The driver

I have mentioned in past postings that a " Driver " does a heck of a lot more than drive and that referring to them as a driver does not truly due them justice especially in the eyes of the general public.

Any of us associated in dispatch or operations certainly knows what a driver truly does and what they face every day but even people in our industry but not in the operations side really do not know or at least it is not on their forefront of their minds.

It is much harder today to be a professional household mover than it was in the past.

With the involvement of third party companies taking over our industry it has taken a lot of the rules and controls out of the hands of the individual Van Lines and therefore out of the hands of our drivers.

The Department of Transportation has tightened up many of their regulations and just within the past few years introduced very strict rules and fines to go along with log infractions and roadsides. Some of which can result in immediate suspension of a driver's licence or even termination.

Paperwork for each line of work has increased ten fold and if a document is missing or not signed the driver will have great difficulty getting paid for the services that he has provided.

People are moving more than they ever did and some because of economic reasons may be moving against their will. Moving is stressful enough and when  a driver has to move a customer who is unhappy about the move to begin with their job is nearly impossible to truly please the customer.

A professional household mover is a business man, no different than the store down the street from you. The only difference is his store is on wheels. To run his business he needs assistance so he needs to hire labor while out on the road. This too has become very difficult. First off can you imagine having to hire strangers every day to help you in your business and to trust them when you are not looking? It is hard enough to train and trust the same employees that show up to your workplace every day so imagine having to hire new people every day or on every move. And you are responsible for each and every one of them.
Restrictions on what labor you can even bring in a home has increased making it even more difficult for drivers to find good labor, as if it was not already difficult.

Add in that the driver is a away from home and his family for weeks and months at a time and he needs to do most of his traveling at night and early morning hours and must keep his his log book and hours current and legal at all times and still do all that is asked of him and you get a little glimpse into what is like to be a
" Driver " in  2012.

Still with all that added burden and responsibility the " driver " is professional and every day they are out there helping somebody else through their stress. Because at the end of the day they like what they do, they like making a difference in some body's life. They take pride in being a professional and being able to do what most can not.

All that said I hope everyone can have a bit more respect for what you, "the driver" does ,
I salute each and every one of you .