Truck Drivers Are Walking Away… And It’s Getting BAD

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]So, it has officially been almost two weeks since I've quit truck drive. Um, >> guess what, y'all? I finally quit. I just cleaned out the truck.

[00:00:09]>> All of my stuff is gone.

[00:00:11]>> All right. So, what's been going on since I quit trucking a month and a half ago? Let me tell you.

[00:00:17]>> Y'all think the industry could ever come back? Y'all think the industry could ever be like it used to be?

[00:00:22]>> Whoa. It's a beautiful day to do these reactions, man. Listen, like it before you light it, hit the sub before you hit the but join the team before you hit the green. And most importantly, don't forget to >> hype me up.

[00:00:32]>> Uh-huh.

[00:00:32]>> Hype me up.

[00:00:33]>> Yeah, I need them hypes like a crackhead need a pipe. Now listen, bro. There's only two YouTubers in the whole world that do that. And them both of them.

[00:00:39]Check this out. People are leaving the trucking industry left and right. And the driving force behind it is they are overworked and underpaid. That's what I'm hearing in these streets. A lot of y'all are truckers who watch me and I read the comments, man. Shout out to y'all boys. And some of y'all like, "Well, what you talking about this for?"

[00:00:54]The reason why, bro, everything that we do, basically everything that we buy comes to us on a truck. When you go to Walmart, Target, Aldi, Trader Joe's, wherever you shop at, that [ __ ] got there on a truck. That's why it's important. Let's get into the video.

[00:01:09]>> All right, so what's been going on since I quit trucking a month and a half ago?

[00:01:14]Let me tell you, I honestly didn't know what I was going to do. I zero clue.

[00:01:18]Like, I was like, I don't know. I'm giving it to you, God. I have no idea what's going on. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, but here you go.

[00:01:25]The whole reason I quit trucking, um, first off, you guys should know I love to truck. I I love being on the road. I love driving. Um, the reason I quit is the industry is just going down the hill. I mean, everybody knows that. It's just not what it used to be. Um, I'm tired of fighting and fighting and fighting just to make money and pay the bills while being away from my family.

[00:01:45]>> Not only is trucking time uh demanding, it's consuming and all of that kind of stuff, and the rates are down. to add insult to injury, you going to be away from your family while not getting paid that much money.

[00:01:55]>> Um, so that's the main reason is one, the industry is just not what it used to be. And two, I want to be home every night with my family. And so that's what made me finally decide like it's time.

[00:02:08]If I don't quit now, I'm going to be in it for the rest of my life. And I don't want to be that. I want to find something new right here, right now, and make a career out of it and be able to retire in 20 25 years and be like in my 50s, low high high 50s and be able to retire and still enjoy life. Doing a lot of praying, all that good stuff. And something that's always been in the back of my mind is law enforcement. I have no idea why. Um, so there's been a few times throughout the years where I've applied and it just never worked out. So I never kept pursuing it. And I was like, well, I've always wanted to be an owner operator truck driver. I always wanted to be in trucking, trucking, trucking. That's what I wanted to do.

[00:02:47]And I'm just done. I'm done trying to do what I want to do. So, for the past month, at least the past 3 days, I've been applying for a lot of agencies with law enforcement, sheriff's department.

[00:02:57]Finally, a police position uh you know, the police department patrol uh opened up just like last week. So, I'm going to apply for that. Um, I have been for the past few weeks doing all the processing, testing, um, everything for the state of Wyoming's highway patrol, so trooper.

[00:03:16]And that's why I'm in a hotel right now.

[00:03:18]Tonight, we'll basically start the last leg of the process with the state troopers here in Wyoming. Um, I will go here in the next half hour to go do my PT test. Um, and then tomorrow is the oral interview. Um, got the eye I eye exam, the whole psych test. Um, and then that's it. All that starting tonight to Wednesday morning. So, I'll be in Cheyenne for the next 3 days or whatever it is, finishing out this process. And if I pass all those, so I pass the PT test tonight, I move on to the oral. If I, you know, they approve me with the oral and they like me and push me on to the next one, I have to pass each step to finish the process. If I don't, then I'm done. Um, but if I do pass all the steps, basically, it's up to background all the whole background checks and all that good stuff. And as long as I pass the background check, guys, they're going to offer me a job. So, praying and hoping that it all works out. I pass everything, the background check passes, and I can get this cuz this is what I want to do. I feel like this is what God wants me to do. So, that's why I'm pushing for it as hard as I can. And even if I don't get this job, I'm still going to keep pushing forward cuz I just feel like for some reason God wants me to be in law enforcement. I have no idea why. So anyways, this is the hotel. Here I show you guys king bed.

