Alone on the Open Road: Truckers Feel Like ‘Throwaway People’

Re:Alone on the Open Road: Truckers Feel Like ‘Throwaway Peo... by eeeeeeeeeeeee on Monday May 22, 2017 @06:02PM (#14397279)

It seems like you should get paid (perhaps a slightly reduced hourly rate) if you're waiting for the truck to be loaded. That's completely outside of your control and yet I assume you must be in control of the truck the entire time?

I do think the mileage incentive makes sense because it forces you to be clever about your route. But not getting paid while a truck is loaded seems like total bullshit and basically another example of companies building their business off the backs of workers.

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Re:Alone on the Open Road: Truckers Feel Like ‘Throwaway Peo... by jonlucc on Monday May 22, 2017 @08:42PM (#14397965)

If I'm not mistaken, the truckers are generally 1099 contractors (owner-operators), so it's not that they are just clocked out when they aren't moving, but they are paid by the mile to the destination. Of course, that results in the same effect as described above, but it hopefully adds some context.

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Re:Alone on the Open Road: Truckers Feel Like ‘Throwaway Peo... by ams6110 on Monday May 22, 2017 @10:48PM (#14398462)

Some are owner/operators, many are not. I don't know the breakdown, but many people who drive trucks for a living do not have the financial resources or credit score to be able to buy their own truck (generally a purchase between $150,000 - $200,000 or more, with that much again in annual operating costs).

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Re:Alone on the Open Road: Truckers Feel Like ‘Throwaway Peo... by bluedino on Monday May 22, 2017 @08:09PM (#14397838)

Hey, some truckers are lucky they don't have to load the truck!

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