Comments By Zen Joker

My heart goes out to the OP and her hubby!

For the purposes of continuing the educational component of the thread for new drivers, I'd like to add to Kearsey's comments a little...

It sucks to hear stories like this and good people facing rough circumstances. With that said each driver assumes the risk when we challenge mother nature. Unless another motorist does something to instigate a crash in winter time, the accident will be up being preventable and fall at the driver's feet 95% of the time as we have all these apps on our phones, weather radio built into the truck stereo, CB's with weather band etc.

Besides tell tale signs of ice on the mirrors and windshield, another way is to evaluate the tire spray from other vehicles ahead of you and or your trailer tandems in your mirrors. If the spraying stops that likely means it's now frozen to the road and you need to safely park.

As I write this I am sitting at the TA in Southington, CT pushing my delivery to Friday which results in about a $400 haircut to my next week's earnings for my family. Previously I've driven through blizzards, an ice storm (empty on my way home), tornado warnings, high winds, but blowing snow in Hew Hampshire on 6-9% mountain grades? Nope, time to eat some Oreo Pudding and put the brass ones on the shelf for 36 hours. Not worth the risk. Like Capt. Briggs said in Magnum Force (Dirty Harry), "A man (or woman),needs to know his(her) limitations". Drivers ultimately need to know theirs AND the limitations of an 80,000 lb. vehicle and when to call it off when flirting with either one.

Most of my comments are to help newer drivers make good decisions, again my heart goes out to the OP's family, I will pray that you guys land on your feet!!

Bobcat Bob wins the internet today with that one!!

If that lasts more than 4 hours he should contact a doctor

Bro 🤣

Happy Resurrection Day and a Happy Easter to all!!

Scrap paper, cat litter, fire suppression equipment, nitrogen gas, Pulp, industrial paper roll stock. Etc.

Favorite thing to haul is machine parts. Those short bins filled with parts are heavy and sit low in the trailer for a lower vehicle center of gravity which helps on windy days.

IMO reefers are free white noise. I pipe a white noise app through my Cascadia's speaker system. Couldn't hear a tank firing a block away. When the truck runs a battery cycle in Opti Idle it doesn't even wake me up.

Nicely done Sir!!

Hello Brandon and welcome!!!

The single most important piece of advice anyone can give you which literally encompasses everything you will do is to be PATIENT. You will have a LOT of info tossed at you and the best advice I can give you as a fellow overthinker and prepper is to ALWAYS slow your brain down to the task at hand and take your time. It goes against your intuition, but major mistakes happen in this field come from being in a hurry or thinking "I need to get faster at this". Tell that voice to shut up. I'm just finishing my rookie year and I purposely slowed down my yard work and let speed develop on its own. Now I can run like the madman I envisioned when I started in CDL school. I encourage you to do the same.

Also, please be sensitive to your wife's emotions during the first year. It is EXTREMELY hard on the spouse that stays home. She will need your support just as much as you need hers.

Quick List of Things to always keep in mind starting out:

1) TAKE YOUR TIME..DON'T HURRY!! 2) Don't let the performance, attitude, or actions of other students or drivers con you into thinking you won't get it or you don't belong. 3) Always Get Out And Look (GOAL) when backing or maneuvering into tight areas. 4) Drill into your head that the trailer has only 2 purposes in your life. First to carry your freight, second to get you a preventable accident and adversely impact your career. WATCH THOSE MIRRORS constantly. Never move that steering wheel a millimeter without checking both mirrors. 5) Ultimately, this job is 90% mindset. Have a strong mindset and work ethic as nothing less will help you endure the struggles and hardships of life of the road. Every challenge you overcome will increase your confidence and enjoyment of the job. It's never over when you have a tough day, it's over when you quit.

Best of success to you, we look forward to following your journey!

Greetings from Canada! I am in Laval just outside Montreal and just want to give a quick update.

We did the Toronto show Friday night and are now at the venue near Montreal waiting for load-in when we get the gear off our trailer. The catering at Toronto was excellent. So far because of this tour I've added two states and two Canadian provinces I've driven truck in. I'm also getting more used to the truck I'm currently in. After here it's Chicagoland so I might be able to pop home or at least briefly see my wife so I'm looking forward to that. Hope everyone is doing well, that's all I got for now.

On the heels of Brett's golden comments, I'd like to add that everyone here whether they can internally admit or not is guilty if not of bad deeds, habits, actions or at least bad thoughts and judgments. Not an excuse for hurting kids, lying about your age or medical history, committing felonies, being combative with dispatchers or other negative behaviors detailed in this thread.

Being just shy of my first year solo being complete while being blessed with my faith, family, and a network of friends within my company (both newer and tenured/top performing drivers) to keep me going out here, I can still see how people's minds can bend being alone out here and not be at their best. Let's give EVERYONE the benefit of the doubt and realize we are all flawed. There is so much value in here despite anyone's skeletons in the closet. Some of the best advice you can get in here may be from someone you may not "morally agree with".

While everyone feels the need to comment (me included), I feel like this thread needs to to start fading into the background so we can get back to the website's core mission of helping new drivers get their career of the ground and helping experienced drivers continue to advance their careers. Otherwise posts like this can snowball into a p*ssing pendulum similar to a family argument at the the Thanksgiving Dinner table. Just my 2 cents. Be safe all!

Awesome work young lady!!! Here's to the next safe million miles!!