The Truth about Indian Trucking 

Being a Sikh, I had to meet the stereotype, my father was a truck driver for 5 years of his life. And this was almost 20 years ago shocking how little has changed. The things Yukon states in this video, however negative, are completely true. My father left trucking early in his life since he thankfully got a better job but the horrifying stories he tells me about the road and trucking in India really made me respect him and other truckers in India. We need some way to end corruption not just in India but throughout the world.

3:01 in india we have a stereotype , the bigger vehicle will always in a fault , a drunk biker will crash even into a stationary truck and people will blame the trucker

You forgot to mention the fact that so many Indian truck drivers, especially in the north, struggle while delivering supplies through the Himalayas. It's a rugged yet major part of India, and truckers risk their lives on certain roads. Highways are being made, but these mountains are unforgiving.

India does actually have emergency public services, such as ambulances and police, however they are extremely understaffed and overworked which makes response times long and overall difficult to keep consistent

Rule In India - Bigger your vehicle, the more patient you have to be on roads, because it will always be your responsibility and mistake.

Wow, there's many similarities with trucking in India and Indonesia; be it ornate trucks, rampant gov't corruption, others' attitude on trucker, etc Salute to our cultural brothers 🇮🇳🚚🇮🇩

The semi truck you pictured with a "shipping container" is actually a car carrier, but they're enclosed to protect the vehicles from thefts and stone pecking damage. They only look as if they're containers because the corrugated panels used are similar to an ISO box.

You not need to apologise, the points you listed out are absolutely correct. The trucking industry here is miserable for the majority of drivers. They deserve appreciation, respect and better pay for their profession like everybody of us do.

As an Indian I have immense respect for these drivers. You don't need to apologise for this video being negative but we as Indians need to improve for the betterment of these important part of our society who sacrifice so much without being part of it.

wow. this got real, fast. I love how you show the uncomfortable truths as well without dancing around it

As an Indian who likes to drive wherever I go, I can confirm most, if not all, that was said in this video. And I'd like to add something too: these guys, even if they have no formal training for driving these trucks, are the most disciplined drivers I've ever seen on the road. They usually stay in the fast lane, with uniform speed, use turn signals properly, and some of them communicate with trucks in front of them via this weird system of bright lights (usually red/green) installed alongside the headlights when they want them to change the lane, or give way. Ten meters behind a truck is when I feel the safest going 90km/h on a busy highway, especially when there's lane jumpers doing their thing in the other two/three lanes. It's also the fear of smashing into a behemoth going 100 on a road in the middle of nowhere that keeps reckless drivers from pulling stuff that they wouldn't hesitate to pull on a fellow car.

you said the truth about Indian trucking. many owners if the transport companies are very bad. there is barely any formal training for Indian truckers. there are very less rest areas with facilities for many Indian roads.

The toughest in the world. 14 hour 6 day work weeks is the norm in Canada but dear Lord, I can't imagine the hell these drivers have to go through.

don't worry about negativity, everything you said is pretty much true. it's unfortunate people look down on truckers but thats just how Indian society is

You know what's the worst part? That 20k salary you mentioned is actually what would be considered very high for a blue collar job in India. Most blue collar workers make a lot less. The plight of truckers is truly awful, yet if you meet them in person, they are some of the nicest people. I have spoken to a bunch of them and they always have interesting tales to tell. The Indian government is trying to improve the share of the rails in freighting. So it is possible that going forward, the trucking industry might take a small hit. Also, other people have called this out, but India does very much have emergency services. It's just that they can't respond as quickly because of manpower and funding shortages. The situation is better in major cities though.

As an Indian Fleet Owner, this is absolutely true, Except the fact about Truck's lifetime being 20 years, It is 10 years here in Delhi and it's hard to keep the business running when the Depreciation cost of the vehicle is equal to the earning also forget about the EMI's.

It’s so hard when the people that make the rules benefit most from the corruption.

Once they finish all the states in American Truck Simulator the US (or a few states before) they should either work on Indian Truck Simulator or Australian truck Simulator.

