What does a commercial driver do?
A commercial driver is responsible for transporting people, goods, and services from one place to various destinations as required. Commercial drivers must have a clean driving record to ensure the safety and security of the passengers and the merchandise's quality while on the road. They should also know how to operate a vehicle's engine, inspect system defects, and repair system malfunctions to prevent any delays in transportation and deliveries. A commercial driver must have excellent knowledge of the mechanical industry and report any problems to management.
Commercial driver responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real commercial driver resumes:
- Haul HAZMAT with roll-off bins, tankers, flatb, dry vans and dumps.
- Plan delivery route & schedule using maps and GPS devices.
- Develop and maintain an efficient routing system utilizing GPS and map.
- Operate a Volvo commercial truck and transport regional and OTR loads.
- Train and evaluate entry-level drivers while operating as an OTR flatb driver.
- Determine if they would benefit from coming to school and obtaining their CDL.
- Provide instruction, supervise and monitor student actions in all phases of CDL training.
- Possess a valid Pennsylvania state commercial driver's license with hazmat, doubles, air brakes and tanker endorsements.
- Transport referred commodity from the pickup to its final destination in the desired time schedule while maintaining the designated commodity temperature.
- Provide transportation services for major commercial shipping customers, including Walmart and Budweiser.
Commercial driver skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Commercial Drivers are proficient in Customer Service, CDL, and Ladders. They’re also known for soft skills such as Hearing ability, Physical health, and Hand-eye coordination.
We break down the percentage of Commercial Drivers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 19%
Provided excellent customer service and familiarity with products; made recommendations and assisted customers by providing information and resolving complaints.
- CDL, 12%
Clean driving record, NO tickets or accidents, Class B CDL, Current DOT Medical Card
- Ladders, 12%
Worked in shipyard production carpenter shop building ladders stepstools cabinets and environmental enclosures for epa restrictions.
- Customer Orders, 9%
Received inbound customer orders from local mechanics with commercial accounts.
- DOT, 8%
Communicate orally and in writing with others including company representatives, fellow drivers DOT officers and customers.
- Distribution Centers, 5%
Transported goods and commodities from distribution centers to customer destination.
Common skills that a commercial driver uses to do their job include "customer service," "cdl," and "ladders." You can find details on the most important commercial driver responsibilities below.
Hearing ability. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a commercial driver to have is hearing ability. Their role and responsibilities require that "truck drivers need good hearing." Commercial drivers often use hearing ability in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided clients with transportation to their medical appointments including therapy, dentistry, hearing and dialysis. "
Physical health. Another essential skill to perform commercial driver duties is physical health. Commercial drivers responsibilities require that "federal regulations do not allow people to become truck drivers if they have a medical condition, such as high blood pressure or epilepsy, which may interfere with their ability to operate a truck." Commercial drivers also use physical health in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintain a cdl-a and dot physical. "
Hand-eye coordination. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of commercial drivers is hand-eye coordination. This skill is critical to many everyday commercial driver duties, as "drivers of heavy trucks and tractor-trailers must be able to coordinate their legs, hands, and eyes simultaneously so that they will react appropriately to the situation around them and drive the vehicle safely." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "second to none manual dexterity with superb hand eye coordination and physical strength. "
Visual ability. For certain commercial driver responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "visual ability." The day-to-day duties of a commercial driver rely on this skill, as "truck drivers must be able to pass vision tests." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what commercial drivers do: "transport of mobile center to locations, transport-vehicle maintenance, mobile center operation, customer service, & audio/visual equipment troubleshooting. "
The three companies that hire the most commercial drivers are:
- *n/a*
1,736 commercial drivers jobs
- Sysco17 commercial drivers jobs
- Associated Ready Mixed Concrete16 commercial drivers jobs
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Compare different commercial drivers
Commercial driver vs. Tractor-trailer driver
A tractor-trailer driver is responsible for picking up and delivering goods and services from distribution centers and warehouses to different locations across the country as required. Tractor-trailer drivers manage the best route planning to prevent delays. They should also have extensive knowledge of the mechanical industry, inspecting the vehicle's condition regularly, repairing any inconsistencies, and replacing defective components to ensure smooth operations. A tractor-trailer driver must have excellent communication and organizational skills, responding to the clients' inquiries and concerns and escalating complaints to management for immediate resolution.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a commercial driver are more likely to require skills like "ladders," "customer orders," "strong customer service," and "osha." On the other hand, a job as a tractor-trailer driver requires skills like "delivery schedules," "fmcsa," "tractor-trailer truck," and "driver logs." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Tractor-trailer drivers really shine in the transportation industry with an average salary of $58,745. Comparatively, commercial drivers tend to make the most money in the transportation industry with an average salary of $47,951.tractor-trailer drivers tend to reach similar levels of education than commercial drivers. In fact, tractor-trailer drivers are 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Commercial driver vs. Cdl class a driver
A CDL Class A driver is a driver with a Class A commercial driver's license. A commercial driver's license is necessary to operate large, heavy, and placarded vehicles. There are several classifications of a commercial driver's license, and Class A is for a car towing a trailer with a gross vehicle weight of more than 10,000 pounds (5 t). Drivers with this type of license are entitled to operate a commercial motor vehicle such as passenger buses, tractor-trailers, semi-trucks, and dump trucks. They have the choice to add endorsements to their CDL, which allows them to operate particular types of commercial motor vehicles.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, commercial driver responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "cdl," "ladders," "customer orders," and "dot." Meanwhile, a cdl class a driver has duties that require skills in areas such as "math," "dot regulations," "basic math," and "pallets." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Cdl class a drivers earn a higher average salary than commercial drivers. But cdl class a drivers earn the highest pay in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $57,733. Additionally, commercial drivers earn the highest salaries in the transportation with average pay of $47,951 annually.In general, cdl class a drivers achieve similar levels of education than commercial drivers. They're 0.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for commercial drivers in the next 3-5 years?
Don Lefeve
President & Chairman of the Board, CVTA
Commercial driver vs. Driver
Drivers are responsible for safely transporting people, packages, or goods from one destination to another. They should be familiar with the different routes that may be taken to reach the desired goal. They should be expert navigators and may use navigation apps to help them along the way. They should also be familiar with the basic mechanics of the vehicle they are using and the proper maintenance and cleaning needed to ensure that the car is running well. Drivers are expected to have excellent customer relation skills, a strong sense of direction, and superb organizations.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a commercial driver is likely to be skilled in "ladders," "strong customer service," "distribution centers," and "osha," while a typical driver is skilled in "math," "basic math," "safety rules," and "cleanliness."
Drivers earn the highest salary when working in the manufacturing industry, where they receive an average salary of $39,688. Comparatively, commercial drivers have the highest earning potential in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $47,951.Most drivers achieve a similar degree level compared to commercial drivers. For example, they're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Commercial driver vs. Haul truck driver
Haul Truck Drivers are skilled professional drivers. They are licensed to drive around heavy vehicles such as trucks. They usually travel long distances to deliver goods from one place to another. They should be able to meet delivery time expectations. As such, Haul Truck Drivers should have good time management skills. They should also have the presence of mind while driving and must obey all traffic rules. They should know the best routes to take for each particular trip. They must also ensure that their trucks are well-maintained. Haul truck Drivers should be strong enough to assist in loading up the truck or reloading the content.
Types of commercial driver
Updated January 8, 2025
