Comments By Kieran L.

This is slightly off-topic but related to music, I just wanted to say if anyone reading this has the opinion that jazz is for old people, but you like hip-hop music, you should check out some music in the "Acid Jazz" genre. If you have Spotify there's an official playlist for it, but there's plenty of other places to find it of course. Basically, its Jazz music with a hip-hop style beat and rhythmic lyrics, plus its usually actually good music unlike the crap they play on most rap/hip-hop radio stations. I used to think I hated all rap and hip-hop and country music (was a metalhead at the time) until I found out what I really hated was the crap on popular radio stations. Every genre out there pretty much has good artists and bad ones though if you dig deep enough.

Anyway that's all just my personal rantings so you don't have to listen to any of it if you don't want to. The important thing is just to find music you enjoy! :)

A world without music is a world not worth living in.

All these are good an of course keep your CB on and don't be afraid to ask what the weather looks like ahead of you. Someone may be driving through the exact spot you'll be passing through in the next few minutes and can warn you if there's anything crazy going on.

Never heard of the company the OP was talking about, but when I'm driving I generally either listen to the engine, spotify music, or my own music library.

As far as musical tastes, I love many types of music from a wide variety of artists, so really it just depends on my mood. At any given time I might be listening to classical spanish guitar, old rock and roll, new heavy metal, all types of jazz, techno/trance/EDM, blues, some country, hip-hop, irish folk music, carribean steel drum music, really the sky's the limit it just depends on what I feel like at that particular moment. I try not to limit or restrict myself to certain genres. I'll give any music a chance, I simply like what I like and I can tell you if I like it when I hear it. (I'm also an amateur DJ so that might have something to do with my varied tastes, I'm always trying to stay on top of the latest new dance hits.)

I also like a good book, I haven't tried audiobooks yet but I might like it on long hauls, not sure yet. I'm slightly concerned about the possibility of distraction while driving if I'm listening to a book or story.

Forgot to add, I would also immediately seek out the nearest doctor or urgent care facility after informing my DM, and get a doctor's note so I could have verifiable proof of my illness.

If I ever got really sick while out on the road, to the point that it would be impossible or unsafe for me to continue driving, I would immediately inform my DM that I was very sick and could not accept any more loads until I start feeling better. Hopefully I'd have felt it coming on and would at least complete my last load before it was too late, but if I was still under load and it came on suddenly, where I knew I couldn't deliver my current load, then I would ask for a repower (someone else to come hook to my load and deliver it) due to my illness. Drivers are still human beings, things happen and we do get really sick once in a while. Any company that can't understand that is a company I wouldn't want to work for.

I would also like to say that once you have your green card and your regular USA driver's license, even though you can't drive the large class A or B trucks yet, you could still get a job for your first year driving a non-CDL box truck (delivery van), so you could at least be driving our roads every day for your job. Then after 1 year, you can go to CDL school and get your Class A license, and start driving the big trucks. :)

$45k your first year is possible, some have done it, though its not all that common. Most first-year truckers make more like $35k for year one, $45k is realistic for your second year however, and $50-60k a year with a few years experience under your belt. More in certain cases for certain jobs. The one thing that almost no trucking company can do though, is guarantee you'll make a certain amount your first year. Honestly, most of the earning potential lies with you, and your personal work ethic and productivity. You could work your ass off and make $45k your very first year possibly, or you could also make very little money if you have the wrong attitude, are lazy, or unsafe driver, etc.

If your goal is to hit $45k on year one though, you'll probably need to take the highest paying position you can starting out, which I think will probably be flatbedding for one of the higher paying "starter" companies (I'm just talking about companies that are willing to hire new green drivers, they're still fine to work for long-term too!) like maybe Prime's lightweight truck division. There are plenty of options, only you can decide what the best fit for you will be.

Hello Oscar,

Since you already have your CDL Class A permit (if I understand you correctly), if you don't have money or don't wish to pay up front for trucking school, your best bet is to get on with a Company-Sponsored Training program. (click that link)

With your permit in hand you're already a step ahead of the game, and you should have no problem getting a company to sponsor you (provided you don't have any other serious problems standing in your way of being accepted). The great things about a company-sponsored CDL school are that it won't cost you any money up front, you'll get your CDL quickly, and you'll have a job waiting for you with the company sponsoring you!

There are a few down sides as well of course, but honestly the benefits outweigh the negatives. The downsides would be that you will be committed to working for that company generally for about a year in order to pay off your debt to them for your schooling, and the pay is usually a little less that first year as a result also. All in all, its totally worth it if you want to get trucking and you can't or don't want to pay for private trucking school.

Now, if you really wanted to design something much more useful, design a gps system that would incorporate a driver's elogs , accurate gps and trip planning, even going as far as re route for traffic issues when possible and track weather systems. That my friend would be a game changing idea

Now that, is a great idea!

That already exists: Rand McNally TND Tablet plus HD 100 E-logging device for your TND Tablet

Also, there's this: Garmin dēzlCam™ LMTHD which is Garmin's all-in-one device for truckers.

I agree if a driver is too tired to stay awake on their own, they SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING regardless of any external stimuli designed to shock you awake. Its simply unsafe to continue driving at that point, and that goes for ANY vehicles on the road, not just truck drivers. I feel that such a device is a bad idea because it would encourage some drivers to try and use it as a crutch, relying on it to wake them up so they can keep going instead of stopping and getting some rest. And if the driver falls asleep with your device on, and the device fails to wake them or malfunctions for some reason, and said driver runs off the road or gets in an accident as a result, guess who they're going to try to sue for all the money they can get? Do you really want that kind of liability on your hands just so you can sell a product that promotes continuing to drive after it has already become unsafe to do so?