In the freewheeling days of the CB craze, a truck driver would deliver the load that he/she was on, driver to the nearest truck stop, grab the nearest pay phone, call their dispatcher or broker and then wait until there was another load available, then deadhead to their new origin or place of pickup. In some cases this would require an over night stay at the truck stop.

The modern truck driver of today have many new technologies such as cell phones, computers or laptops, Qualcoms, GPS systems etc in order to obtain and deliver their loads from their companies dispatch.

This makes life a little easier on the drivers of today because this helps the drivers make more money by keeping those big wheels rolling all or most of the time with back to back loads instead of having to stop at a truck stop after every load to call dispatch to find their next load as in years past. The truck driver no longer suffers the almost total isolation as in years past. Truck drivers have come a long way since their predecessors - the Pony Express.

Drivers of today care more abut their rigs. Some like to fix them up with new decals, new technologies etc. They live everywhere. On every freeway, in nearly every corner of the continent, each of them hauling their loads, their livelihoods, and items from home such as sheets, and pillow cases for their bunks, blankets, pictures, TV’s and VCR’s, books, laptops, cassette tapes, CD players etc in order to make their sleeping area or the sleeper feel more like home since their rigs are basically their home away from home.

Since most drivers are away for long periods of time, sometimes up to a month at a time, they put in a refrigerator, a microwave and bring food from home with them and put it on the truck to save on the ever rising cost of eating at truck stops and such.

For some truck drivers, being on the road represents an artistic expression of independence and heritage thus also known now days at “The last of the cowboys.” whose lives were very similar back in the old western days. Some more of the reasons behind wanting to become a truck driver are many and very person has his own specific reason which prompts him to choose to become one. To some it may be the money, while to others it is the sheer love of being on the road. Yet others opt for the profession because of the health benefits that are given while on the job. Essentially one must love the job to become a dedicated trucker.

One very important reason for the hike in wages is the increasing shortage of truck drivers available. As a new driver the average annual income is thirty five thousand dollars which continues to rise with time. The wages are based on the number of miles logged in and the more the miles, the more the wages.