Should I Become A Truck Driver??? (quiz)


Looking for a quiz to help you figure out if you should become a truck driver? Well, you came to the right place to find out.

In this article I have listed the 13 traits that successful truck drivers have.

Notice I said “successful”. There are a ton of drivers out there that are more successful than others based on these traits and work habits. That is the reality of trucking and any other profession for that matter. Some people are just better suited for jobs than others.





Where do you fit in? You need to find out. If you find yourself having ten or more of the traits I’d say you are okay. If you have less than nine traits you might need to reconsider whether or not trucking is for you before you even start pursuing a CDL.

There are a lot of reasons truck drivers quit (read these 13 reasons) and most of them come back to these traits in some way.

Another thing to consider is which type of trucking you are going to do. Traits that are important for OTR drivers are different than local and regional drivers.

The traits on this list apply mostly to OTR drivers but I would say that I have found them to be true when I drove locally and regionally. These are the things that I saw in drivers that were successful and I respected.

1. Are You Self Sufficient?

Are you self sufficient? A good truck driver is able to get things done alone. There won’t be anyone with you to plan your day, meals, route, or breaks.




It’s up to you to make sure you are up early and ready to go. It’s your responsibility to complete your pre-trip inspection and plan your route so that you maximize your time behind the wheel.

Running out of time and no truck stop or rest stop in sight? It’s your fault. Don’t blame dispatch and don’t blame traffic. You should have planned better.

You get my point? Trucking is a highly independent job. You don’t have much of anyone to help you out with day to day operations.

No one is there to hold your hand. The closest colleague you will have is your dispatcher. Having your dispatcher as your closest colleague is like having a wild dog in your truck with you. You never know what in the world they are thinking and they may attack without warning.

2. Can You Stay Calm?

I’d probably say this is the most important trait. If you are the kind of person that can stay calm under pressure you will do well in trucking.

If you let every single thing get in your head you are going to go crazy. Dispatchers can be a pain in the rear, traffic is hell, and you will have a breakdown…all in the same day.

How are you going to handle it? Blowing up isn’t going to help the situation. I’ve met a lot of drivers that are just nervous people. They freak out and make a big deal out of everything. Their stress levels must be through the roof on a daily basis.

Remember, you will rarely have consecutive days where everything goes as planned. It just doesn’t happen while trucking so don’t expect it.

3. Are You Motivated?

Are you motivated to make money? If you aren’t lazy you can really make some good money in trucking. If you are lazy you can still make money but not as much.

Get up early, get ready (shat, shave, and shower), do your pre-trip, and start driving. The more loads you get the more money you make. This is the way it is in trucking.

Once dispatch sees that you are motivated you will start getting better loads. You need to prove to them that you are worthy of the better loads though. If you can’t prove yourself to them they won’t trust you.

4. Do You Take Things Personal?

Taking things personal is also going to raise your stress level through the roof.

As much as you think trucking is relaxing because you spend a lot of time behind the wheel
it is also very stressful. Driving all day and interacting with other moron drivers on the road is not easy. It takes a lot of patience.

Don’t take it personally when you get cut off or someone takes forever to merge. If you do you are going to be miserable.

Just take a few deep breaths and keep going while trying to avoid road rage. You will be baited into some crazy situations every single day.

You will quickly need to know that you can let it get to you.

If another driver does get a little road rage crazy on you just slow down or pull over. They will usually always keep going and leave you behind.

5. Are You Addicted To Your Phone?

If you are addicted to you phone you are going to have a hard time. Talking on you phone while driving a truck just don’t go together.

You have a two options:
Option 1: Get a good Bluetooth headset like this one by BlueParrot. These are great at drowning outside noise so that you can hear the person you are talking to even with the windows open. Your hands are able to be on the steering wheel, where they belong.

Option 2: Don’t answer your phone until you are parked. This included texting. If you decide to take the risk and get caught on your phone while driving you will have to pay a hefty fine and have a lot of explaining to do to your employer. You could even risk losing your job.

6.Can You Go With The Flow?

Are you able to take what is given to you and run with it? The less drama you create the less problems you are going to have.

Be kind to others and they will usually reciprocate it.

You won’t have a lot of days where everything works out well for you, it just doesn’t happen very often.

Instead of complaining are you going to be able to just go with the flow? I hope so, your trucking career will last a lot longer and be much more pleasant if you are able to.

7. Are You Frugal?

Being frugal in this industry is necessary in order to maximize your earnings.

