Being a truck driver in Spain is a profession that is little by little being left without generational replacement and this is demonstrated by the Remitly study, which confirms this change and that, now, the new generations want to be “youtubers”. The reason for the lack of interest in these traditional professions is time and effort, since it is a job in which you literally “are away from home all day” and, on the other hand, its low salary. This is what Rafa tells it, a transporter with almost forty years of experience who opens the doors of his truck to show how he survives in a job that, as he says, “is no longer worthy.”
During a trip recorded by content creator Clavero, this driver recounts, without embellishment, the endless days, loneliness and lack of recognition suffered by road transport professionals. “I’ve been sitting here for 37 years, almost 38, and I’ve seen everything. But what we’re experiencing now is not normal. You work 15 hours a day and you can’t even live in peace,” he says.
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“He slept with a machete in his belly”
Rafa remembers one of the hardest nights of his life. “A light woke me up. I opened my eyes and there was a man with a balaclava and a machete in front of me. He stole my watch, my computer and even a gold chain. He was sleeping inside the truck.”
Thefts, he says, are common. Many truck drivers are forced to spend the night in industrial estates, without security or services. “They leave you lying around anywhere, as if you were worthless.”
During the pandemic, the situation worsened. “While everyone was confined, we continued working. We took food to farms, supermarkets and gas stations, but we found the showers closed and the bathrooms dirty. You couldn’t even buy a loaf of bread.”
“I didn’t get home on a Friday for 20 minutes”: the sacrifice of not seeing your loved ones
The video shows how a simple delay in loading or unloading can ruin a driver’s weekend. “Because of 20 minutes I couldn’t go home. You can’t move the truck, because it’s illegal. You can’t enter the parking lot either, because it’s full. That’s our life,” he explains, resigned.
Tachograph rules are strict, as you can only drive nine hours a day, with mandatory 45-minute breaks every four and a half hours. “If you spend a minute, they’ll fine you. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a kilometer from your house.”
The carrier also denounces the treatment received at many loading and unloading points. “You arrive on time and they tell you that there is no merchandise or that you should come back on Monday. They leave you stranded all weekend in an industrial park, without bathrooms or food. And no one takes responsibility.”
Despite transporting essential products, the salaries do not compensate. “A national truck driver can earn 1,500 clean euros a month. Internationally, 2,800 or 3,000, but at the cost of not seeing your family for weeks. It’s not worth it.”
“I have seen my children grow up through photos”
“My son was three years old and I didn’t see him grow up. I have missed his entire childhood, and now I think about it and my heart breaks,” Rafa confesses while preparing his sandwich for another day on the road. His hope is to at least be able to enjoy his grandchildren. “Let’s see if I can enjoy the grandchildren, at least.”
Even so, he continues to love his job. “It’s nice, because without us the country stops. Everything that reaches people’s homes is taken by a truck driver. But it’s no longer a decent job. You give up your life for nothing.”
The veteran is clear: if conditions are not improved, road transport faces a crisis without generational change. “Young people don’t want this, and those of us who are here continue out of habit. But you can’t live like this.” Without truckers, the wheel would stop. But, as Rafa concludes, “it seems that no one notices until something is missing from the shelves.”