Comments By Jimmy P.

Can anyone point me in the right direction for a 12 volt cooler that works well and stays cold enough ?? Thanks !!

Well the first week is down . All class time a lot of videos and reading followed by test , I must say that all of the stuff for the most part has been covered by The High Road and from reading post on this forum I have picked up some good info from the reading and videos and am starting to grasp H.O.S and log books it helps having a log book in hand and doing a "trip" from Portland OR. to Houston TX. learning how to use the atlas is a big help too I'm really having a good time . Monday we start working on pre trip and Tuesday morning we get into the truck We only have 4 in this class so we have split into pairs for driving my partner and I will start Tuesday at 7am and drive until 10 am then 3 1/2 hours class time then we go home and the next pair drives in the afternoon I think I will like this schedule ! More to follow later Thanks Brett and everyone here !

Thanks for your support gent's !

Well day one of school in the books ! Here's the kicker I seem to have caught the worst cold of my life over the weekend luckily the first day for me was watching the other 3 in my class watch video's to prepare for their permit test ! Myself having already gotten my permit with all endorsements ( thanks to the High Road ) around 10 am the doctor came in to give DOT physicals and drug test so after I got my 1 year medical card ( bp a little high , doctor said it was probably due to the cold and the 2 cups of coffee I drank to get moving this morning ) I was off to DMV and issued my official CDL permit the instructor said there was nothing else going on today because the rest of the class would be busy getting their permits so he :told me to go home and get some rest ! I'll be back at it tomorrow morning 7 am !! The adventure begins ! Thanks for everyone here helping me get to this point !!

June 6th: Article updated to reflect that the Senate Appropriations Committee has voted yes, the bill must still pass the full Senate.

An amendment making its way through the senate that would suspend the restart provisions of the July 1st, 2013 HOS rules has been passed. The amendment still has to be approved by the full Senate and the House before it becomes law, but the 21-9 vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee is a major step towards repealing the most contentious aspect of the updated HOS rules.

If the amendment goes through, the limit of one 34 hour restart per week and the requirement that it include two periods of rest between 1-5am will be suspended for one year. During this time, the FMCSA would be required to study the effects of their restart rules.

The amendment was proposed by Senator Susan Collins of Maine who said that the FMCSA’s rule resulted in “unintended consequences” that had an effect on the trucking industry. Other senators who voted to pass the amendment voiced other concerns, such as Sen. Mary Landrieu’s claim that the thought of the federal government telling a trucker when he or she may or may not sleep gave her a “visceral reaction.”

Of course, not everyone has been for the amendment. According to an article published by Overdrive Online, FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro spoke in favor her administration’s program saying that it was the result of “rigorous” and “unprecedented analysis.”

“Yes, there has been an economic impact on the industry. We certainly recognized that that would happen,” she said. She went on to excuse the economic impact by say that “the majority of the impact is on the long-haul, over-the-road, irregular route driver,” both slighting OTR drivers and making a claim that Sen. Kelly Ayotte called in to question by commenting that she was shocked by reports of the impact the restart provisions had on both OTR and non-OTR carriers.

Though the FMCSA claims that it is too early to see a measurable impact caused by the HOS changes, supporters of the amendment claim that the restart provisions have caused increased congestion by forcing trucks onto roads at the busiest times of day. According to an article published on Fleetowner.com, even one senator who voted against the amendment said that he would support a change that would suspend the specific provision that related to the 1am-5am requirement.

“I would like to have truck drivers have the option to stay out of the Chicago Loop during the busiest time of the morning,” said Sen. Richard Durbin. “I don’t think that makes it any safer for them or anyone else. And if they want to start driving at 3 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. to avoid congestion in the Loop, I think we ought to have at least some consideration of that.”

Welcome aboard Farmer I would say in no way you have missed the bus . You will find many in our age range just getting into this lifestyle ( it's not just a job ) I myself turned 50 in Feb. and I start private school next Monday and hope to be on the road bu the end of July !! Good luck to you and I hope this was helpful ! I'm sure you will get more response's like this one !

Joe on the top of the page "trucking jobs " theres a feature where you can send one app to all companies !

Looking for good helpful trucker apps that could be useful on the road . What are the apps you use and like ?

Sweet, my favorite type of thread. Its nice helping out youngsters for a change instead of old.... oh nevermind.

Some of us are old neverminds it's ok we know who you were talking about O.S !!

Gary I live in Oregon but just wanted to say I have never looked at the DMV book for Oregon and I went in 2 weeks ago and got my CDL -A permit with all endorsements on the first try and it only took about 40 minutes ! The Highroad program is great and it works !