By MADELINE REIDA

Staff writer

Driving 11 hours a day for two weeks straight to deliver a semi-trailer across the continent is no easy task, but in comparison to working as a paramedic, trucking is a pleasant job.

Brandon Moore of Goessel worked as a paramedic for eight years and an emergency medical technician for three years, driving ambulances and tending to patients in Sedgwick, Marion, and McPherson Counties. He quit in 2018 because of burnout.

“It’s bad to say, but I’m pretty much dead inside,” he said. “You just take it one day at a time; it’s all you can do.”

He has since worked as a company driver, taking flatbeds, refrigerated vans, and dry vans as far as California and Oregon.

Truck drivers legally can drive for 11 hours a day and must take a half hour break within the first eight hours.

“Usually, I’ll go 5 ½ to 6 hours, take a break, and then finish out the rest of my day,” Moore said.

Truckers have a deadline to get to their destination. Extra time is factored in on top of the time it would take to drive, but if a truck shows up tardy, late fees get expensive fast.

On Monday, after weeks of deliberation, Moore switched employers to ACT out of Kansas City after having bad experience with his old employer.

“Most companies out there are decent to work for,” he said. “It’s just that every once in a while, you get that bad apple.”

A nationwide shortage of truck drivers means Moore has a lot of opportunities and job stability.

“Most of the time, I’m gone for two weeks at time,” he said. “There are a lot of people who either don’t want to be gone that long or can’t be gone that long for one reason or another. It’s nice being in my position because the availability for jobs is out there.”

Truckers also are short of trucks, Moore said.

A shortage of computer parts is affecting the industry, “keeping them from finishing the set lines,” he said.