US vs Canadian truck drivers

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EX-PAT BRITISH TRUCKERS (INTERACTIVE)
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  1. I’ve seen on YT a driver complaining about being stopped almost every time crossing the boarder( I think it was Windsor/Detroit one) and every time being held for 4 - 5 hrs having his load and docs checked, so I thought that was bad.
    5 - 10 mins is not bad at all.

  2. Health care

I’ve never been a fan of private healthcare, but seeing how underfunded NHS is and from what I can see the same story is with the Canadian equivalent, as waiting times involved to have anything done or to see a specialist I’m starting to wonder maybe Yanks have it better with their private health care, as from what I read an average monthly contribution is jus over usd 300, so I thought that was manageable if in exchange you could get an efficient and reliable healthcare.
If, as you are saying Robinhood, when you get seriously ill, say cancer, and you are left alone by the healthcare provider you’ve been paying monthly contribution for so many years, why would people bother paying anything in at all?

Few other questions if you don’t mind chaps

How is it sleeping at truck stops, are these truck stops noisier than UK’s services are?
I’ve heard you need to idle overnight to keep warm, so I guess it must be noisy.
Do companies allow drivers to idle overnight, due to cost of fuel being used?
What about night heaters, are there any?
Do you get paid any nights out money for sleeping in the truck?
Do you need to pay for parking at truck stops, do you get any meal vouchers?

Thanks

62

anon84679660:
5. Health care

I’ve never been a fan of private healthcare, but seeing how underfunded NHS is and from what I can see the same story is with the Canadian equivalent, as waiting times involved to have anything done or to see a specialist I’m starting to wondering maybe Yanks have it better with their private health care, as from what I read an average monthly contribution is jus over usd 300, so I thought that was manageable if in exchange you could get an efficient and reliable healthcare.
If, as you are saying Robinhood, when you get seriously ill, say cancer, and you are left alone by the healthcare provider you’ve been paying monthly contribution for so many years, why would people bother paying anything in at all?

Few other questions if you don’t mind chaps

How is it sleeping at truck stops, are these truck stops noisier than UK’s services are?
I’ve heard you need to middle overnight to keep warm, so I guess it must be noisy.
Do companies allow drivers to middle overnight, dou to cost of fuel being used?
What about night heaters, are there any?

Thanks

Health care has to be paid for whether it’s the US version or the UK NHS version.The problem with both being that there is a difference between what it costs v the amount that is being paid in.In large part because of wage reductions in real terms leading to taxation shortfalls here or insurance premiums there.While I for one don’t believe that anyone with any sense there wouldn’t have unlimited health cover just like anyone from here going there for a holiday.However there are obviously a number of grey areas in the private insurance based system such as those described of people having policies arbitrarily terminated.Which can only logically be a flaw in the policy requirement at the purchase stage regarding the definition of ‘unlimited’ cover. :bulb:

Engine idling is mostly a necessary result of the harsh North American climate conditions.At least in the winter.Not only because the average Euro night heater wouldn’t be powerful enough but because the cold can be enough to seize engines,freeze fuel lines and take out batteries in a short time.As for extreme heat/humidity without idling to maintain standard factory fit vehicle air con it would take a decent stand alone generator and independent roof type air con plant.Such as used on RV’s. :bulb:

Robinhood’s comments were interesting.Which seemed to confirm what I’ve said about the superiority of distance full load work whether UK,Europe or North America.As opposed to relatively short haul tramping type operations.Like everywhere else I’d guess the problem in the US being the increase in rail movements taking out much of the potential for full load distance work there ( IE mostly East/West traffic ).Unlike Canadian/US North/South traffic which is also obviously helped by the issue of cabotage ?.While also possibly all bets are off regarding domestic long haul Canadian East West traffic in that regard.Although with the allowance there of doubles outfits probably making the difference. :bulb: On that note Canada can be the only logical choice for anyone intending to work in North America even if by some miracle America ever allowed any foreign nationals to work there as a driver anyway which is historically a case of no chance.

63

No, I’ve never thought about trucking in the US as I know it is out of the question, due to visa restrictions, although I have watched a video not long time ago , one US driver saying he met one young Polish driver, he about 26 yo, said he did 2 years truck driving in Poland, then moved to the US and was working as an OO there, saying he wouldn’t do anything else.
So, I guess there is a way to get there, but must be a very complicated one.