[00:04:40]Has its own kitchen.

[00:04:42]It's pretty nice. Pretty nice room, not going to lie, for the price. So now that guys, I'll keep you updated on how things go. But uh I got to leave here soon to go take my PT test. Pray for me.

[00:04:53]Wish me luck. Law enforcement. I don't know about that one. But listen, dog.

[00:04:57]Wish that man the best of luck, dog. Oh [ __ ] Law enforcement though.

[00:05:03]Damn, that's crazy. Be a good cop, please. Now look in the next clip. This is actually a woman who's trucking and she's quitting, which is crazy because historically speaking, trucking has always been a male-dominated field because it's very, very taxing on the body and it's a lot of work. You know what I'm saying? Typically women like to work certain types of jobs where it's more comfortable to you're in the AC, you know, you're dealing with people and things of that nature. So, it takes a special woman to get on that road and be a over the road driver, but they're quitting, too.

[00:05:32]>> Guess what, y'all? I finally quit. I just cleaned out the truck. All of my stuff is gone. No, I did not give a two weeks notice. They would never gave me one if I was getting fired. Um, I got orientation next week with Martin Transport. So yeah, I'm about to do a um walk around the truck, take pictures of the truck. I'm leaving the truck at a drop yard. Hopefully they don't try to say, "Oh, you got to leave it at a terminal." Because I really ain't got time for all that. But I am going to do my due diligence. Ask them, you know, where y'all want me to leave the tablet, where y'all want me to leave the keys, is this all right with y'all if I leave it at the drop. Um yeah, that's it. I worked with Snyder for 7 months. It was my first truck driver out of CDL school.

[00:06:16]They started me off at what, like 39 cents a mile, y'all. I got two raises since then. I got my six months raise and I got like for hitting like mileage goals and stuff like that. Every race was only 2 cents. So really, you ain't getting no raise. The pay is absolutely trash. I will say that it's not a bad company. You know, it just wasn't for me. Now, I'll be going to orientation for Martin next week. Hopefully, I get the job. If not, I really don't care.

[00:06:44]I'm still quitting this job. Um, otr is just not for me. This new account I'm gonna be on is dedicated. It's out bi-weekly. It's reefers mostly dropping hook. They paying 60 cents a mile. And they also have a um I guess buffer you can say or a minimum pay for this job.

[00:07:02]The minimum pay is $1,200 a week. So regardless of what kind of miles you get or what happened the week before or you always going to get $2,200. They got a minimum pay. Their hiring bonus is $400, but you would have to after orientation, how they do it is orientation is like two and a half to three days. You get your truck on the third day, you got to immediately go out on the road. If you don't go out on the road on your third day, you don't get the hiring bonus. So, yeah, today is Friday. Um, I'm quitting today for Snider. I just got off the road. Parked my truck yesterday, came and cleaned it out this morning. I'm quitting today and hopefully I have a job by next Wednesday. All right, y'all.

[00:07:39]>> Yeah, man. raises are hard to come by.

[00:07:41]People don't want to pay you. They want to give you pennies on a dollar. They want to feed you peanuts and all that kind of stuff. And then the actual job is really, really demanding, dog. You are literally on the road away from your home. That is absolutely crazy. And it ain't just the pay, too. The cost of operating trucks for people who are like owner operators, that stuff is going up.

[00:08:01]Man, there's so many reasons why people are quitting this. But look, we got more clips.

