Comments By Rick Dees

I like you retired from law enforcement after 26 years. I have been doing this about a year. Depending on the company, most otr give you a day off for every 7 days working so in a month you will get 4 days off. I choose to stay out 3 to 4 weeks most of the time and get 3 to 5 days off..as long as you let your dispatcher know at least 2 weeks ahead of time you will usually get home in time..just depends on your company, some are better than others. My wife is with me, if it wasn't for that I would not stay out for weeks at a time. In your situation it sounds like you might want go with a company like Roehl with more hometime options or someone who has you home on the weekends. You might also want to check out Martin,Schneider, Crete, and Swift, they have a lot of hometime options for new drivers depending on where you live. W. O. Wolding is another you might consider..there is a driver on here that speaks highly of them and they have good regional opportunities.

After I get the OTR driving out of my system I will probably work myself into a regional or part time driving job down the road. Good luck to you and glad you made it through all those years..it was getting tougher and tougher out there.

If a report with the police was not made then I would not mention it to anyone or worry about it.

What are your numbers at the doctor..you may have white coat syndrome..your blood pressure goes up at the doc..I have had problems with that for years on and off. If you have high bp get a prescription for meds if you are unable to get it under control ..you will get a one year card and will be fine.

Patrick...I live in Alabama, I saw where you are regional..how do they work the hometime there..home every weekend? I stay out about a month at a time and am looking for something, eventually , with more hometime. Everything I have seen about them seems mostly positive.

There is no real right or wrong answer for this..if you stay on the property and refuse to leave you could possibly be charged with criminal trespassing. Now if an officer was summoned to the scene could he make a lawful arrest?? I doubt it. This is a judgement call on the officers part. As a retired officer I know I wouldn't and I don't know of any that I think would. If a driver was arrested for something like this I seriously doubt there would be a conviction. It would more than likely get thrown out.

People used to ask me all the time if they would go to jail for this or that..there are so many variables in different situations..so many things when it comes to the law are not cut and dry. On the other hand if this situation were to happen and you were cited by DOT for being out of hours after being told to leave would this be a good case made by the officer?? Again, I think not...not a good case and judgement call on the officers part. In either case I would definitely take it to court. If I am confronted with this situation I would drive on to the next safe stopping area and deal with my company and the company/receiver there..go with the odds..its a low chance you will be stopped anyway.

Denver is an absolute black hole...very few places to park. The Pilot down town is a nightmare. There is a wal mart in Aurora that has a small amount of truck parking space. I think it is a Flying J about 70 miles East of Denver in Limon colorado..lots of parking there.

With a family at home I would really consider getting a local or regional job as a new driver with a family. I am retired with grown kids and my wife rides with me. I thought about doing this while my kids were younger and I am glad I waited. I enjoy truck driving but being away from your family is going to be very hard.

There are companies out there that will start you out as an otr driver and them move you into regional after a few months..look into Crete, Swift, or Roehl for this. Get your year in and many opportunities will open up for you..good luck!

Dang autocorrect u get the point

A must do us get a magnet hide a key and put it somewhere on your truck..it had saved me twice already. Putting one in your wallet may come back to bite you if you leave your walletime in the truck.

I dont think interstate or intrasate is on the new card..in the bottom right corner there is a yes and no circle that needs to be checked yes for cdl holder

I think the newer certificate looks like this..its what I just got two weeks ago anyway

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Medical-Examiners-Certificate-%28MEC%29-Form-MCSA-5876.pdf

Congrulations, you can do it! The alley dock is tough, especially the 90 degree dock which is what we had to do. I just got my CDL and did fine..its amazing how much you concentrate during the tests, good luck ..you got this!!

Interesting truck driving documentary from the 70's about 30 minutes long, does not start until about 1:11 in. Old timers as well as new folks might enjoy this.

https://archive.org/details/cbpf_000037#

Do you ever take your blood pressure at home with your own machine? You may have white coat syndrome..I do, everytime I go to the doctor my BP goes up, when I take it at home it is usually normal. It gets so dang frustrating too..I also take bp meds and up my dose a little bit before I go to the doc to compensate for my added anxiety. I already passed my DOT physical for my permit but am afraid I will blow it when I go to my company physical because I have so much on the line. Its absurd because I am in great health. If I sit there a minute and ask the doc to give me a break of at least three minutes before taking it again it will usually go back to normal..maybe give that a shot next time, good luck! This exact problem kept me out of the Marine Corps almost 30 years ago

No it will not go on your driving record. I know this because I am a retired officer from Alabama and issued lots of these. It is strictly a civil matter and not a traffic offense. Just because the light flashed does not mean you will get a UTC. The incident is reviewed by an officer and he/she then makes a determination if a ticket is to be issued. If a ticket is issued it may find its way to your company though. The cameras are set to only go off if you are behind the stop bar when the light turns red.

Anyone know anything about these companies. I hear USA truck has improved and US Xpress is a good company. I am looking at a company that will allow my spouse to ride as well as my small dog (Both of these do) after i get the necessary experience..getting my CDL in February

I also really like Roehl but I would have to get my dogs nuts cut per their policy and he is not thrilled about that. Also looking at other pet friendly companies like Transport America or Knight.will be done with my school by mid February

Anyone know anything about these companies. I hear USA truck has improved and US Xpress is a good company. I am looking at a company that will allow my spouse to ride as well as my small dog (Both of these do) after i get the necessary experience..getting my CDL in February

We have a big List of Trucking Companies That Allow Pets and their individual policies so check that out.

May want to add USA Truck to the list, according to their website they will begin taking pets in January. Not to further take this thread hostage but does anyone know anything about USA Truck? See mixed reviews but very little on them.

Good luck with Schneinder. I am starting a trucking school in the beginning of December and Schneider is on my short list of potential employers. They are big enough to offer many driving options, seem to welcome rookies and are have about the pet-friendliest policy I have come across. I'll be interested to hear about your experience there. I hope you keep posting, or better yet start a blog!

Not sure where you saw Schneider allows pets, from everything I read on their site they do not..I wish they did. I know Roehl just started allowing pets and USA Truck will in Jan 2016. I start CDL school in January and hope to take my little buddy with me later on.

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