In the first season of our podcast, Arrow Truck Sales has been taking a closer look at what it takes to be a successful driver. We’ve met with various individuals throughout the industry, gleaning the wisdom and advice offered up in each interview. Recently we concluded our first series on the show, a collection of interviews with DEX Heavy Duty Parts.
We learned a great deal about DEX and the trucking industry in this five-part series. If you haven’t caught up on these episodes yet, check out our DEX Heavy Duty Parts playlist on YouTube. After discussing the topic with them over the last month, here’s a look at what it takes to be successful as a truck driver according to DEX.
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Darin Redmon, Director of Operations
“It’s not just being a driver; you have to be a logistics manager, you have to be efficient, you have to be a business owner…you have to be that total package.” Efficiency and flexibility are a big key to success according to Darin. A driver isn’t just climbing into a truck and hitting the road, there are numerous other unique facets to the job that can make or break someone’s success.
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Kyle Pruitt, Productions Manager
“Continuously learning and evolving, trucking is changing…” Timeliness, highway safety, continual learning, and owning a good truck are elements Kyle believes are important to any successful driver.
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Sarah Newton, Marketing
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The main thing is taking pride in what you do day in and day out and having a passion for it.” While access to equipment and freight are two big factors that Sarah cites as important to success, she believes that the trait that truly separates a successful driver from the rest is pride and passion for the job.
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Carey Hubbard, Site Manager
“In the age of same-day shipping, ‘got to have it now’, being calm under pressure has to make life tremendously easier.” Everyone at DEX agrees that the trucker’s role is as unique as it is diverse. There isn’t o
ne simple way to describe the job, and similarly, there isn’t one simple way to be successful at it. Carey voiced this fact in his interview by providing a list of skills and traits he believes every driver needs to succeed. These 5 key skills are: patience, good time management, customer-first focus, dependability, and self-dependence.
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Will Proctor, Sales
“You have to be mi
ndful of the cars and other trucks, mindful of your equipment, mindful of your loads…” When Will asked his stepfather, a former trucker, what makes a driver successful, he narrowed his answer down to one simple word: mindfulness. Day-to-day a driver needs to stay mindful of a wide array of things to keep themselves, their load, and the drivers they share the road with safe.