What does a driver do?
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.
Driver responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real driver resumes:
- Haul asphalt, gravel, dirt, etc.
- Maintain accurate logs and comply with all FMCSA regulations.
- Deliver sand, rock, and asphalt across eastern NC.
- Provide safe and timely transportation for students, utilizing CDL license and attendant endorsements.
- Reduce carrier and customer risk by remaining proficiently knowledgeable of FMCSA rules and regulations.
- Air brakes endorsement but willing and able to get others including tanker, HazMat, and passenger.
- Gather all information including owner, personal, truck, lease, CDL, truck weights and measurements.
- Inspect truck as per dot requirements and inspect load and make sure need equipment are placed in truck.
- Verify that the truck is loaded with all necessary moving supplies, dollies, straps, tools and moving pads.
- Deliver OTR freight utilizing refrigerate trailers.
- Perform the movement/positioning/hooking of converter dollies.
- Observe high safety standards including strict federal HazMat regulations.
- Maintain assigned area by replenishing product slots, controlling damage goods, and maintaining cleanliness
- Conduct deliveries of medical equipment throughout Florida, collect payments, and ensure proper cleanliness of medical equipment
- Work in shipyard production carpenter shop building ladders stepstools cabinets and environmental enclosures for epa restrictions.
Driver skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Drivers are proficient in Math, Basic Math, and CDL. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Math skills, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Drivers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Math, 14%
Tape measures, power tools, manual labor, basic math, common sense and a strong work ethic.
- Basic Math, 14%
Sound ability to perform basic mathematical calculations, balance and reconcile figures, punctuate properly, spell correctly and transcribe accurately.
- CDL, 10%
Maintain Class A CDL license by using safe driving habits and routing prompt deliveries to various location across the United States.
- Safety Rules, 10%
Utilized safety practices and procedures following established safety rules and regulations and maintained a safe and clean work environment.
- Cleanliness, 10%
Maintained assigned area by replenishing product slots, controlling damaged goods, and maintaining cleanliness
- Customer Orders, 7%
Loaded customer orders into delivery vehicle; delivered floral arrangements to various residential and commercial customers; provided exceptional customer service.
"math," "basic math," and "cdl" are among the most common skills that drivers use at work. You can find even more driver responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a driver to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what drivers do because "when completing deliveries, drivers often interact with customers and should make a good impression to ensure repeat business." Additionally, a driver resume shows how drivers use customer-service skills: "drive truck to jacksonville port pick up containers and deliver them to customers sometimes for hazmat loads"
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform driver duties is math skills. Drivers responsibilities require that "because delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers sometimes take payment, they must be able to count cash and make change quickly and accurately." Drivers also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "possess necessary math and problem-solving skills to perform and maintain accurate piece or other counts of freight and record information accurately. "
Patience. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of drivers is patience. This skill is critical to many everyday driver duties, as "when driving through heavy traffic congestion, delivery drivers must remain calm and composed." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "pick up patience from the hospital dr office and nursing homes i am cpr first aid and defensive driving certified"
Sales skills. For certain driver responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "sales skills." The day-to-day duties of a driver rely on this skill, as "driver/sales workers are expected to persuade customers to purchase new or different products." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what drivers do: "directed cleanliness and organization, phone sales, marketing, showing, driving of limousines. "
Hand-eye coordination. Another crucial skill for a driver to carry out their responsibilities is "hand-eye coordination." A big part of what drivers relies on this skill, since "drivers need to observe their surroundings at all times while operating a vehicle." How this skill relates to driver duties can be seen in an example from a driver resume snippet: "time management and customer location coordination key to ensuring many different deliveries occurred on time. "
Visual ability. While "visual ability" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to driver responsibilities. Much of what a driver does relies on this skill, seeing as "to have a driver’s license, delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers must be able to pass a state vision test." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of drivers: "performed morning pre-trip inspections, did visual inspections prior to deliveries. "
The three companies that hire the most drivers are:
- *n/a*
4,960 drivers jobs
- Gopuff4,195 drivers jobs
- Advance Auto Parts3,279 drivers jobs
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Compare different drivers
Driver vs. Package delivery driver
A package delivery driver is responsible for picking up parcels and merchandise from warehouse or distribution centers for deliveries to different destinations. Package delivery drivers should be cautious in moving items, most importantly fragile packages, following special instructions as needed. They inspect their vehicle's condition and conduct regular maintenance to prevent delays in operations and road failures. A package delivery driver ensures the receipt of packages upon delivery, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns, and resolve and escalate complaints to the management immediately.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between drivers and package delivery driver. For instance, driver responsibilities require skills such as "math," "basic math," "safety rules," and "cleanliness." Whereas a package delivery driver is skilled in "physical exams," "delivery vehicle," "appearance guidelines," and "delivery route." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Package delivery drivers earn the highest salaries when working in the retail industry, with an average yearly salary of $44,667. On the other hand, drivers are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $39,688.package delivery drivers tend to reach similar levels of education than drivers. In fact, package delivery drivers are 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Driver vs. Delivery truck driver
A delivery truck driver is primarily responsible for transporting and delivering products to clients, ensuring accuracy and timeliness. They are also responsible for coordinating with logistics staff, loading and unloading packages, handling and managing documentation, following designated schedules and routes, and maintaining records of deliveries, including the missed ones. There are also instances when a delivery truck driver must accept and process payments, respond to customer calls and inquiries, and prepare progress reports. Furthermore, it is essential to perform maintenance checks on vehicles and abide by all traffic laws for a safe and efficient work environment.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that driver responsibilities requires skills like "basic math," "safety rules," "vehicle maintenance," and "otr." But a delivery truck driver might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "tractor trailer," "delivery truck," "cod," and "pallets."
Delivery truck drivers earn a higher average salary than drivers. But delivery truck drivers earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $65,283. Additionally, drivers earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $39,688 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Delivery truck drivers tend to reach similar levels of education than drivers. In fact, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for drivers in the next 3-5 years?
Don Lefeve
President & Chairman of the Board, CVTA
Driver vs. Truck driver class a
The responsibilities of a Truck Driver Class A mainly revolves around driving heavy vehicles and ensuring that all transported goods meet the expected delivery deadlines and quality. The Driver needs to have a Class A license and be emotionally and physically healthy to qualify. Among the duties of a Truck Driver Class A will also revolve around securing and monitoring the quantity and quality of items, maintaining the vehicle in good condition, abide by the traffic rules and regulations, adhere to the company standards and policies, and have precise coordination with every workforce involved.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, drivers are more likely to have skills like "math," "basic math," "safety rules," and "cleanliness." But a truck driver class a is more likely to have skills like "pet," "dot regulations," "construction sites," and "distribution centers."
Truck drivers class a earn the best pay in the transportation industry, where they command an average salary of $62,650. Drivers earn the highest pay from the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $39,688.truck drivers class a typically earn similar educational levels compared to drivers. Specifically, they're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.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.
Types of driver
Updated January 8, 2025
