipod.

You know that part in the movie Office Space, where the geeky white dude is sitting in traffic listening to hardcore gangsta rap, then sees the black hobo, and gets nervous and locks the door? That's me.

I wonder what ever happened to that guy who went around painting 'Jesus loves you' on everything, I think he made it to L.A. and the crips got him