“Paid by the day,” not by the mile, became The Daniel Co.’s branded slogan, says President Larry Daniel.
Traditionally, the over-the-road trucking industry has paid professional drivers based on cents per mile, so drivers must log as many miles as possible to achieve a higher paycheck.
Larry Daniel – president of The Daniel Co. of Springfield, a refrigerated carrier based in Southwest Missouri – believes there are real problems with this approach, which he says in many cases is unfair to the driver.
The Daniel Co. – a long-haul for-hire motor carrier founded in 1940 – specializes in expedited delivery of dry and refrigerated products, using two-driver teams to operate its 25 power units. “Some of our drivers have been with us since 1987,” Daniel says. The company’s primary service area is between the West Coast and the Midwest, with service to other areas on occasion.
Throughout much of the industry, when truckers sit at a dock, are stuck in traffic, stop to take a break or wait for repairs after a breakdown, they typically get paid nothing, Daniel notes. “Drivers have little control over the miles they get per week, once they have made themselves available for dispatch.”
While pay also might depend on a driver’s experience or how long he has worked for a company, Daniel believes that too many uncontrollable variables play a role in factoring their paychecks – variables that might prove a danger on the roadways.
“The temptation, and sometimes the necessity, to run too many miles in a short amount of time is something that nearly all drivers have experienced in the paid-by-the-mile environment,” Daniel says.
