{"id":5149,"date":"2012-03-09T13:51:04","date_gmt":"2012-03-09T19:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=5149"},"modified":"2012-03-09T13:55:41","modified_gmt":"2012-03-09T19:55:41","slug":"on-the-road-comments-and-advice-from-the-crazy-trucker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2012\/03\/09\/on-the-road-comments-and-advice-from-the-crazy-trucker\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Road: Comments and Advice from \u2018The Crazy Trucker\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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"The Crazy Trucker" weighed in on our story about the trucking industry and the shortage of commercial drivers.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Our story<\/a> on the shortage of truck drivers in Oklahoma and around the country started pretty simply.<\/p>

We report on the economy and the Oklahoma workforce, and there\u2019s one question we routinely ask: Who\u2019s hiring?<\/p>

There are several academic reasons why there aren\u2019t enough truckers in the U.S., but one of our commenters illustrated a point that\u2019s more experiential than academic: Life on the road is \u201cpotentially challenging to any relationship.\u201d<\/p>

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As we reported, the booming energy industry in Oklahoma \u2014 and around the country<\/a> \u2014 employs a lot of commercial truck drivers.<\/p>\n<\/div>

That\u2019s good \u2014 and bad.<\/p>

If you\u2019re a motor carrier with a contract to haul sand for hydraulic fracturing, business is brisk. But if you haul baking flour, like Ike Glass\u2019s Newkirk, Okla.-based outfit does, you\u2019ve got new competition for an already small driver pool.<\/p>

The energy industry tends to pay its drivers more, motor carrier owners and truckers say. Another benefit: When you drive for the energy industry, you\u2019re home a lot more.<\/p>

Here\u2019s how one of our commenters, Hervy Christmas, who’s known on the Internet as \u201cThe Crazy Trucker,\u201d explains it:<\/p>\n

The main thing is before driving making sure that you and your situation are compatible for the trucking lifestyle. The varies greatly depending on the type of trucking job that you get. As a new driver unless you are hired by one of the energy companies, you will be over the road. This is potentially challenging to any relationship, so keep that in mind.<\/p><\/blockquote>

<\/em>The Crazy Trucker runs lifeasatrucker.com<\/a>, where he blogs, philosophizes, answers questions and offers advice \u2014 and big-rig recipes<\/a>! \u2014 for truckers and those interested in the industry.<\/p>

He also has more than 1 million views on his YouTube channel, where he dispenses trucking-related interviews and advise as well as perspectives on relationships and pop culture.<\/p>