It's a Team's Life
Recruiting to the wrong age group?
Driver Shortage
When I hear the word driver shortage I cringe. While attending meetings I often hear about the driver shortage and sometimes this is followed up by profit margins and I must admit my blood usually comes to a boil.  Each month there are thousands and thousands of new CDL’s issued and yet the turn over seems to be as great or even more of people leaving the industry as drivers.
When I think of our age when we entered trucking as truck drivers it seemed about perfect. Our last child had left home for college and we were faced with an empty house and wondering about our future at the age of 40. What do we do with ourselves? We decided to do something different and we headed to a truck show to see about joining the ranks as a driver and the lure of the open road! What I did not know was that we really were about the perfect age, no kids at home, a second career, and we had life experience.
Why an older driver? As a second career, we have life experience, we take responsibility for us and our actions, we are dependable, we solve problems, and we are usually steady workers. We know the importance of maintaining the truck that we either own or that we are driving as we know that is how we are making a living.
Recruiting
How to attract the older driver? As we are using more and more RV Campgrounds to get our restarts or waiting over the weekend to pick up a load the comments and questions about our truck fascinate me. There are those that are ready to retire from their current job but yet are not ready to totally retire and this is the job for them. When people attend RV Shows or home shows many are attending with the idea of seeing the open road and finally getting away from the drudgery of their 9 – 5 jobs. How many of these people who are not ready to completely retire would rather drive a straight truck with or without their spouse and see the country while getting paid?
Ease of Entry
A straight truck is comparable to a motor coach as our overall length cannot be longer than 40’. Many of the straight trucks have all of the amenities as a motor coach. The Freightliner rides as well if not better than the coaches and are very quiet. Straight trucks can usually find a parking place easier than a tractor-trailer due to the length and the times we are usually driving. Typically, our customers are different as they need what we have or they need our expertise of wrapping their freight like a precious present and delivering safe and sound to their customer.
Quality of Life
Sleepers are set up to stay out on the road away from home for months at a time and be comfortable. Most of the sleepers that teams use has been set up for comfort. We can easily cook, carry enough food for a week, and have a table to use for eating or as a desk. Many of the expedite drivers have their pets with them and have plenty of room. It is always fun to see pictures of where people take their trucks and the sites they get to see.Â
 Drivers with life experience
Once the kids leave home many people start looking for alternatives to the 9 – 5 job they currently have. All of the sudden it is all about us and our future instead of the children. It is exciting to think of our options and the path to retirement. The jump from a typical lifestyle to becoming a truck driver is stressful and usually, a lot of research is done before taking a leap of faith. Over the years I have watched as different people jump into expediting and some fail and others thrive. What I have noticed is that those that do a lot of research and go into this with a dose of reality instead of rose-colored glasses do very well.
How many of you have followed this path or are thinking of joined us out here on the open road?
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee
Saint Louis MO
Expediters since January 2005
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Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;
Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;
Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.