Question:
Some have been asking just what it is the need to be asking the recruiter when they call. So with that in mind here you go:
1. What are your hiring requirements?
2. What would be my base pay per mile? How and how often do you pay? Do you offer direct deposit?
3. Do you have layover, breakdown, and detention pay and how much is the pay and what are the polices behind it?
4. What is the percent of No touch freight? How much do you pay for driver assists and driver unloads?
5. IS there extra pay for short hauls, city work, and muliple stops on a single trip?
6. Do you offer health and life insurance? What are the premiums for the driver? For a family? Any other benefits such as 401k, stock purchase, paid vacations, etc?
7. What are your rider and pet policies? Is there extra insurance or deposits I have to make to participate in either of these?
8. Is there any special clothing or equipment I must purchase myself? If so what is it and how much?
9. Am I required to have any type of escrow account? If so how much and how do I get my money back?
10. Are there any special circumstances that a driver can be held financially liable for, such as shortages/dmamges to cargo, late delivery fees, accdental damamges to the truck or trailer, etc.?
11. What is the home time policy and the policy for taking the truck home during time off?
12. How long can I expect to be away from home?
13. Does your company have 24/7 dispatch and driver support?
14. How are the trucks spec'd? What is the average age of the equipment?
15. How many miles can I reasonably expect to average each week and what is the average length of haul per trip?
16. Where does your company run at? Extra pay for NYC or Canada?
17. Do you provide transport to and lodging during orientation? What about meals during orientation? What are my options for transport to orientation?
18. Do you pay for the drug tests, DOT physicals, etc?
19. What happens if for some reason I am disqualified during orientation? How do I get home?
20. (For you newbies) What exactly is your training program? How much does it pay?
And then if you decide this is the company for you:
20 A. What exactly do I need to bring to orientation with me to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible?
This is just a base list. You may have special circumstances that require you ask special questions. You may have questions of your own you may want to add. There may be questions on this list you have no intrest in knowing the answers to at all, but it should give you a good starting point when interviewing companies to work for.
Ask a lot of straight questions. Expect straight answers and if they will not provide them move on to the next company.
FYI: a few general definitions:
Layover: Tine spent waiting to be dispatched on the next load.
Breakdown: Time spent waiting to have repairs made.
Detention: Time spent at the dock waiting to be loaded or unloaded.
Spec's: Include engine, transmission, sleeper size.
Short haul: Generally trips of less than 150-200 miles though this varies a lot from company to company as far as definition.
City Work: Doing local pickup and deliveries just like you think of local Roadway, UPS, Fed Ex, and Yellow drivers doing. Also called shag work.
Muliple stops: Trips that have more than a single pickup and/or delivery.
Special Equipment can include: Safety glasses, hard hats, steel toed boots, load locks, pad locks, king pin locks, uniforms, etc.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.

Answer:
Bump, time to bring this back to the top.

Answer:
midnightrunner, how many recruiters do you think will make out that driver survey?
And mail it back..

Answer:
When I first got out of school, I was all set to go toTrans-Am. Had all the paper work in, had my DOT done, all my ducks in a row, as per my recruiters request. Well, went to Kansas City area terminal and guess what. My recruiters boss said not so fast, lets do another DOT, and resubmit my paper work. No need to tell you that I was kind of pissed, and just walked out. All that being said, never trust anyone at any company you talk to on the phone, cause there is alway someone else lurking around to let everyone know that they have the "power" to say come forth, or begone lowlife as you are not worthy. Just don`t allways count on things being as they say.

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I made up a sheet similar to the one mentioned, I took copies of it & my resume to the Louisville truck Show on 03/23/07
Needless to say out of about a dozen companies I checked with at the show only one filled out the sheet & then only certain parts! That person also stated that he was just a driver & that he could not sign it as a recruiter!

Answer:
Here's some questions companies would prefer you never ask. "DOT regs says I have the right to park the truck if driving conditions are unsafe; say I wake up to find thick fog with zero visibility, can I park the truck and wait till the fog lifts?" The honest answer to this question is why you read in the news of chain-reaction collisions involving big-rigs slamming into each other in thick fog with zero visibility. Another question they don't want to hear is "If wind picks up and I hear reports of trucks getting blown over, or I see trucks laying on their side due to high winds, can I park the truck and wait till the wind subsides? " Most companies have a policy that you must deliver on-time AT ANY COST. Regardless of wind conditions, you must continue; and the discretion to drive in high winds conditions is up to the state troopers or highway patrol, who will shut the freeway down if they feel its unsafe for trucks to pass. I've observed law enforcement will wait until theres 6 to 8 trucks laying on their side, before they'll act to restrict truck traffic from continuing.