4 ms·

Nobody does it for the money. Everyone does it for the bennies. This is probably the least risky OTR trucking job ever since you have so many people making su

Nobody does it for the money. Everyone does it for the bennies. This is probably the least risky OTR trucking job ever since you have so many people making sure everything goes right and you don't have dispatch pushing you to do insane shifts that stretch the law.

ttul 5y ago
Imagine the security going on behind the scenes that the drivers never even know about…
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
  Yeah and I’m guessing the vehicles are unmarked, vanilla trucks that we pass on the roads all the time without knowing.
  - beerandt 5y ago
    That was the idea. The truck manufacturer has been out of business long enough now that seeing a surviving example is relatively rare.
    - rootusrootus 5y ago
      Peterbilt? I believe they still make trucks.
      - shadilay 5y ago
        The trucks the Peterbilt's replaced.
  - queuebert 5y ago
    Based on the article picture, you might be able to pick them out by the bulletproof windows.
  - ttul 5y ago
    I bet 2/3rds of them aren’t even hauling actual weapons.
wolverine876 5y ago
> Nobody does it for the money. Everyone does it for the bennies. Is that based on experience?
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  >Is that based on experience Yeah pretty much. Ask any government worker why they're still working for the government and they'll tell you something about benefits and stability.
  - wolverine876 5y ago
    Government workers I know seem to primarily credit reasonable hours (e.g., government coders don't get 100+ hour weeks; they go home at 5) and decent management (i.e., actual professional management, not screaming morons), but certainly stability and benefits too.
    - MisterBastahrd 5y ago
      Every government dev I know who isn't a manager will strongly disagree with the "professional management" take. People generally don't become managers of government dev shops because they're great at managing people. They become managers because they're what's left after everyone else has gone on to do other things.
      - vmception 5y ago
        +1 to this Public sector is serious brain drain The counterpoints are people so uninspired and risk averse that it is the same as brain drain, and a subset of them are the people that began with a “serving the public” ideal and accidentally accumulated too many obligations by the time they figured out they wanted to live in a nicer neighborhood or send their children to a good college The good talent are people that took a plea deal for non prosecution that included public service
        5y ago
tehjoker 5y ago
This article is illuminating: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/14253/the-us-moves-nukes-in-booby-trapped-tractor-trailers-straight-out-of-an-action-movie https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/14253/the-us-moves-nuk... "The expose painted a dismal picture of an overworked and underpaid organization where over a third of the personnel would put in more than 900 hours of overtime each year, equal to more than 35 extra days on the job. Couriers and agents spend most of that time on the road on long, boring drives unable to stop for protracted periods or even leave their vehicles in many circumstances. If they get pulled over by local law enforcement for some reason, the truck drivers aren't even allowed to speak to the police without the security force commander being present during the conversation. Underscoring these issues, in 2010, the Department of Energy's Inspector General cataloged 16 alcohol-related incidents within OST in the preceding three years, including an incident of public intoxication where a courier was arrested and another where two employees ended up in police custody after getting into a drunken bar brawl. The report uncovered New Mexico court records showing the office's top executive had gotten a DUI after police came across him parked on a sidewalk apparently drinking in the car with a blood alcohol level of 0.15 percent."
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  Reading between the lines they're making a killing on OT and while the job is mind numbing these guys party it up real good when they're not on duty. Sounds a lot like gambling auditing TBH.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
I thought “bennies” was short for Benjamins - $100 bills, I.e. the money? Or they provide benzodiazepines on the job now?
- kevinbowman 5y ago
  I assumed "benefits", i.e. perks beyond the basic salary
  - DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
    As a non-American living in the US the way people talk about tangible public-sector benefits (or lack thereof...) led me to think otherwise. The only significant "benefit" people do talk about is job-security, I guess because people are hard to replace if they're being underpaid...

ttul 5y ago

Imagine the security going on behind the scenes that the drivers never even know about…

TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
Yeah and I’m guessing the vehicles are unmarked, vanilla trucks that we pass on the roads all the time without knowing.
- beerandt 5y ago
  That was the idea. The truck manufacturer has been out of business long enough now that seeing a surviving example is relatively rare.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    Peterbilt? I believe they still make trucks.
    - shadilay 5y ago
      The trucks the Peterbilt's replaced.
- queuebert 5y ago
  Based on the article picture, you might be able to pick them out by the bulletproof windows.
- ttul 5y ago
  I bet 2/3rds of them aren’t even hauling actual weapons.

wolverine876 5y ago

> Nobody does it for the money. Everyone does it for the bennies. Is that based on experience?

throwaway0a5e 5y ago
>Is that based on experience Yeah pretty much. Ask any government worker why they're still working for the government and they'll tell you something about benefits and stability.
- wolverine876 5y ago
  Government workers I know seem to primarily credit reasonable hours (e.g., government coders don't get 100+ hour weeks; they go home at 5) and decent management (i.e., actual professional management, not screaming morons), but certainly stability and benefits too.
  - MisterBastahrd 5y ago
    Every government dev I know who isn't a manager will strongly disagree with the "professional management" take. People generally don't become managers of government dev shops because they're great at managing people. They become managers because they're what's left after everyone else has gone on to do other things.
    - vmception 5y ago
      +1 to this Public sector is serious brain drain The counterpoints are people so uninspired and risk averse that it is the same as brain drain, and a subset of them are the people that began with a “serving the public” ideal and accidentally accumulated too many obligations by the time they figured out they wanted to live in a nicer neighborhood or send their children to a good college The good talent are people that took a plea deal for non prosecution that included public service
      - 5y ago

tehjoker 5y ago

This article is illuminating: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/14253/the-us-moves-nukes-in-booby-trapped-tractor-trailers-straight-out-of-an-action-movie https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/14253/the-us-moves-nuk... "The expose painted a dismal picture of an overworked and underpaid organization where over a third of the personnel would put in more than 900 hours of overtime each year, equal to more than 35 extra days on the job. Couriers and agents spend most of that time on the road on long, boring drives unable to stop for protracted periods or even leave their vehicles in many circumstances. If they get pulled over by local law enforcement for some reason, the truck drivers aren't even allowed to speak to the police without the security force commander being present during the conversation. Underscoring these issues, in 2010, the Department of Energy's Inspector General cataloged 16 alcohol-related incidents within OST in the preceding three years, including an incident of public intoxication where a courier was arrested and another where two employees ended up in police custody after getting into a drunken bar brawl. The report uncovered New Mexico court records showing the office's top executive had gotten a DUI after police came across him parked on a sidewalk apparently drinking in the car with a blood alcohol level of 0.15 percent."

throwaway0a5e 5y ago
Reading between the lines they're making a killing on OT and while the job is mind numbing these guys party it up real good when they're not on duty. Sounds a lot like gambling auditing TBH.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

DaiPlusPlus 5y ago

I thought “bennies” was short for Benjamins - $100 bills, I.e. the money? Or they provide benzodiazepines on the job now?

kevinbowman 5y ago
I assumed "benefits", i.e. perks beyond the basic salary
- DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
  As a non-American living in the US the way people talk about tangible public-sector benefits (or lack thereof...) led me to think otherwise. The only significant "benefit" people do talk about is job-security, I guess because people are hard to replace if they're being underpaid...