[00:08:05]>> So, it has officially been almost two weeks since I've quit truck driving. Um, and a lot of people have reached out in my DMs and kind of asked how's it going, right? And so I thought I would share just a twoe recap. I'll be honest, I have not missed the truck one single time. Um, I know that time will come like I'll start looking at old photographs and and videos and stuff and I I definitely will miss it because I genuinely loved what I did. Um, I did like it it was a passion for me. I saw a video from um Chris at Blue Ribbon Logistics and um you know he was talking about his takeaway from Matt's which was you're not going to succeed if you don't love what you do. And I really did love what I did. Um and as I said in previous videos it was more of a personal decision, having four kids at home, wanting to be home with the family more and having built social media up to a viable, you know, source of income. Um that allowed me to be able to do that.

[00:08:57]But I didn't abandon the trucking industry, right? I'm still involved in the industry. I still get to deal with drivers often. um and be a part of something much bigger than myself that's going to leave a long lasting impact on the industry for decades to come, which is super cool. But um yeah, I mean, for the last 2 weeks, I've just been thoroughly enjoying soaking up time with my family, trying to make up for lost time, and um just doing all of the normal things that I think people who don't travel for a living, like truck drivers, take for granted. I enjoy getting up in the morning, reading the newspaper, having a cup of coffee, you know, going to run some errands, clocking into work, clocking out of work. Like, I really enjoy that. All of the mundane things that so many people take for granted are what I've been really wanting for years now. Like, I wanted some semblance of normality again. like I wanted to just run to the store, grab some things, come home, cook myself a meal, you know, kick back on the couch, watch some TV, like all the things that you can't do in the truck and and spending time with the family and going swimming and you know, going to work out and going for runs, like just all of those things. I've been really enjoying it. And um you know, if you're somebody who feels stuck in the truck, um that doesn't mean you don't love what you do. You can love what you do, but if you have a family at home, there's a really good chance you want to be with them. It's so important, especially as as men, to be home and to be the leaders of the household and be present. And, you know, I understand we justify not being there because we have to make money, but at some point, um, all of the time spent just to make money, the money is going to go away.

[00:10:27]The things you buy with the money are going to go away. The only thing that's not going to go away is the regret for not being there more. So, just something to keep in mind. But, yeah, two weeks, two weeks in, um, haven't touched a truck, haven't driven a truck in two weeks, and, um, I couldn't be more happy.

[00:10:42]>> Yep. I feel him on everything he just said, man. You know, being home and being with your kids and your old lady and all that kind of stuff. That's important, man. In order to maintain relationships, you got to be present.

[00:10:52]And it's hard to be present when you trying to get that money on the road.

[00:10:55]And then a lot of times, all of that stuff ain't going to mean nothing at the end of it. You didn't put the kids through college and your wife didn't did that, this, that, and the third, but you wasn't really there for all of that.

[00:11:05]Now, a lot of people are complaining about the operating cost. The people who own their own trucks and stuff, and it's just ass backwards. is like they won't pay you what it actually cost just to operate. They're asking for $4 a mile, but it actually cost $2.25 just to be in operation. But right now, they're only offering people $2 a mile when it cost $225 just to operate. And they're blaming it on these big companies lobbying so that they can have their way and keep on paying these truckers uh pennies on the dollar.

[00:11:34]>> Message to the president.

[00:11:38]The industry for truckers is dying.

[00:11:44]It is being sucked dry by these soulless corporations and lobbyists.

[00:11:52]And it's got to change. There has got to be a change. There gots to be a minimum freight cost of $4 a mile. There's got to be a minimum driver wage of a dollar a mile because the whole all these companies, you can't haul freight for $2.38 a mile when it costs $2.25 to maintain the equipment and get the stuff moved. That leaves nothing for the drivers and the people at the office and the people involved. That's nothing.

[00:12:26]Brokers should be capped at 3 to 5%.

[00:12:29]You know, the people that make this stuff work are the truck drivers and the carriers, and they need to take home the biggest piece of the pie. You know, this is ridiculous. This and it's caused safety issues across the board.

[00:12:43]Everybody's got to cut corners, do a truck drivers, what y'all think? They say these freaks about to jump again.

[00:12:49]Y'all heard anything about that? They say Chuck about to make money like it used to. What y'all think? Real or fake?

[00:12:55]Y'all think the industry could ever come back? Y'all think this industry could ever be like it used to be? Y'all know how it go. We done heard all this before. Every time they say this trucking industry about to turn around.