These videos are great! Keep them up. Maybe make a video on the trucking of Central Asia.

Meanwhile, Balkan (especially bosnian) trucking is basically: TRUCK IS TRUCK, DRIVE Honestly, no joke here I love the look of Indian trucks. Very interesting video, Yukon, keep it up! You should be more popular. Quite unfortunate that these truck drivers don't get enough respect and sometimes live in the trucks that are poorly maintained. I wish things get better.

As an Indian i can confirm its very true . These truckers are playing an important role in our daily lives . They keep this vast country running . However i sometimes don't like them because they drive very dangerously , however its normal for almost all of them

But trucking is changing fast in india. These days there are many drivers who are educated and willingly join trucking either because they like it or by their education is of no value in job market. Also, appearance of trucks changing really fast too. Increasingly company built cabins are common instead of cowl chassis customized cabin with the sales growth of BharatBenz, Tata Signa models , Eicher pro and Ashok leyland Avtr cabins

Yes this video was overly negative. But it was required. I had absolutely no idea the hardships they face. Moreover, even though not within regulations, Indian truckers are some of the best disciplined. They'll give you a headsup if there is something ahead, they'll wave their hand to let us go ahead, etc.

This is such a well-made video. Unlike other channels covering topics about India, you didn't looked down upon us. You tackled the situation with compassion and respect even when talking about the negative aspects of the industry. Great video!!!

Truckers are the backbone of Indian economy, respect to them 💯

Respect Yukon .... The accuracy 💯💯💯.... I'm from India and I've never seen a better narration of the Indian trucking industry than yours

Precisely correct. Once I hitchhiked Bharat clockwise and shared their lifestyle. Now I’m hit with nostalgia

Thank you for bringing to light the corruption in India. More people need to know the reality.

I remember when Discovery Channel's _Ice Road Truckers_ did a season in India. One driver, a very experienced but conservative man, upon seeing the free-for-all that Indian driving and roads were, quit and flew back home after only one day! I didn't blame him..

The amount of research and knowledge you shared in this video is just incredible. Top quality content.

Very impressive! You've done your research, and presented all the real facts, unlike many videos which ONLY cover the exterior works. I love your channel 😍

No it is not negative, i have done my doctoral research on indian truck market. your views largely corroborates my primary data on truck drivers. But that was in 2012-13, i guess some moderate improvements have happened in between but their is a long way to go for indian truck industry to achieve its potential.

You should talk about Indonesian Trucking, its like driving in India and Japan at the same time, you can experience driving like in ETS2 to Mudrunner by just going to the next city/island due to uneven infrastructure

Damn, this guy really did his research.

Thank you for covering the conditions of truck drivers! Great video! People should respect truck drivers and trucks as everything one can see with their eyes has been on a truck in some form. Without trucks we wouldn't have anything!

I recommended this video idea in your previous video! I'm so glad that you made it!

A video on Brazil’s trucking culture would be awesome!

Incredibly accurate and comprehensive video. Concise, informative and surprisingly, with a real human, emotional aspect to it, not just another nerdy info-dump. I thought some things would inevitably get left out but you covered pretty much every aspect of Indian trucking I could think of, from road safety to substance abuse, dhabas, cooking in the cabin, corruption, the physical stress of the job. Just curious as to how you gathered all the info - online, talking to Indians, or did you travel in India?

Your Channel is growing so fast! Love the content

I’m amazed at the trajectory of your channel. 6 years ago 2 videos no views. 3 year old trucking video blows up and suddenly this is a trucking channel. 😂😂 I’m subbing bc your videos are interesting (info I didn’t know I wanted to know) and I wanna see where u go with this! Well researched. Congrats.

The first truck with Adas has been launched in India by Tata , and the new trucks r just amazing

In Turkey we also use horns with tunes. My favorite one is love theme from Godfather. Most drivers also decorate their trucks and although government banned it, drivers of smaller trucks write funny or romantic stuff behind the truck. Also if some random kid wants it, they will definitely press the horn. I used to yell them to honk when I was a kid.