64

There’s not that much coast to coast stuff in Canada, Montreal and Toronto to Vancouver and vice versa is a pretty busy lane and it’s 3000miles each way give or take, so plenty far enough.

If I leave Sunday evening I can get to Vancouver Tuesday night, tip and reload Wednesday and be home by Friday afternoon without breaking a sweat, even in winter if Mother Nature behaves herself. That’s more than enough miles to earn a decent wage/rate and gives a nice balance between work and home, in my mind that’s the best “long haul” run of them all, although I prefer my turnpike runs to Alberta.

This week after being at home since Monday I left on Saturday, took two trailers to Calgary, delivered them both, then took them empty to Medicine Hat, split them and took one to Lethbridge, switched it for a preloaded trailer, went back to Medicine Hat, put it behind another preloaded one and started heading home, I got as far as Regina and then switched with another driver who had a truck issue and took his two trailers to Saskatoon, delivered those and then ran empty to Whitewood SK, split them and ran an empty to Yorkton SK where I switched it for a rejected empty, went back to Whitewood where I dropped that, picked up the other empty, went to Yorkton again and switched that for a preloaded one, back down to Whitewood, hooked it all together and went back to the yard. A nice productive week and I’ve made myself available to go out again on Sunday evening, so plenty of time off too.

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65

Hi NMM

Would it be OK to ask you what kind of taxes OOs pay in Canada?
Do you guys need to deal with a forced despatch when leased to a company you are leased to?
As an OO leased to a certain company, are you allowed to move loads supplied by other haulage companies or private businesses or it is forbidden in your contract?
Are you being paid % or a set rate per mile?
I’ve just read an OTR driver can claim a meal allowance of Cad 17 every four hours from the time he starts his shift, is that true and is this being somehow reimbursed at the end of financial year by the tax man?
What are the costs of hotels around truck stops, I’ve noticed some drivers, OOs stay in hotels rather than their trucks, is that expensive?

A lot of questions again, but I thought since this board is so quiet, someone might be willing to have a go at some of them.

66

newmercman:
If I leave Sunday evening I can get to Vancouver Tuesday night, tip and reload Wednesday and be home by Friday afternoon without breaking a sweat, even in winter if Mother Nature behaves herself. That’s more than enough miles to earn a decent wage/rate and gives a nice balance between work and home, in my mind that’s the best “long haul” run of them all, although I prefer my turnpike runs to Alberta.

This week after being at home since Monday I left on Saturday, took two trailers to Calgary, delivered them both, then took them empty to Medicine Hat, split them and took one to Lethbridge, switched it for a preloaded trailer, went back to Medicine Hat, put it behind another preloaded one and started heading home, I got as far as Regina and then switched with another driver who had a truck issue and took his two trailers to Saskatoon, delivered those and then ran empty to Whitewood SK, split them and ran an empty to Yorkton SK where I switched it for a rejected empty, went back to Whitewood where I dropped that, picked up the other empty, went to Yorkton again and switched that for a preloaded one, back down to Whitewood, hooked it all together and went back to the yard. A nice productive week and I’ve made myself available to go out again on Sunday evening, so plenty of time off too.

If that doesn’t say everything about choosing the Canadian scene v the Euro and possibly now even the US ones,nothing does. :bulb:

67

anon84679660:
Hi NMM

Would it be OK to ask you what kind of taxes OOs pay in Canada?
Do you guys need to deal with a forced despatch when leased to a company you are leased to?
As an OO leased to a certain company, are you allowed to move loads supplied by other haulage companies or private businesses or it is forbidden in your contract?
Are you being paid % or a set rate per mile?
I’ve just read an OTR driver can claim a meal allowance of Cad 17 every four hours from the time he starts his shift, is that true and is this being somehow reimbursed at the end of financial year by the tax man?
What are the costs of hotels around truck stops, I’ve noticed some drivers, OOs stay in hotels rather than their trucks, is that expensive?

A lot of questions again, but I thought since this board is so quiet, someone might be willing to have a go at some of them.

