A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a lorry driver or driver in Ireland and the United Kingdom), is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.

Truck drivers provide an essential service to industrialized societies by transporting finished goods and raw materials over land, typically to and from manufacturing plants, retail and distribution centers. Truck drivers are also responsible for inspecting their vehicles for mechanical items or issues relating to safe operation. Others, such as Driver/Sales workers, are also responsible for sales and customer service.

Types of truck drivers

There are two major types of truck driver employment:

• Owner-operators (also known as O/Os) are individuals that own the trucks they drive and can either lease their trucks by contract with a trucking company to haul freight for that company using their own trucks, or they haul loads for a number of companies and are self employed independent contractors.

• Company drivers are employees of a particular trucking company and drive trucks that are provided by their employer.

Job categories

Both owner operators/owner driver and company drivers can be in these categories.

• Auto haulers work hauling cars on specially built trailers and require specific skills loading and operating this type of specialized trailer.
• Dry Van drivers haul the majority of goods over highways in large trailers. Contents are generally non perishable goods.
• Flat Bed drivers haul an assortment of large bulky items. A few examples are tanks, steel pipes and lumber. Drivers require the ability to balance the load correctly.
• LTL drivers or "less than truck load" are usually local delivery jobs where goods are delivered and unloaded by the driver at multiple locations, usually involving the pulling of double or triple trailer combinations.
• Reefer drivers haul refrigerated or frozen goods.
• Local drivers work only within the limits of their hometowns or only to nearby towns. They return home nightly.
• Household Goods drivers, or Bedbuggers haul personal effects for families who are moving from one home to another.

• Regional drivers may work over several states near their homes. They are usually away from home for short periods.
• Interstate drivers (otherwise known as "over the road" or "long-haul" drivers) often cover distances of thousands of miles and are away from home for a week or more. To help keep drivers, companies can employ team drivers.
• Team drivers are two drivers who take turns driving the same truck in shifts (sometimes husband and wife), or several people in different states that split up the haul to keep from being away from home for such long periods.
• Tanker drivers (in truck driver slang tanker yankers) haul liquids, such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, milk, & crude oil, and dry bulk materials, such as plastics, sugar, flour & cement in tanks. Liquid tanker drivers need special driving skills due to the load balance changing from the liquid movement. This is especially true for milk tankers, which do not contain any baffles and are a single compartment (due to sanitation requirements).
• Vocational drivers drive a vocational truck such as a dump truck, garbage truck, or cement mixer.
• Container Intermodal drivers do all of the above, except their cargo containers are lifted on or off the chassis, at special intermodal stations.