Is there anything more awful than team driving with a total stranger? Kansas City, Kansas-based trucking company Riverside Transport Inc. (RTI) says not just no but f*@k no — and they’ve made a gut-busting new video to prove their point.
RTI’s latest video begins with an open minded trucker using an online app not unlike Tinder to find a team mate. He settles on a guy who seems “fun”, swipes right, and brings a total stranger onto his truck because what’s the worst that could happen?
Enter Tim Tuttle.
A team driver’s worst nightmare. A trucker with habits so vile, opinions so stupid, and hygiene so nonexistent that you can’t quite believe that he’s a real person. He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t seem to understand the difference between your truck and a bathroom. The kind of guy who is so comfortable with his body that he doesn’t mind kicking back in the sleeper naked. The kind of guy who will sit three feet away from you and EAT A RAW ONION LIKE A LITERAL MONSTER.
Though RTI’s Tim Tuttle is a (f*&king funny) caricature, the video makes a solid point. When you online team, you could wind up stuck for weeks in a truck with a stranger who is A.) Maddeningly annoying, B.) Painfully gassy, or worst of all, even C.) Untrustworthy or dangerous.
Team Because You Want To. Not Because You Have To.
Contrary to popular belief, you can run team and still retain your will to live.
While RTI firmly stands by their commitment to never force a driver to run team if he or she doesn’t want to, they offer a number of common sense options for drivers who do want to make the extra pay that team driving can bring. RTI’s Train Your Team program means that you can bring a qualified team driver to the company with you. You can even bring on and train a new driver to team with you. And RTI vows to actually pay enough to make team driving worth your while.
Sadie Clement, Director of Recruiting at RTI, says that the idea for the Train Your Team program came from listening to drivers who had horror stories about teaming with total strangers: “Fewer and fewer teams are entering the industry. To meet our dedicated freight demands, we need teams, so we decided to do some out-of-the-box thinking. That’s how we came up with the Train Your Team program. Our Train Your Team program allows current CDL holders to train their friends, family and significant others how to drive. New drivers can come to RTI and get their CDL at no cost to them — at no risk! This way, drivers can team with someone they know and trust! We’ve all heard the team driving nightmares — no one wants to team with a complete stranger. At RTI, we’re always trying to think of ways to make the industry and culture better for our drivers. We truly listen to what drivers want and need. We actually really do give a s#!t about our drivers! So far, we’ve offered this program to current drivers and we’ve had a lot of success. Now we’re opening the program up to outside drivers.”
Swipe Right On A Trucking Company That Says Hell No To Bad Team Matches
RTI has been in the business of “Making Trucking Great Again” since 1993. Since then, they have grown from 10 owner-operators and 20 trailers into a 500-plus employee company operating more than 1500 pieces of equipment. With terminals in Kansas City, Kansas and Owensboro, Kentucky, RTI offers up a variety of bullsh*t-free options for their drivers, including Over the Road Long Haul, Short Haul Regional, Local, and Dedicated routes. You can call 866-760-5817 or click here to get started on a team driving career that you won’t hate. No Tim Tuttles allowed.