If you’re considering a career in the truck driving industry, you probably have a few questions. What’s the truck driver schedule look like? How often do truck drivers come home? What are the expected truck driver hours? Are there driving holidays for truckers? Ultimately, these all circle back to the one question every trucker has to ask themselves: what is it like to be a truck driver?
The truck driving lifestyle is fast-moving, dynamic, and exciting. You spend long days on the road, see sights that few people ever get the opportunity to, make a competitive income, and yes, you’ll also get holidays and vacation time.
Trucking companies value and rely on their drivers, which means they’re always willing to provide their employees with the time they need to refuel themselves. If you’re looking to learn more about what the truck driver schedule looks like, and how holidays and vacation time factor into it, then keep reading!
Truckers Can (and Should!) Take Vacations
Just like any other career path, trucking can wear someone out. Even the most passionate of drivers will run the risk of burning themselves out if they don’t take some time off. While drivers are required by law to take a full 34-hours off-duty after working 70-hours, that break is not enough to recharge a driver completely.
The 34-hour break is essential and provides drivers with the time they need to rest and recover after a long week, but it doesn’t replace the need for vacations. Just like United Truck School says, “As a professional truck driver, you have to be alert and healthy to perform your responsibility to the best of your ability. Truck companies understand that vacations are necessary and you may get sick from time to time.”
In most cases, trucking companies provide their drivers with about two-weeks vacation time a year—just like most careers do—but that number will usually go up once you stay with a company for a specified number of years. This vacation time is often paid as well, although every company is inevitably going to be a little different, as there’s not a rock-solid standard that all carriers abide by.
Holiday Time
While you might imagine that truckers don’t get much holiday time, they do. The need for truckers is steady throughout the whole year, and the end-of-the-year holiday season is often a time where truckers don’t have to spend long days on the road.
CDL Training Today explains it like this: “With sufficient inventory going into the holiday season, there are usually large sales to move products after the holidays and to reduce the overstocking they did prior. This means a truck driver will have fewer routes and can easily take a week off during the holidays to spend with family and friends.”
The bottom line is that, yes, truckers get vacation time and holiday time off. Truck driving is one of the most critical jobs in the country, and as such, trucking companies are well aware of how important it is to ensure that their drivers are well-rested and taken care of.
