Profile For Robert B. (The Dragon) yes, I breathe fire and other sideshow tricks

I would suggest reaching out to flatbed companies who train and offer cdl programs first before paying for an outside school. That way you know specifically if they'll hire you with the drug charge and there is less chance of there being any surprises or financial investment.

The industry is tough right now and many companies are tightening their belts and holding fast on more stringent hiring requirements which could include a certain amount of time released from the charge before they'll even consider you.

It's still chugging along. You saw a stint where everyone and their brother bought a truck and started competing during the whole covid mess. For many companies that you've seen go under, it was bad business decisions that wound up biting them in the long run.

Profits have gone up in the industry but the profit margins are still very low compared to other industries so it will always be high risk in that regard but as a driver, there's still money to be made because products have to be moved.

Information flies in your face so fast that if you dwell on it all the time, everything is bad, the world is ending and the doom factor is off the charts. Take a breath, relax and realize that with every post made, there's a reason behind it. Much of that is fear driven, to get you to believe that big gubbament has all the solutions and a small study of history proves that just isn't the case.

I haven't seen any improvements. If anything, it continues to get worse. Drivers on their phones, tablets in the window with movies playing, speeding and tailgating especially in construction zones and the inability to follow specific signage. Combine that with shippers and receivers happy that a driver arrives who can understand and for instructions and you have just some of the issues we're facing. I wanted to be impressed with the current administration, at least give them a fighting chance but they keep proving that they are more of the same.

It's definitely more of a road biased bike being 1000cc and 540# but it's designed to be roughly an 80/20 mix of use. It'll crunch highway miles comfortably but has enough ground clearance and suspension travel to tackle a lot of stuff a traditional road bike can't. My next bike will be much lighter and more off road biased but it's that whole idea of, it's capable so let's do it lol.

There's an off road park about 30 miles from my house that I kept meaning to visit but almost forgot about. I got up this morning, fired up the adv bike and off I went. I spent a couple hours, learning the layout, different trails and shooting the breeze with some other folks while having an absolute blast. I don't know if anyone else here rides, but it's the way I maintain my sanity lol.

I tend to only use truck stops for fuel and showers, there's a gazillion places you can find to park. Like Davy, I'm opposed to paid parking and refuse to do it. As a comment on Lebanon Tennessee, there's a bit of truth to their safety concerns after dark. There's a couple homeless encampments in those woods across the street and they like to get out and steal stuff after dark. Not to mention, go around that area enough, like I do, and you'll realize that law enforcement is always in that area with something going on.

I wish I could say I'm surprised.

Everyone wants to mention matching or tuning the radio to the antenna. That's a bit of a false claim because the antenna gets "tuned", more like properly grounded to the truck. You don't need any crazy antenna either, a good copper core with provide the best results in signal transfer and one of the most important things is the coax. Factories aren't using the top tier product in that regard and that makes all the difference in overall performance.

I'll go back to my previous statement when this conversation came up a while back.

I'm going to quickly pursue my law degree so that when the system fails and it kills an unsuspecting motorist, I'll represent the family. I'll sue the tech company, the logistics company utilizing the truck, the truck manufacturer for allowing dangerous utilization of their vehicle, the state for allowing it on their roads and file against the federal government for causing a fatal accident with a product that didn't have human redundancies in place for when it failed.

I figure it'll take a while to get the entire settlement but I'll retire and bring you all with me.

I think prime was given a sales pitch and the cameras do not work the way they expected.

I also think the rating system is wrong. How can 3 people have the exact same score rank wise? Me & 2 of my students all ranked # 8 on the same day. How can our bonuses be based on a flawed system?

And something else... they are constantly changing the parameters. So something that did not trigger yesterday... triggers today. And my pay is based om that?

When you dispute, they can refute your dispute. Didnt move over cause somone was on your left, but of course not seen in the camera? The guy sitting in the office decides.

Prime has already had a mass exodus. Another one is coming as drivers' leases complete.

I am heartbroken.

It's hearing things like this that really bothers me. I'm already enough of a skeptic anyway and this just adds to it.

I'm honestly very glad where I'm at and what I'm doing because we don't have to deal with that stuff. If anyone wants to try their hand in the hopper game and not deal with the lunacy that these systems seem to be causing, let me know lol.