Comments By Steve L.

I can try out my new suit

I can't promise the suit will make the difference, but whatever you do, wear a power tie. :)

Like your situation, my Judge was very casual. Heck, he wasn't even wearing a tie. My Wife thought it was funny that everyone (from the time we entered the courthouse) kept asking if I was an Attorney. Spend the money on a haircut, arrive on time and be patient (I waited hours and was the last case the judge heard...the Bailiff apologized for that).

Too many Defendants don't take their situations seriously (most don't even show up!). Many others want to claim some kind of injustice under the law. Your objective is to keep your job, not spearhead a crusade for the undisciplined.

I sincerely hope this works out for you.

This is very embarrassing to me, but I really need some advice.

In December, I was going through a small town in Kansas at night. I came into town and saw a 35 mph speed limit sign. I slowed to 35. The next thing I see is a police car behind me with lights on. I pulled over and the officer told me I was doing 35 in a 20. Yeah, the dreaded 15 over. Of course, I got a citation. I didn’t see a sign for 20 mph, but I don’t doubt that it was there. I just missed it.

Next day, I reported it to my company and was told if I couldn’t get the ticket reduced by at least 1 mph they would have to let me go, for insurance reasons. I’m just sick about this because I don’t want to lose my job and I had a spotless record which is now ruined. So I hired a local attorney and he talked to the city prosecutor. The city prosecutor won’t budge on this, saying he has a zero tolerance policy for CDL drivers in a commercial vehicle. I even offered to pay double the fine for this if I could get just a 1 mph reduction so I could keep my job, but the answer was no. My only choice, according to my attorney, is to plead not guilty, go to trial and beg the judge for mercy. I don’t dispute the citation. I made a huge mistake and am willing to accept the consequences except for losing my job. If I get fired for this, nobody else will hire me with a 15 over on my record.

Any advice on how I should handle this in order to try and save my job?

I can only give you my perspective as I dealt with a "Careless Driving" charge 2-3 years ago. The citation was issued in a Pilot truck parking lot. When I called a friend, who's a very successful attorney, he said I should go to the traffic court, plead my case to the judge, just as I'd explained it to him. Hiring him (in his mind) would be very expensive and unnecessary. Keep in mind, this friend has known me for many years and knows my demeanor and my ability to handle professional situations and interactions.

So, on court day, I did go. I wore a suit and tie (presentation matters), waited my turn and then went into see the judge. I explained to the judge the scenario, had pictures of the scene and simply told him that while I admitted I had done wrong, I simply didn't think my actions rose to the level of "careless driving." I also added that the charge would negatively impact my pay, that I was already taking the day off without pay, to attend court and this could possibly jeopardize future employment opportunities.

The judge asked the officer if he remembered the incident. Although this officer had tons of paperwork with him, and had been in with the judge for quite a while (I assume adjudicating other citations) he said he didn't remember my incident. The judge was very polite, dismissed the case and thanked me for my service in my job.

My point is that; if you're in a situation where you can calmly and effectively plead your case, there is sometimes a sympathetic ear sitting in the decision-maker's chair. While I'm obviously not a Lawyer and I'm not suggesting you should do what I did, I would be asking myself; what have I got to lose if I fight this? AND, what will I lose if I don'tfight this?

I hope this helps.

One of the requirements to drive a truck is to have a working knowledge of English, so all those non-English speaking immigrants are unlikely to start flooding the trucking job market.

I was in a truck stop where a non-English speaking driver was using a translation app on his phone to try and communicate with the cashier.

Sorry, but I have experienced non-English speaking drivers. But I doubt they’ll run the rest of us off.

you're not at the only company with chaos on the loads going on

Is it possible we, in the trucking industry are about to see the disaster that results from decades of voter apathy?

7%+ inflation has to eventually cause a slowdown in consumer buying, which will cause a slowdown in manufacturing.

Is it also possible that many trucking companies (not speaking of the mega carriers) have ridden the gravy train of too-much-freight, they’ve never had to handle the famine side of feast-or-famine?

Just some observations. While I find a way to get by, at my current company, average miles have dropped over the past two years, many of our established customers aren’t using us as much, or at all. I’ve seen different plants shut down, move operations to another plant or scale back to skeleton crews. None of that being talked about on the nightly news. 🤔

Hang in there drivers!

We get these requests for advice frequently about some sort of problem that either prevents a prospective driver from getting hired or jeopardizes the career of a current driver. And often they have come to the forum after they have exhausted all other avenues and expect us to give them the silver bullet that will resolve the “problem.” When we can’t solve their problem with some sort of silver bullet, they quickly become argumentative and/or abusive.

I generally don’t respond, other than when I think my comment might help others reading the thread. Because if I did respond directly to the OP, the only response I could muster in all good conscious would be as follows:

“The way you have phrased your question obviously reveals that you have a distorted world view with little basis in reality, Quite frankly, I don’t think delusional people like you should drive commercial vehicles and endanger the lives of the traveling public. Thus, regardless of the substantive answer to your question, as far as I’m concerned the fact that the [stated problem] has derailed your driving career benefits society as a whole.”

Am I too harsh or off base with my perspective?

Sir, I am with you 100%!

would going back to school help at all with job prospects?

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't waste the money on a school unless a company puts in writing that it'll guarantee you a job. I graduated from a private driving school and I doubt there's anything taught there that would make you more attentive or better equipped to avoid the same situation in the future.

I hope this helps.

I sure don't wanna jinx it for myself, but I'm starting off the year on-track. I'm dry van, no hazmat, southeast regional and the company is smallish (approximately 200 trucks).

Here are a couple of things, I think, work in my favor;

1. There's a good mix of OTR and dedicated loads. I have been (for about the past six months) taking an OTR load out of the house Mondays, get into a dedicated area, where they use me thru Thursday or Friday, and then an OTR load to our main location where I pickup a load that gets me home.

2. Our company has a good mix of manufacturing freight and consumer goods. Our largest customer is Lowe's, so we deliver to many of their stores and many of their suppliers provide us backhauls that get us to the Lowe's distribution centers.

3. I try to stay flexible. I could be pushing to make more $, but the dedicated loads pay a flat rate and this schedule has allowed me to make the monetary equivalent of running 2,400+ miles per week, without much of the stress. Yes, I know I could be making more money. Maybe, maybe not.

Stay safe Drivers! We're counting on you to provide what we want, need and desire.

I am now down 45 pounds

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

glasses are hell for me as i lose them regularly, I like to swim and can lose them easily.

How did so many of us survive?

I’ve been wearing glasses since third grade (I’m 60+ years old). Twelve years in the military, ten in the Navy and a majority of that time on ships, which rock and roll in rough seas. Glasses are a pain for me too. BUT I WANNA SEE!

Rule #1: DO THE RIGHT THING.

You made the call and the heck with anyone who doesn't like it.

I always find it interesting that some companies want drivers to make get-by fixes or continue on, just so they can either avoid extra work or save a few bucks...AND THEN they never offer to pay the driver a little extra $$ after the driver saved them hundreds of dollars on roadside assistance. Hmm.