For some reason youtube has been aggressively recommending your vids in my homepage the last few days. I finally got baited in, and I love your stuff🎉

Never thought I wanted to learn about the Indian truck industries, but why not. Thanks!

You should do one on Ireland, it has a very cowboy feel

Your videos are really relaxing, keep it up my guy

I know little to none about trucks, but the way you present it makes me interested to the end.

Thank you Yukon for keeping it simple yet respectful!

I love how you included the md, va, dc exits that somehow steals drivers abilities to drive

the painted trucks always put me in mind of the narrowboats of old on the english canal system. but more elaborate than the roses and castles they use.

WOW, thank you for this video on Indian trucking, as a trucking fan and ETS player, this video was very informative but at the same time, as an Indian, wow I can just smile and node at this video and give a full 10/10 about the accuracy of this video's content and praises you for researching and editing a very good video. Good job. And yea no need to apologize, this is the truth.

This was more or less the accurate way of putting it out to people who aren't from the country. No dancing around the truth but at the same time no malice or condescension. Good job.

Bro pls do Philippines trucking next Nice video btw keep it up i love these types of videos

Don't know why but I always found the crazy traffic in India fascinating to watch.

God damn I’m glad I found this channel. Great video!

I live in Malaysia and I noticed a trend among truck drivers in my state. They installed these colorful RGB LED strips around their cabs and in few instance all around their truck. I first saw a couple of them just before the global lockdown started but now there seems to be more of them on the road. Not really sure how the fad started. I assumed they were inspired by the Thailand truckers but ours are just bright LEDs that don't look like much during the day. At night, however, they're quite a sight to see. Speaking of LEDs there was a recent trend of regular cars putting pulsating blue LEDs in their main lights. A stupid, confusing trend since only the police and road authority are allowed to use pulsating blue lights(red is for the health and fire services while yellow is for construction vehicle and hearses). Really, who thinks mimicking the police is a great idea?

Your videos are amazing!

love these videos. Keep em up!

All the points you have provided are very much true. Great video !!

A superb description of Indian truckers.Accurate and realistic.I've driven and ridden 100s of thousands of kms on the Indian highways and these guys are the lifeblood of the country.

Best video I found on RU-vid. Love from India ❤️❤️

Somewhat related is a huge percentage of American/Canadian truck drivers are immigrants from India usually Sikhs. About 40% of truckers in California are Sikhs. Alot of truck stops on the West coast will have Indian restaurants within walking distance because of this fact.

you put a lot effort in making these videos! Top quality result!

Wow. What you say about Indian trucking is very accurate. I'm guessing that you traveled to India and interviewed several truck drivers and their companies.

Also travelling on highways into major cities at night is a nightmare, as most of them will have a huge line of trucks to get "inspected" by police, occupying all lanes.

okay as an indian, i agree and disagree with some of your points. 1. Corruption runs rampant in India and smalltime officials are corrupt because the higher ups take a large portion of the budget their department gets thus leading to lower wages for employees. The current government is most certainly corrupt and will continue to be that way for the visible future. 2. Truck drivers are blamed for accidents because it is often, their fault (though not entirely). As you mentioned, drivers drive intoxicated with various substances and often get little sleep, leading to more accidents. Also, they are known for their atrocious driving skills (in my city), it is kind of like a stereotype but it has basis. 3. Driving licenses can be purchased and people often drive even without a license (I have friends who've done both these things). 4. Honking is absolutely hated but people who aren't really well versed in what exactly honking means in foreign countries think of it as a regular thing to do, if theres a car in front thats moving slowly people will honk. Honking is kind of like saying "Hurry Up" in India. 5. Our roads aren't haphazard as shown in the video, most cities that are newer have "good" lanes and people mostly follow rules. In cities like Mumbai, where I live, the roads are disorganized because of Autorickshaws. They create a huge mess and since they're pretty small people just spread into other lanes. However, in the main part of the city (probably the place you'll visit as a tourist) is organized and traffic laws are pretty strictly enforced (though you can get away with a bribe). Edit: Horn please basically means to honk if you want the truck to move or if its in the way.