Taxes depend on profits, those depend on how much you spend to make your money and how good your accountant is. My first year taxes were $180, but I started part way through a tax year and put a substantial deposit on my truck, which all came off my taxable amount, last year it was just over $6,000. Again I put a big chunk down on truck number two, but I made a bit more money, so had to cough up more, at the rate it’s going this year I’ll be getting a refund as I’ve spent a bloody fortune in the last couple of months, mostly stuff I’ve budgeted for that is part of the cost of doing business, but some unexpected stuff too, which is only to be expected in transport!

There is no forced dispatch at my carrier, I go out when I want to and can refuse loads when I’m out on the road, however there needs to be a good reason to refuse a load, if not and you still refuse it, you will end up ■■■■■■■ them off and suffer the consequences of that and no matter what anybody says, if you ■■■■ off dispatch there will be consequences. The key here is to not be a Prima Donna, take what you’re given and get on with it, if you don’t like the work you get, move on.

I am leased to a carrier, which translates as running on their o licence and insurance, therefore I am only allowed to work for them, to take other loads I would need to have my own operating authority and insurance.

Personally I get paid by the mile for the line haul, hourly pay when I’m doing local deliveries, I get paid to split and hook up the turnpikes and bonuses for compliance, running in the carrier’s colours and a mileage bonus. There’s also an annual profit share bonus. Others that I know are on percentage, that is usually around 80% of the gross pulling their trailers, up to 90% pulling your own, but not all companies allow you to pull your own trailer. Percentage pays better in a lot of cases, but you have to have a good dispatcher who knows how to negotiate a good rate and keep empty running to a minimum.

You are allowed to claim three meals a day at $17 each, this is a per diem allowance and there is no need to produce receipts, you can claim this for every day you are subject to Hours Of Service regulations. Some companies pay this direct to the driver, most do not and the driver claims for reimbursement at the end of the tax year, if the PAYE has been done properly and your deductions cover your tax liability then you get a nice fat cheque off the taxman, most drivers will be around the five grand mark, so in essence it’s like a deffered night out payment of $20 a night.

Hotel prices depend where you are, I’ve stayed in them plenty of times when I wanted to get out of the truck for a night when I’ve been out for a while, these are also tax deductible and if you can get one reasonably priced it works out about the same as it would to idle the truck for the time you spend there if you check in as soon as they allow and check out as late as possible.

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68

Thanks for replying NMM

When asking about taxes OOs pay I wasn’t asking about your specific case, just wanted to find out rates in percentage terms OOs pay on their earning after all expenses are deducted, as that’s one of the advantages of being OO is that you should be paying lower taxes than employed driver, am I right?

“The key here is to not be a Prima Donna, take what you’re given and get on with it, if you don’t like the work you get, move on.”

The problem with this is that when you paint your truck in your company’s colours and then after a few months find out you don’t like what you are being given and how despatchers treat you, it’s probably quite costly to remove the company’s colours from your truck, I could be wrong here.

“Others that I know are on percentage, that is usually around 80% of the gross pulling their trailers, up to 90% pulling your own, but not all companies allow you to pull your own trailer”

That is a good deal I guess, from what I’ve read so far companies usually pay around 65% mark when pulling their trailers, or up to 75% when having your own trailer.

The next thing, meal allowance.

So there is no allowance for nights out, only 3 x $17 per day, as meal allowance, am I right?

If a company driver decides to stay in a hotel, can he also deduct it from his taxes, or is this option available to OOs only?

Considering how low temperatures can get winter time in Canada, when you leave your truck over night parked up, engine not running and come back the next day, is it very hard to restart it?

thanks

69

As I said, taxes depend on profits, as far as I’m concerned once I’ve used all my deductions I want to pay the tax man a huge amount as it would mean I’ve made a fortune lol.

Research is the key to everything, if you find you don’t like how a company works after a couple of months then you didn’t do enough research. Simple as that. Stripes and stuff all peel off and companies take it all off for you if you leave, it’s no big deal.

Percentage work at less than 80% would need to be paying a lot of money and offering a lot of added benefits before I considered it myself.

The meal allowance applies to anybody under DOT HOS regs that is away from home in the 24hr period you’re claiming for.

Hotels to avoid idling are a summertime thing, if you don’t plug in your truck when it’s super cold it will not start or if it does you will wear it out in very short time, a big portion of engine wear is caused by cold starts.

