“My name is Manuel Marquez Sr. By the time of 2015 I [received] my CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) at the age of 26. I decided to be a truck driver for its minimum wage, around $5,000 per week. Also to maintain my family and give them a better life. I dislike the job personally because its a lazy job that can mess up your physique and the minimum sleep time. In my case I would only sleep around six hours when I arrived home late, but it also varies.
Aside from my perspective, being a truck driver myself consists of huge responsibilities and struggles inspecting your chassis and container. This is our truck driver’s biggest concern because we can cause accidents ending with families and other people’s lives. Another big risk is that if your container’s load is loaded wrong. It may cause you to flip when doing a turn.
After inspecting your load, container, and chassis you will have to get on time to your appointment at the port. Once at the port they will give you the exact location of where the container is either going to get picked up or dropped off. After this, you get to leave to your next destination depending on where your dispatch sends you and what he tells you to do with your container. With new regulations now you are allowed to drive from 10 to 12 hours [a day].”
