How Long-Haul Trucking Works

There should be a movie about a truck driver couple who have been married for 10 years but don't really know each other because one of them is always asleep.

Me, a long haul OTR truck driver: "Oh hell yeah, time to learn shit I already know"

“One driver will sit behind the wheel in the lead truck, and a series of driverless autonomous trucks will follow” — the next Fast & Furious movie heist script is writing itself lol

As a driver I think this video skips over many of the duties of a driver. We are often put in a weird security guard status, ensuring that freight stays safe and untampered between shipper and receiver. Drivers also keep shippers honest because shippers sometimes cheat and load heavier loads than the bills reflect, which could be an issue when they are already loading trucks to their capacity. Weather is a major reason to keep drivers in the trucks, especially if trucks get electrified because the range with bad weather will become an issue and being able to navigate a snowstorm is also a problem for a computer that can't chain the tires or see the road though an Icey windshield

Since Air transport is hampered he has moved on to other means of transport. Feels like a breakup and moving on :(

8:05 Imagine just trying to merge on to the highway and a stack of 20 trucks is blocking you

I love how he points out that most drivers own their own trucks and then talks about companies going driverless. Actually the people who should be most concerned are the brokers, freight forwarders and dispatchers. We already have the technology to bypass all of them and send freight options straight to the truck. If the driver doesn't have to keep his eyes staring at the highway and hands on the wheel, he can choose the best load for his operation. Who knows, maybe we can even get rid of the mega carriers.

Considering the "train" concept, with one driver in the lead vehicle, what about an even longer autonomous "train" of trucks, on a dedicated truck only lane, along the most common routes (you could call these "tracks")? To make it even more efficient, you can put one big engine in the front to provide the locomotion, and then just directly connect the trailers together. You could have tens and eventually even hundreds of trailers in these so called "trains". Why hasn't anyone thought of this sort of road?

The airline industry is suffering such a monumental crisis that wendover productions has to make a video not related to airlines. Now no one can save the airlines as wendover productions has also deserted them. RIP aviation.

I am a long haul OTR trucker. I am impressed with your knowledge. I’ll be around for a while though. They aren’t as close to autonomous trucks as one would think.

Huge shout out to the NOVA SCOTIA welcome sign at 10:59. WE MADE IT!! WE'RE ON YOUTUBE!!! 2021, BABY!!!

One of the most important jobs today, and low-key underrated. Respect for all truck drivers out there carrying the weight of the world economy✊🙏

"In America it is 11 hours, Europe 9 hours"... and South Africa 16 to 36 hours, while avoiding weight bridges and customs police.

My dad was a long haul truck driver. He hauled haz-mat, so team driving was off limits for him. He would leave Monday morning and come home Friday evening. He had a love hate relationship with the job. He said he saw some of the most beautiful scenes, met great people at truck stops, but it did his body bad. He has neuropathy in his clutch foot, and wrist problems in his shifting wrist. Towards the end of his career he got an automatic truck and said it was a dream. He recently retired to log truck driving which was one of his first loves. He loves the woods. Edit to add: after dealing with diverticulitis for several years, he had his entire colon removed, doctors said logging is too rough on his body. At 62 he can't stop working, so now he hauls scrap metal for a cousin 3 days a week. Nice truck, paved the whole way, and only driving 4 to 5 hours a day.

My brother is a truck driver, he has been honestly since i was a child or more (i'm 25). He truly loves what he does, we are from Costa Rica and he has been working for a couple months on the US just hauling from coast to coast even tho he doesnt even speak english, it is truly astonishing how dedicated he is, when he is about to come to Costa Rica he would pick up a international Haul from the US to here and drive it, usually takes 12-15 days of all day driving all across half of america. I'm a software engineer and i cant think of having such dedication for a job.

The comment section throws even more light on trucking. I don't know the first thing about those rigs but I know to fully appreciate those who drive them. From groceries to medicines and everything in between, thank you, truckers.

tbh autonomous convoys sound a bit like road trains with extra steps

So basically they're trying to turn trucks into trains?

I did ORT with my dad when I was younger I few years back. This is such a human approach to explain the job and I'm glad you did your homework. My dad had a rig from the late 90s, so he didn't have to worry about Elogs. He would drive 14-16 hours a day sometimes.

There’s something about truckers and fascination about them. I remember how they were the coolest people in my mind when I was growing up