The longer I stay in this industry, the more I realize trucking doesn’t really have a “driver shortage.”

It has a burnout culture.

The lifestyle slowly drains people mentally, physically, and emotionally and a lot of companies normalize it like it’s just part of the job.

Constant pressure.
Constant monitoring.
Constant rushing.
Bad sleep.
Terrible food options.
Isolation for days or weeks at a time.
Always being on a clock.

And after a while you stop feeling like a human being and start feeling like a machine that’s falling behind production numbers.

What really gets me is other industries openly talk about burnout, work-life balance, and mental health now.

Meanwhile trucking still has this attitude of:
“Be a man/woman. Figure it out. Keep driving.”

Then companies act confused when drivers become angry, unhealthy, detached, exhausted, or quit altogether.

I’ve realized recently a lot of drivers aren’t lazy or weak.

They’re just burnt out and mentally overloaded from living this lifestyle year after year.

Thanks for reading my rant…