Are you willing to bypass eating at truck stops and buying your own food the you prep yourself in your truck? Not only will you save money but you will keep yourself from getting fat too.

When I was driving OTR there were some drivers that would sell their homes or stop paying rent for their apartments. They would put all there stuff in storage or by a family member.

Their truck became their money maker and house on wheels. This is an awesome way to make a lot of money because you don’t have to pay a mortgage or rent anymore. Do this for a few years
and you can save up a lot of money.

Another piece of advice: don’t by things at truck stops. Do a little planning and head over to a Walmart where prices are much lower. Truck stops are notorious for raising prices on just about everything.

8. Do You Know What A Garbage Can Is For?

It sounds ridiculous that I have to mention garbage cans, but you need to hear this now.

Garbage cans are for garbage. The truck stop parking lot is not.

When you start peeing in bottles or bags (eventually you will) please don’t toss them out of the window at the truck stop.

Walk over to the nearest garbage can and put it in there.

Be a good driver, I’m sick and tired of truck stops being packed with Gatorade bottles. If you don’t know Gatorade bottles are the bottle of choice for drivers becasue they have a wide opening, unlike soda bottles. The wide opening makes it easier to pee into (for men).

9. Are You A Loner?

You don’t have to be an extreme loner but I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that quite a few truck drivers are to some extent loners.

I’m not talking about the anti-social, crazy loners. I’m talking about people that are okay working alone and driving for many hours alone in a truck without much contact with other people.

Drivers that are OTR will especially need to be okay with going long periods of time on their own. By the way, I don’t count the “super trucker” you meet in line for food at a truck stop as human contact. Stay away from them too.

If you are okay with this then trucking is going to be good to you. On the flip side, if you are extremely social and need a lot of attention you are probably not going to make it very long.

10. Do You Have Some Mechanical Skills?

You don’t have to have the greatest mechanical skills but you do need have a little bit of skills.

Some examples:
1. Can you change a windshield wiper blade?
2. Can you troubleshoot basic mechanical problems? For example, you know when you have a radiator leak?
3. Do you know how to use a screw driver, socket, and wrenches? Do you have a tool set? Are you familiar with the tools in it and what they are used for.
4. Are you able to conduct a pre-trip and accurately identify which parts may need repairs?

The ability to do some basic mechanical repairs goes a long way for a truck drivers. Sometimes it is just easier to do a quick repair while on the road and then get yourself somewhere safely where you can contact dispatch about getting some real help.

You have to have a basic understanding of the truck’s engine and mechanical parts so that you can take are of minor problems on your own.

Knowing more is an advantage because you can stay on the road longer by making minor fixes on your own and know how to assess a major breakdown.

11. Do You Like Driving?

You better like driving because guess what truckers do most? (other than wait a lot) They DRIVE!

If you like being behind the wheel of your car for a long time with no problem then driving a truck is going to be easier for you.

Whether you are driving OTR or local you will be on the road all the time. You better not hate it.

12. Do You Know How To Follow The Rules?

Truck drivers are not rogue drivers out there doing whatever they want.

These days truck drivers are expected to keep accurate paperwork, follow HOS rules with an ELD, and follow the rules of the road. HOS rules are the current (2018) driving rules that you have to follow. =

They tell you how long you can drive for (hours), how long your breaks are, and how long you have to wait (hours) to start driving again. For everything about HOS rules you need to read this article.

Following the rules of the road are important too. Stick to the rules because they are in place to keep you and other drivers safe.

Plus, if you don’t follow them you’ll see that law enforcement is always willing to correct you. Once you start getting tickets and violations you start risking your job and career.

Don’t be wild. Follow the rules and keep moving.



13. How Mature Are You?

Some drivers just freak out when they realize how far they are from home. This usually happens to new drivers that fantasied about being on the road as an adventure but quickly realize that it’s work.

Driving a truck will take you out of your comfort zone. Say goodbye to your shower, bed, and everything else that you use in your home. If you are driving OTR that stuff can’t go with you. Your new bathroom will be at a truck stop.

I have found that mature drivers, both young and old, tend to make the transition much smoother than immature drivers.

I can’t tell you how many drivers I have met that never even make it through their first year of driving. They just can handle the lifestyle change and give it up. If you realize that you can’t do OTR driving then you do have the option of driving regionally or locally.

This way you will be home every night (locally) or home every weekend (regional).