Comments By Old School

I'm just curious how many of you drive a tractor with disc brakes all around. When I got my million miler truck, it was set up this way. It will stop in a hurry when you need to.

It took me a little while to get accustomed to them, but they are awesome in a way that you really don't want to have to experience.

So, who all has a set up like this? I remember Brett once having a sort of experimental truck with all disc brakes. I'm sure mine was set up like this purposely, but I'm wondering if it's a lot more common than I realized.

I'm not sure the union will accept any last minute offers to avert a strike. They really seem to think they have some leverage. If that is true, then you defeat your purpose by settling up easily.

My crystal ball is known for being wrong... so, we will see.

Honestly, I think we'll see a strike. It's one more thing thrown into the cogs of our supply chain madness. Trucking is becoming like investing. Diversification is important. We are being hit on so many fronts. The survivors will prove to be those who can make money off different niches in the industry while other areas are being interrupted.

Do not judge your scenario by other drivers actions either.

Amen to that!

I can't remember how many times I've had trucks just fly by me going down mountains. Sometimes I never see them again. Many times I see them on fire at the bottom of the hill. A few times I've seen them laying on their side in the ditch. All the while, I was wondering if I am going to slow, or impeding traffic.

Just drive your truck in a way that you know is safe. Hold yourself accountable. Let the idiots drive their trucks. Darwin's theories and Karma both bite!

OMG! I can't even imagine that feeling when you realized what you did. It's understandable, but I know you were just laughing at yourself all at the same time cussing yourself.

Hey Davy, we all make some dumb mistakes sometimes. It's best to just roll with it and do our best to keep them at a minimum.

At least you didn't hit anything!

Midn8t, I'm just not buying your line. Look, I'm empathetic with your situation to a point.

Here's what gets me...

Everything seems to be Western Express' fault. You seem to forget you have the power of refusal. Why are you there? Why didn't you start somewhere else? I think you're like me. I ran out of options. If that's the case, you figure out a way to make it happen. It's as simple as that.

You are way too focused on blaming them. Focus on ways you can manage getting finished. Buying your contract is throwing good money away with no gain from the expense.

I've bailed and loaded a lot of hay in my day. You say you can do that and not have trouble breathing, but a hotel room almost sends you to the hospital? Hay produces a lot of dust and spores. It's very irritating to my lungs.

Something just doesn't add up here.

Your situation is one of those that gives me pause. With each post you reveal a new litany of problems. It sounds like you have a lot of health issues.

Are you sure this is the type of job you really need?

Okay, now read that material carefully.

It's just as I said.

They are asking you "Which of these actions should you NOT take?

The proper answer is honk your horn and stay close behind the car.

You spent a lot of time assuring me that you actually were talking to truckers. That's great! I tried to do the same thing when I was wanting to start this career. Now that I've driven over a million miles, I find truck driver chit chat has to be taken carefully. Most of it is nonsense.

See, if a truck driver tells me he feels an automatic transmission is dangerous, I immediately want to know has he ever driven one, and for how long. Most of the time they have no experience with them.

Forgive me if I missed this but, how long have you been with the trainer?

Hello Paul!

Sometimes it's good to take a little rest from your research. I'm not going to say you need one, but don't wear yourself out with information overload.

I hope you realize how silly it sounds to someone you are hoping will hire you, when you ask them if they consider their automatic trucks a safety hazard. I don't know where you are finding all these truckers you claim to talk to, but my Volvo I-shift automatic transmission takes me down snow covered mountains with amazing results. That job you were applying for is city driving with delivery stops all day. You definitely want an auto shift transmission for that kind of delivery work.

I've never heard of magnetic breaking. I can't help you there. My personal feeling is that you misunderstood what they said, or they were already through having any hope of hiring you. They didn't mention anything about "blinker fluid" did they?

Once an inexperienced wannabe driver starts questioning a prospective employer about their automatic trucks possibly being a safety hazard, I imagine the interview was over as far as they were concerned.

For bridge heights we use the Rand McNally Motor Carriers Atlas. You can locate and avoid low bridges through careful trip planning and being aware of your surroundings. Almost all bridges are clearly marked. We know how tall we are because we've confirmed it with a tape measure. Professionals don't hit low bridges.

the CDL book teaches me that if I got a vehicle on the highway that cuts infront of me that my response should be to “honk my horn and follow closely behind the vehicle”

That sounds strange. What state is this? I honestly think you are misunderstanding something. Is it possible that was a sample test question? Sometimes the questions are worded awkwardly to see if you're paying attention. I'd love you to snap a photo of that and show us where it says this.

Are you using our free High Road CDL Training Program? You really need to try it. There's no better way to prep yourself.

Davy, you are basically describing what happens during times of inflation. Companies have to charge more for their products because consumers are buying less.

I was in manufacturing for 30 years. We never purposely produced less just so we could charge more for it. When business slowed, we weren't out there making deals. We had to raise prices because we had employees and bills to pay. The money had to come from somewhere.

We would cut expenses, let people go, or not pay ourselves for a while. I always said only a fool would borrow to meet payroll, but that's especially true during times of inflation.