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70

After 3.5 years trucking in Canada and now more than 3 years here in the States I would definitely not go back to Canada :unamused:
Here I feel more free than I’ve ever felt in Canada.
I always must laugh about the free health insurance in Canada as my wife had a very bad experience there. Ok, you don’t have to pay for it, but you get what you pay for. Long waiting times, treatment as in a third world country, no thanks!
Sure, it’s more expensive here, but it also depends on your company what insurance you get. I’ve found a job with a pretty good company, not perfect but better as every company before, Germany, Canada and US.
I only pay $58 ($44 till July) per week, my deductible is $500 and co-pay 20% till I reach 1500 (co-pay + deductible) per year.
When I need an appointment I call a doctor in the network (the network is great) and get one usually within days and don’t have to wait for weeks, months or years as in Canada.
I’m not getting rich here but I’m paid about the same as I had in Canada. Cost of living is much cheaper and there’s much more left at the end of the month.
I can choose if I want to live in the desert or in a cold area and don’t have to survive a 6 month cold winter :wink:

I had a job here running coast to coast, up to 3000 miles one way but was only home every 4-5 weeks. Now I run 3 weeks out (was my decision) and 4-7 days off, I have the truck at home, nobody else since I moved into the truck touched it (only our shop guys).
I have shorter and longer trips, I get paid detention for waiting times, layovers and make sometimes 10000 miles in three weeks.
My Volvo is equipped with an APU + a Webasto bunk heater for winter, I don’t have to idle but I can in an emergency if something fails.
With the APU I’ve never idled the truck, North Dakota -43 F with windchill, sitting over the weekend and the truck started without problems.

There are a lot of bad jobs here in the US as are in Canada, it’s YOU who has to find the good ones.
But I would say you have much more choices here in the US to find one.
I was out of the job due to a broken hand and thumb, got paid workers compensation for a few months but that’s it. In Germany you would get paid for 1.5 years, not here.
No country is perfect, but I like it here much better than in Europe.

What I miss is the good food you can get on the road in Europe, here it’s a pain in the ■■■ to find a decent restaurant. Truck stop food is awful (but still better as in every Husky in Canada) and it takes a while to find the better places.
Truck stops are loud and stinky, all the idling engines with their emissions are not really healthy. I try to avoid truck stops but it’s not always possible.
I’m running on elogs but still make up to 730 miles a day in good areas and I’m driving absolutely legal. There’s money to make as a company driver but as I said, you’re not getting rich.

71

Good post Herr Kraut

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The Kraut:
What I miss is the good food you can get on the road in Europe, here it’s a pain in the ■■■ to find a decent restaurant. Truck stop food is awful (but still better as in every Husky in Canada) and it takes a while to find the better places.

To be fair I’ve got to say that some of the food I’ve had in the States was brilliant.IE as much bacon as you can eat to start and then the same amount of Belgian type waffles and strawberries and cream,forget the maple syrup,and as much coffee as you can drink being a typical breakfast.Then there’s examples like snow crab or lobster and mayo rolls for lunch and surf and turf ( steak and lobster ) for dinner for example. :smiley:

All of which easily matches the best food available in Euroland.

73

Things have changed a lot in the restaurant game, now the home cooked food style places are few and far between, it’s all big chain restaurants serving bland food from a box or tin, you get a big portion though, it’s all about quantity over quality.

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74

Hi The Kraut

Interesting post.
How did you you manage to get into the US?
I know there are some foreigners driving there , must from what I gather they mostly are there illegally, having managed to obtain the national security number.

Are you working there as a company driver or and owner operator?

Looks like you are in minority in here in regards to US private health system vs Canadian or UK public health system.
Do you think US private health system works better for you?
What happens when you get some serious health problem, are you still going to be covered, when it comes to some expensive treatments?

Thanks

75

Carryfast:
To be fair I’ve got to say that some of the food I’ve had in the States was brilliant.IE as much bacon as you can eat to start and then the same amount of Belgian type waffles and strawberries and cream,forget the maple syrup,and as much coffee as you can drink being a typical breakfast.Then there’s examples like snow crab or lobster and mayo rolls for lunch and surf and turf ( steak and lobster ) for dinner for example. :smiley:

All of which easily matches the best food available in Euroland.

Sure, you get some very good food here in the States, but if you run 3000+ miles in 5 days you can’t stop where you want, you drive your hours to the last minute. Unfortunately there’s only a crappy “Greasy Spoon” and no lobster available.

