Comments By Chris P.

The trucking school I want to attend has the option to train in a manual or an automatic. Manual costs more money. It's $3500 to train with automatic, and $5000 to train with manual. Is it worth it - do I really want to learn manual? I won't have to pay either way. Tax payers will be paying. I think I'd rather drive an automatic, but I'm not sure I want to limit myself to only being able to drive automatics.

If this matters, my ideal trucking job would be to drive the same route every night. I like night driving... there is less traffic, and it is more peaceful until someone with their high beams tailgates me).

Thanks.

Anne,

What do you do if there are cars in the lane required to do the button hook? I think, in real life, you have to do a hybrid of a jug and a buttonhook.

Schneider was actually a company I was considering, but I'm a slow learner when it comes to truck driving, so I should probably steer clear.

Thanks Turtle,

I actually googled and found it myself. I even posted it before you shared but all my posts have to be approved so they don't show up in a timely manner. Anyway, that still means you can have it when you're off duty, but no company is going to let you drink either way, so it's a moot point.

Also, I wasn't trying to imply that drinking alcohol doesn't matter. I was just saying that a lot of us in states that have legalized marijuana use don't see it using it as anymore of a big deal than drinking alcohol. Using alcohol in the wrong manner is still a very big deal, just as pot should be.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/392.5

Nevermind, found the proof myself.

Having any alcohol, even in a sealed container, is a violation of federal law.

I was not aware of this. Do you happen to have proof?

Old School,

Forgive my ignorance, but what does T-call mean exactly?

Also, I'm still interested in your book if you ever manage to finish it now that you're on the road again.

Steve,

I thought most companies didn't allow alcohol in their trucks - I may not like it, but I've already accepted that. It does make some sense in some ways. That said, I'm not aware of any companies doing hair follicle tests for alcohol. If I was, I'd be calling them out for being dumb too. Someone that tried pot in a legal state, months before they even thought of becoming a truck driver, is not any more dangerous on the road because of it. Yet, for some perverse reason, it may matter more than a poor driving record to these companies. I tried pot around 8 months ago, and my driving record is clean as can be. I haven't gotten a single ticket in the 20 years I've been driving. To think something so frivolous can have such a dramatic impact on my ability to get hired. It's inane. ): Heck, Elon Musk tried pot on video.

Kerry,

To people in states that have legalized smoking pot, it's no different than drinking alcohol to us. We don't think of it as a big deal that some company is going to get on our case for it because we smoked it months ago. I think it's really dumb, infact, and I don't even like weed. Definitely don't smoke it and then drive, but to use it responsibly? Sure, why not?

Also, nice pun.

Jim,

Why did you do your own hair follicle test to start with? It seems to me that you were smoking pot, and you wanted to see if it showed up in your hair.