[00:13:06]Something happened to bring it right back down again. Fuel prices will go up.

[00:13:10]Y'all already know these brokers love to play games. It's always something. We always get the short end of the stick.

[00:13:16]But I don't know. This time it might be different if these freight rates jump.

[00:13:20]It might be different if the industry turn around. A lot of carriers done shut down. They say capacity drying up. They say some of these shippers starting to panic. They say 2026 to be that bunks back here. We all think one thing for sure, two things for certain. Only the strong survive in this industry. And I'm still here. So I'll see if 2026 brings something different. They see trucking money coming back. We going to see though. What y'all think out there truck drivers? Y'all think trucker money coming back? Leave it in the comments.

[00:13:51]>> Truckers, listen up. Times they are changing. And here are the top five changes to expect in trucking in 2026.

[00:13:58]Now, my wife and I have worked in logistics for years before getting into driving. You can bet your bottom dollar we watch the markets. Number five, fleet renewal cost and asset strategies.

[00:14:10]Expect smart, cautious investment rather than big expansion. Replacement over expansion. Carriers will prioritize replacing aging trucks and enhance reliability instead of ordering new large fleets. High costs for equipment, insurance, and maintenance will continue to squeeze margins. Some fleets may face more breakdowns and related demand if older equipment stays in use. Bottom line, >> less replacement and longer asset life cycles, more focus on maintenance tech, and careful capital allocation. Now, although if we get a new Fed chair and interest rates go lower significantly, companies may look to replace at a better price. So, that could all be flipped on its head. Number four, market and economic shifts, freight rates, capacity and network strategies. The market landscape is evolving due to tariffs. We will see a shifting and moving of more domestic products as freight capacities will tighten, meaning less trucks to haul more freight. As some carriers exit and others shift to regional or dedicated networks, expect contract rates to rise, while spot rates, I think they're going to become more volatile than ever, which is good and bad. Shorter hall, inter model, hybrid routing strategies will expand as shippers seek efficiency and predictability. Bottom line, >> due the pricing pressure, there will be more complex capacity planning and a shift toward flexible logistic strategies. Number three, driver shortages and workforce shifts. Driver shortage remains one of the industry's biggest constraints in 2026, and a continued crackdown on unqualified drivers will only increase the shortage and decrease capacity. Good news for drivers. Shortages are expected to persist, pushing carriers to offer better pay, signing bonuses, benefits, and training programs. With less illegal drivers on the road, companies might recruit more from underrepresented groups like veterans or or women or etc. to fill these gaps. Technology, automation, and AI tools will augment rather than replace most drivers I feel in 2026. But in years to come, that could be changing.

[00:16:20]>> Bottom line, >> labor costs will rise and retention strategies become vital. Tough on companies, but good news for drivers.

[00:16:28]Number two, less environmental and emissions pressure. With the current EPA, I expect less restrictions nationwide. Although some states will still kill us, I disagree with some of the models out there saying it's going to get stricter. I think it's going to get less strict. Softer environmental regulations like EPA heavy duty emission standards should affect the manufacturing industry. Also, hopefully making trucks more cost effective in production and use. And let's cross our fingers that this is the year they take a look at deaf regulations. We need some of those gone back over because they're killing a lot of the maintenance fees for a lot of truckers.

[00:17:05]>> Bottom line, >> under the current administration, we should expect a push to better fuel prices and softer compliance requirements.

[00:17:14]And before I tell you the number one thing I think to expect in 2026, like, follow, and comment, and tell me if there's something I missed, if there's something that you are expecting to change in 2026 for truckers. Number one, ramp up of automation and advanced technology.

[00:17:31]Expect significant growth in automation and AIdriven systems, though fully driverless trucks won't dominate yet.

[00:17:37]That's going to be a little while down the road. Advanced driver assist features, autonomous um middle mile testing and AI tools for operations will expand rapidly. More trucks will include built-in safety and driver assist tech, adaptive cruise control, advanced braking. Autonomous truck pilots, especially on highways or fixed routes, are increasing with major companies planning hundreds of autonomous trucks on the road by the end of 2026. And a lot of that has to do with they want cheap drivers. AI will be widely used for route optimization, predictive maintenance, driving monitoring, fuel efficiency, and digital freight matching.

