“Just One Load” — A Day in the Life of an American Trucker
It’s 3:47 AM. Your eyes crack open inside a 6×8 metal box. It’s cold. You slept in your truck because there was nowhere else to go. The last rest stop was full. The next one was 50 miles away. The warehouse wouldn’t let you park on-site. So, you pulled onto the shoulder and prayed no one would knock on the door or tow you off in the night.
You brush your teeth with bottled water. There’s no bathroom. No shower. No real breakfast. You start the engine, and the moment you log “on duty,” the clock starts ticking—14 hours. No pausing it. No extensions. No matter what comes next.
You’re getting paid $0.55 cents per mile. Not per hour. Not per load. Only the miles you drive. If you’re not rolling, you’re not earning.
At 6:15 AM, you arrive at the pickup dock. You were told to arrive early. So you did. You check in.
“Take a seat,” they say.
You sit for three hours.
Unpaid.
That’s three hours off your clock—gone. Your 14-hour workday is now 11, and you haven’t even moved.
Finally, they call your number. You get loaded and hit the highway.
There’s traffic on I-40. Construction zone. Lane closed. Speed limit drops to 45. You crawl. More time burns. You do the math in your head: 400 miles total today. If nothing else goes wrong, you’ll make about $220 before taxes. That’s if everything runs perfect now.
But it doesn’t.
At 3:45 PM, your dispatcher calls.
“Hey, they changed the delivery window. Can you make it there by 5:00?”
You check your (EDL) drive clock—1 hour and 20 minutes left. GPS says the receiver is 84 miles away. You’ll be racing the clock.
You don’t make it.
So, you are forced to shut it down as soon as possible.
Now you’ve got to wait till morning. You try to find a place to park. Truck stops are packed. Rest areas too. Finally, you squeeze into a dark corner behind a gas station. You’re exhausted. You’re out of hours. You’re out of patience.
And what did you make?
- 3 unpaid hours at the dock
- 10 hours behind the wheel
- $220 gross
- After taxes, maybe $170
- Fuel, food, tolls? You’re lucky if you clear $120 for the day
For 14 hours of your life.
You close your eyes in the dark cab and whisper to yourself: All this… for one load.
To Every Trucker in America—We Hear You. We See You. We’ve Got Your Back.
America rides on your shoulders. You haul the food, the steel, the freight that keeps this country alive—and for that, you deserve more than red tape and broken systems. You deserve to be treated like the professional you are. The truth is, trucking has become a gauntlet of disrespect: senseless regulations, unpaid detention, impossible schedules, and not even a place to park at the end of a 14-hour day.
The Party is standing up to say: Enough is enough. You kept this country running when it shut down. You work through holidays, storms, and sleepless nights. Now it’s time someone fights for you.
We aren’t here to play politics. We’re here to restore dignity, sanity, and respect to one of the most essential professions in the nation. This is our plan. It’s built on your complaints, your experiences, and your ideas.
THE PROBLEM: What’s Driving Truckers Out of the Industry?
Talk to any seasoned driver and they’ll tell you the truth:
- No Parking Anywhere – After maxing out your logbook, there’s nowhere safe to pull over. Rest stops are full. Cities fine you. Docks don’t let you stay. You’re forced to park illegally or dangerously just to sleep.
- Wasting Time Without Pay – You show up on time, and wait three hours at a warehouse while they “find the load”—and you get paid nothing. That’s free labor. It’s robbery.
- The 14-Hour Clock Trap – You’re stuck in traffic for hours, or waiting at a shipper, and that clock keeps ticking. You’re not driving. You’re not sleeping. You’re just burning hours—and money.
- Overregulation Madness – They want to govern your speed. They track every move you make. They change rules without warning. AB5 tried to kill the independent operator model in California. They treat you like a problem to be controlled, not a professional to be trusted.
- Sky-High Operating Costs – Fuel spikes, toll roads, maintenance, insurance—it all lands on your shoulders. And while you bleed money, brokers and big carriers rake it in.
- No Basic Human Respect – Denied a restroom. Talked down to by dispatch. Micromanaged by people who’ve never driven a rig. Society leans on you—but rarely thanks you.
This is why people are leaving the industry. It’s not a driver shortage. It’s a respect shortage.
WHO’S TAKING IT ON THE CHIN?
- Owner-Operators – You’re the last of the independents, but regulations are trying to strangle your freedom to run your own business.
- Small Fleets – Family-run outfits are crushed by compliance costs and insurance premiums they can’t absorb.
- Long-Haul Vets – You’ve given decades to the road, and now they want to track your every move and cap your speed.
- Young Drivers – You tried trucking, but the industry chewed you up and didn’t offer a path forward. So you walked.