Just brilliantly put. Every sentence just perfect

I really like these videos, Don't stop !

a video about chinese or russian trucking industry would be intresting

For those that want a deep look into driving in the Sub-Continent, check out the _Free Documentary_ channel on RU-vid for "The Most Dangerous Roads." Episode one is on the Manali-Leh highway into the Himalayas. It's over 10 years old but it's absolutely wild!

Negative, but perfectly accurate! And I love the vid/story. Great work, man.

Loved this! Do Trucking culture in Jamaica next

Its so real and accurate. Salute to all these unorganised warriors that keep the country running.

cool video content!! now i wonder how is the world of trucking in my own country, indonesia from your point of view. to be honest i don't pay attention so much to it and as far as i know there's a lot of extortion in some of the truck routes, piers, and even near warehouses.

Would like to see one on Bangladeshi and Pakistani trucking too

impressed with the research not just about technical, statistical stuff but also about there socio culture

You should do South America trucking

3:18 the cartoon is actually from Bangladesh and has a Bangladeshi perspective of corruption, but for this video the cartoon fits nicely.

Every Indian truck driver : Trucking is Useless Job

This video went Fast, it feels like trucking in India. Unusual, fast, and full of Very Interesting experience Indeed.

Nice video, the only observation I have is that it’s not that India doesn’t have public services, it’s just that they are fairly limited to bigger cities.

can't imagine driving for 14 hours in the heat with no AC!

These video are incredible. keep it up

Im happy this channel got recommended to me.

i wouldn’t go as far to say the india was in the “shadow” of china but it seems to be in 2nd in almost every category

I never thought of trucking industry in India as much. Wow. And he's so true about honking in India 😂

Very well researched video.

THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS Lotd of love ❤️❤️😘😘

Yukon, this is very informative. I wonder if you could do a video on the trucking industry in my country, Vietnam. It would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

1:27 that's a car carrier, brother

Damn mate nice video! I would really apreciate a video about brazilian truck driving, because the things here are pretty wild! By the way have a nice day!

God, I love your content. Keep it up, 100k subs let's gooo

Everything you said in this video is 100% accurate. No exaggeration No BS, just 100% truth.

You said the all truth about Indian trucking field

Amazed by the accuracy of this video.

this is actually a really good video, and as an indian you are 100% right with how bad things get for these people. There's no need for apologising when you are correct

Quite an accurate description indeed. While I work for Volvo, designing the safest trucks there are. It's disheartening to see that these features are not reaching our truckers. But, this is also something that's changing rapidly along with the economy. Once indian consumers are ready to bear the extra cost of logistics, this situation should improve. This can only come after a certain level of economic growth. Also, as it gets more and more difficult to attract new drivers, trucking companies will have to offer better and safer conditions. One interesting thing I recently found out was that in Japan, they let their best drivers drive imported European trucks as a type of reward to retain them. I see it being applied here in the near future.

Perhaps you should do a video on how indian migration has ruined the transport industry in Australia. As someone who's in the industry and has seen it first hand I'd be more than happy to share some of the hundreds of near fatal incidents I have seen at the hands of indian immigrant drivers that have little to no experience whatsoever

Beautifully described the profession and its varied facets

Dear, you have created a wonderful content, that many of video creator have not touched this topic. You have undergone a sincere homework to expose the real and unknown sacrifice of Indian Drivers. As you mentioned the Indian roads was not proper before the schemes of National Road Development Projects, but now we Indians are proud of our Quality roads on both urban and rural. Thanks for the organized Tax payment system managed by Indian Government. In certain part of Indian villages the complete men workforce will be involved in Long distance Driving, they will visit their home once in four months for just 10 days of holidays, as you mentioned for them Truck Cabin will be Home, House will be Temple, Home food will be the memorable taste. Farmers and Drivers are the real example of Indian Hardwork. - South Indian Vehicle lover from Driver Community.