Duties
- Pick up, transport and deliver goods to places for extended period of time and over long distances through driving your own truck.
- Ensure the delivery of goods and materials efficiently on the designated time and date with all the delivery documents needed.
- Conducts regular thorough inspection and maintenance of vehicle before taking it on the road to ensure safe and successful travel and to keep vehicle in condition.
- Understand and follow all travel instructions oral or written given by the company.
- Safely operate tractor equipments of different configurations with varying weights allowed by law under certain conditions and speed limits in a certain places.
- Purchase insurance for your own vehicle.
- Follow all regulations imposed by the Department of Transportation.
- Acts as an owner, manager and driver of your own transport business.
Working Condition
- Drivers spend their life on their trucks when they are on travel.
- They are usually away from their homes and family for trip which may take many days or even weeks. Some companies allow couples to drive together.
- They sleep, eat at a café or chat with other drivers during their brake periods.
- A driver is allowed to drive 70 hours in 8 days and is allowed a maximum of 8 hour break after driving 10 consecutive hours.
- They must fight sleepiness and stay awake and active during hours of driving to stay away from accidents.
- The driver’s destination and the type of goods he carry depend on his own choice.
- You deal with all the financing obligations management and driving obligations by yourself.
Educational requirements
No educational requirement is required. As long as you acquire your own truck, knows how to drive it, has a driver’s license, be able to manage your transport business well and of the proper age.
Occupation and Progress
An Owner –Operator Truck driver owns the truck he drives. Same as ordinary drivers they are given large responsibilities of transporting goods worth great amount of money from one point to another. The operation of some businesses depends on the success of the travel of truck drivers. Owner-Operator truck drivers are usually paid by the miles that they travel, and they fully get the amount of money paid to them. Commercial establishments and business populations grows rapidly which means more opportunities to open for truck drivers since the job does not necessarily require a bachelor’s degree or any sort of formal education. So there’s more chance to grow your own transport business and maybe add another truck. Even though most working conditions of a truck driver are stressful, the good thing is that you can travel and explore many different places and get to meet different kind of people as well.