[00:18:13]>> Bottom line, >> improved efficiency and safety, but also new training needs and technology integration challenges. It's going to be a plus and a minus for drivers. But these are the things I expect in 2026.

[00:18:26]Tell me something that you are expecting to change in 2026.

[00:18:29]>> David here with the Macau Company. the dollar per mile driver minimum.

[00:18:34]Opposition to this argument, the opposition says a mandatory dollar per mile wage floor for drivers is unrealistic and will bankrupt carriers.

[00:18:44]Here's the truth. Drivers are the only workers in America who are expected to work 70 hours a week, sleep in a truck, live on the road for weeks at a time, and still not earn a stable wage. A dollar a mile is not a luxury. It's basic survival in 2025. And let's expose the lie behind their argument. Drivers labor is not the reason carriers fail.

[00:19:05]Carriers fail because brokers skim 30 to 80% if they can get away with it, which they can. Not all of them, but most of them. Probably a lot of them, mega ones.

[00:19:14]Rates have collapsed below the cost of operation. Foreign labor loopholes undercut American workers. Turnover is% a year because drivers can't survive financially. Insurance is skyrocketing fuel. And y'all know what else sucks?

[00:19:29]Everything is expensive. They don't want to pay these truckers nothing. And to add insult to injury, they got the do really out there going hard. Like it's Tuesday and Thursdays in New Orleans, man. They are out there really harassing these truck drivers. Now, I get it.

[00:19:42]Y'all got to make sure that they're working and they're safe and you know, pedestrians ain't in danger and all that kind of stuff, man. But it's already tough out here for everybody, man. And y'all over here penny pitching and nitpicking that thing. That's crazy to me.

[00:19:53]>> What's good with all my truckers and everybody out there? Y'all already know what it is. You heard me? It's that do bleaks next week. You heard me? You want to sit your [ __ ] ass down the dumb way. If not, this going to be you.

[00:20:06]You heard me? This will be you. On the real. It's time to take a trucker vacation. Sit your ass out for a week.

[00:20:13]You heard me? All money ain't good money. You heard me? On the real. The dumb way. Y'all stay safe out there and keep trucking. You hear me? This [ __ ] don't stop. The dumb way. You heard me?

[00:20:23]Dumb. And then I've been seeing a lot of videos about how they are making truckers have to have double the amount of insurance or whatever. And you know what? People are saying that most likely one of these senators or one of these people, someone they know owns an insurance company and basically they're getting a kickback and it's going to make those people in the insurance companies richer. And that's why they signing off on dumb [ __ ] that's going to hurt the trucker and then ultimately hurt us, the consumers. The news came out today that the House passed the bill that I thought would not pass and it's the Invest in America Act. And basically what they want to do is they almost want to take $600 billion and change our transportation infrastructure. And parts of their plan sounds great, but there's a part in it that's not great for truck drivers. And that part is they want to hike the minimum requirement for insurance from $750,000 of insurance to $2 million that needs to be covered. So if you think about that for a second, as truck drivers right now, we barely have enough to make it work. And yes, there are truck drivers that carry up to a million because more brokers will work with them. But to make the minimum requirement, $2 million worth of insurance will wipe out almost every owner operator business owner out there. So they're trying to say that every 5 years they're going to relook at this and if they have to up the insurance, they will every 5 years to match inflation. And they're saying from this infrastructure bill that within this 5 years, yes, they're going to spend a billion dollars on truck parking. That sounds very great and amazing. But if you do not have a trucking business or company anymore is not going to matter. And the truth be told, big box companies, big mega carriers, they are self-insured. So they don't have to worry about this.

[00:22:15]>> There you have it. Y'all see what these truckers are up against, man. And it ain't just the truckers. Because at the end of the day, this is an economy and everything is connected to each other.

[00:22:23]If the truckers start hurting, guess what? You're going to start hurting because ain't going to be nothing in the grocery stores. I'm telling you, man.

[00:22:29]So, you know, look out for your people, bro. I hope y'all enjoyed this video.

[00:22:33]I'mma get at y'all on the next one.