OUR SOLUTIONS: Simple. Bold. Built for the Real World.
The Party isn’t offering corporate fluff. We’re offering common-sense, real-world policies built from the cab up.
1. BUILD THE PARKING YOU NEED
- Create a federal parking fund. Use rest areas, exits, unused land near warehouses.
- Offer incentives to big box stores and warehouses to allow overnight parking.
- Require states to treat truck parking like the essential infrastructure it is.
2. PAY YOU FOR YOUR TIME
- End the federal loophole that exempts truckers from overtime. You work 60 hours? You get paid for 60 hours.
- Mandate detention pay after 1 hour—no excuses.
- Promote hourly or hybrid pay models that stop robbing you blind during slow days.
3. RESTORE FLEXIBILITY TO HOURS-OF-SERVICE
- Let drivers pause the 14-hour clock once per shift to rest or wait out delays.
- Expand sleeper berth split options to give you choices.
- Put experienced drivers on federal advisory boards—not bureaucrats.
4. BAN FEDERAL SPEED LIMITERS
- Trucks limited to 60 while cars fly past at 75? That’s a recipe for wrecks.
- Let states set speed policies and trust CDL holders to use judgment.
5. PROTECT THE INDEPENDENT DRIVER
- Carve truckers out of AB5-style rules.
- Define true owner-operators under federal law so states can’t dismantle the model.
- Crack down on lease-purchase scams and predatory contracts.
6. STOP LAWSUIT ABUSE
- Cap frivolous lawsuit awards that are bankrupting small fleets.
- Protect your livelihood without giving up accountability.
7. INVEST IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF DRIVERS
- CDL scholarships. Fast-tracks for vets. School-to-career pipelines.
- Create a Trucker Bill of Rights: restrooms, detention pay, and dignified treatment.
- Encourage fleet ownership opportunities so company drivers can rise.
WE GET IT—YOU DON’T WANT HANDOUTS. YOU WANT FAIRNESS.
You want a system that rewards your hustle, doesn’t waste your time, and lets you make a living without a lawyer, a lobbyist, or a tracking device.
The Party is here to bring trucking back to what it should be:
- A skilled profession for men and women who want to work hard.
- A proud industry where you can own your own truck, run your own routes, and provide for your family.
- A trade that honors your time, your safety, and your sacrifice.
Free the Road. Back the Driver. Rebuild America.
We don’t just support truckers. We fight for truckers.
Join us. Let’s haul this country back on the road to sanity—together.
UPDATE: Trump Administration Takes a Step in the Right Direction — But It’s Only the Beginning
On June 27, 2025, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, under directive from President Donald Trump, unveiled a sweeping Pro-Trucker Package as part of the America First, Safety First transportation plan. This marks a major shift in federal infrastructure and logistics policy — finally aligning with demands that NSAP and working-class drivers have called for all along.
Key Wins from the Trump Administration:
- $275 million allocated to expand truck parking nationwide
→ Florida receives $180 million for 917 new spots along the I-4 corridor - Withdrawal of the speed limiter mandate, removing a dangerous and unrealistic regulation
- Modernized FMCSA tools, giving drivers better access to digital resources and complaint systems
- Regulatory rollback: 1,800 unnecessary federal rulebook words deleted
- Targeted crackdown on double-brokering abuse, protecting drivers from logistical theft
This is not just policy. It’s confirmation.
Washington is beginning to admit what NSAP has long exposed: overregulation, bureaucratic meddling, and predatory intermediaries have crippled American logistics — and truckers have borne the brunt of it.
THIS IS JUST THE FIRST MILE — WE DEMAND MORE
The Pro-Trucker Package is a welcome course correction — but it’s only a half-measure. It doesn’t go far enough for the future we’re building.
NSAP calls for:
- Permanent protections against unnecessary traffic enforcement and vehicle code entrapment
- A National Rest-Stop Expansion Act — full-service stations with parking, fuel, showers, and food every 50 miles
- Guaranteed operational rights for independent drivers and small fleets
- Strategic Logistics Corridors — dedicated lanes, constant upkeep, and secure refueling access
- Abolition of predatory compliance laws meant to crush the working man
Trump’s Executive Order is a strong signal — but without follow-through, it’s only a press release. The fight for true road sovereignty belongs to the people, not federal middlemen or lobbyist cartels.
THE NSAP POSITION:
Truckers are the lifeblood of the national economy. They are not to be micromanaged, extorted, or sacrificed.
We welcome the progress made by the Trump Administration — but we will never settle for half-measures or temporary relief. Only the NSAP will deliver the full liberation of America’s logistics system from federal overreach and globalist interference.
🔗 Source:
U.S. Department of Transportation — June 27, 2025 Announcement
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