Big truck bad luck sure sucks…
One of the most dangerous places in the world is basically anywhere on or next to a road. Vehicles are like rolling hunks of metal with extremely fallible human beings behind their controls. If you are a driver you will know just how easy it can be to get distracted or for other drivers to be aggressive, while the weather can make even the shortest journey feel like an adventure.
Think than what it must be like for lorry drivers. They have to pilot some of the biggest vehicles on the road, are often on the road for a long period of time, have tight deadlines they must stick to and have to sleep in their cabs. No wonder then that driving a truck is such a perilous occupation:
Road Safety
The biggest threat is obviously from the road itself. A huge powerful vehicle is tricky to control and when speed, poor road conditions and distractions come into play it becomes one of the toughest jobs around both mentally and physically.
Family
Being away from home is really hard, especially if drivers have a young family that they would rather be spending time with. The wages for long distance truck drivers are a big incentive though and the benefits of having a greater income can out-weigh the option to see the family more often.
Mental Health
Working largely on their own means that lorry drivers can sometimes get quite lonely, plus they can also get a bit jaded and depressed with life on the road. As with most jobs though, you either love it or hate it and if you hate it you will certainly grow unhappy about your situation quite quickly.
Financial Health
Truck insurance is expensive. Many trucking companies will cover the cost of HGV insurance and petrol etc. which is great, but if you are self-employed with your own truck then you will have to fork out lots of money for insurance and importantly, the cost of fuel.
Physical Health
Some people might like the idea of sitting down all day, stopping for breakfast at a greasy road side café and sipping energy drinks and coffee all day long, but joking aside, truck driving can breed poor physical health that is only dealt with through good diet and exercise when not driving the truck.
Driving a truck can be a fantastic career choice but you should be aware of these issues before you make any commitments.
Sam Qam is an HGV insurance expert. He always tries extra hard to find cheap truck insurance for first time drivers.
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