Had one of the best steaks of my life on the road, but that was like winning the lottery :wink:
Most of my trips have a tight schedule and there’s no time to take an extra hour or two to stop for really good meal.
It was easier in Europe, on my trips from Germany to Spain I always found a good restaurant in France or Spain in the middle of nowhere.
Parking was much easier, to find a good restaurant here with truck parking, not very often.

76

anon84679660:
Hi The Kraut

Interesting post.
How did you you manage to get into the US?
I know there are some foreigners driving there , must from what I gather they mostly are there illegally, having managed to obtain the national security number.

Are you working there as a company driver or and owner operator?

Looks like you are in minority in here in regards to US private health system vs Canadian or UK public health system.
Do you think US private health system works better for you?
What happens when you get some serious health problem, are you still going to be covered, when it comes to some expensive treatments?

Thanks

2009 I went to Canada and started as a truck driver there. My wife was with me in the truck (for 4.5 years) and after our first trips we noticed, that we liked more the US than Canada. We took part in the Diversity Lottery (Green Card Lottery) and after three times I was lucky and a winner.
Had to fill out a lot of paperwork and it took another year till we had an appointment at the American Consulate in Germany.
We got the visa and after returning to Canada we went to the border (at that time we lived 50 miles from Sweetgrass, Montana) and we activated the Green Card. About one month later we moved to the States.

Probably this was the only time that it was an advantage to be born as German :wink:
Unfortunately you Brits can’t take part, same as Canadian and Mexican (not sure but I think if your born in Northern Ireland you can?)

I don’t think that many illegals her have a CDL, lots of Mexicans have a visa or green card or citizenship.

I’m working as a company driver and would never work here as an owner operator, too many risks and I’m too old for that meanwhile :unamused:

The health system works better for me here, I have more options to choose to which doctor I go.
And I think I’m pretty good covered.
Just an example, I had cataracts in both of my eyes, my right I was really bad, a very fast growing cataract. The doctor told me it can change from bad to worse within weeks. He was right. Had my first appointment with him beginning of April, back on the road for about three weeks, end of April my first surgery (I could have had one a week later). Was home for 6 days and back on the road for another three weeks, second surgery end of May. Had another laser treatment (post cataract treatment) in July, had to wait for that about three months that the lens in the eye could settle.
Usually you get appointments for both eyes, one eye and the next one week later. My company worked with me very good and it was my choice to make a three week trip in between the surgeries.
I had one of the best laser surgeons here in the States, the best laser you can get. Unfortunately this special laser isn’t covered by the insurance, not here, not in Germany, not in Canada or elsewhere. Extra cost for me $2000 per eye.
I had to pay my deductible and co-pay, about $1500 + $4000 for the special laser.
Total costs of the surgeries more than $40000.

I had checked how much it would be in Germany, about the same costs as here, and German health insurance covers a lot.

It was worth every cent, from nearly blind on my right eye I just passed the eye test at the DMV in New Mexico for my CDL without glasses (I just moved and needed a new CDL from another State).

If there will be another treatment for anything this year I will be covered by the insurance cause I reached my limit for out of pocket costs.

It always depends on the plan you have with the insurance, low weekly or monthly rate = high deductible, some have to pay $20000 before the insurance pays. Fortunately my company offers this good plan for me and they pay most of the insurance.
For me this is worth more than a few cents per mile more, at one of my last companies I paid about $800 per month for health insurance for me and my wife. So I had to drive nearly 2000 miles more in one month to have the same net pay. And the deductible was higher.

It’s not always the money companies pay what counts, you must see the whole package. Many drivers here just look what a company pays but don’t see the other costs.

I’m just having a bad week with lower miles, had 11.5 hrs waiting time at a shipper (but will get paid detention), will have to go to the shop when I’m back in Omaha NE, a car threw a rock at me and my windshield cracked. Usually I leave Omaha on a Saturday morning with a load for California, good miles in a short time. But got a call from my dispatcher if I can cover a load to Ohio, not my favorite area but no problem for me, I go everywhere if they need me.
But I know there will be better weeks :sunglasses:
We have no forced dispatch, that means if you don’t want to drive to California or North East, they don’t force you to got there. Another point on the list…