Best Yet Express is currently hiring truck drivers and we thought we would share a little bit about the difference between over the road drivers/long haul drivers and city drivers/short haul drivers.
Let’s start out with a few basics: Every truck driver goes to truck driving school. Larger trucking schools train long haul drivers since the only real way for these drivers to gain experience is to hit the road. These companies partner the rookie truck driver with an experienced driver and the pair of them drive long haul across the state. Gaining trucking experience in city driving is definitely different because those types of trips aren’t needed and skills/experience can be gained through driving around any local city.
Another difference between the two types of drivers has to do with their trucks. Long haul drivers basically live out of their truck since they’re on the road for long stretches of time. Their trucks are designed in a way that make such a thing possible and include equipping them with beds. Trucks for city drivers are smaller and more maneuverable. This allows these trucks to move around busy city streets with greater ease. Of course, beds aren’t needed in these types of trucks.
Driving skills are also different between the two different types of drivers. Long haul drivers generally make trips that involve the truck mainly moving forward and backward. It’s one of the reasons why long haul drivers are generally considered safer drivers than city drivers. City drivers, on the other hand, typically have to make sharp turns and other maneuvers that are typical with driving in a busy city. They also have to be able to maneuver around warehouse spaces and play a role in things like cross docking and warehousing activities.
Best Yet Express is a Los Angeles-based trucking company that specifically serves Los Angeles and its surrounding areas. Because of this, we seek to hire drivers that have at least some city driving experience. We typically look for city drivers that are knowledgeable in things like LTL shipping, cross docking and warehousing, so that they have the experience to just blend right in to our businesses practices.
