Comments By Dan R.

An important take-away here is to remember that appointment times can be adjusted. Whether it's just impossible due to hours, weather, safety, fatigue, whatever it is, the times can be adjusted. Obviously don't do it because you want to stop and take five hours eating and taking a shower while your 14 is ticking away, but if say you're coming into a blizzard 40 miles from your shipper and you have 45 minutes to get there, don't push yourself on account of getting to the appointment on time. The customer might not be happy, your dispatcher might not be happy, but no matter how upset they may seem pales in comparison to how they will be if you run off the road(or, in a less crashtastic situation like the poster is in, don't bother communicating that you'll be late).

I don't think that can be emphasized enough, Big T. Not just in this job, but in life.

Numerous times I've been in our terminal or a truck stop and I hear drivers talking about how they're on a beer load, load of smokes, even heard one guy talk about how he was hauling a load jewelry! That's just crazy to advertise anything like that. When I'm on a load, unless you bought or sold it, a dispatcher, or wearing a badge, the most you're ever going to know is where I am OR what I'm hauling, never both. Freight theft is significantly down at the moment, but there is no sense contributing to the risk that you'll become one of those statistics.

Well, for me, Pete, it's usually one of two things: sitting at a customer knowing it's not going to be long enough to get good sleep, or right before going to sleep. I can't sleep in quiet, so I usually put on some kind of movie or show and drift off before it's over. Makes for some movies where I've watched the beginning hundreds of times, but never finished it. lol

Of note on the Direct TV thing, I talked to them today and apparently one drawback is that to get that unlimited deal you give up the ability to tether, so no more turning your device into a wi-fi hotspot.

Just keep in mind, if you're relying on a spotter and they guide you wrong and hit something, all they are going to do is say 'oops,' while you have the paperwork and explaining to the company on your hands. That's not saying to never get help, just make sure you still GOAL, go slow, and stop before it sounds expensive no matter what the 'helpers' are telling you.

I think the 'complaining drivers' as you so nicely put it are really just a very large minority. I've had the misfortune of meeting a few of them, usually identified in my case by my nickname of 'f***ing England,' and for quite some time I let the fear of running into them control me. Frankly, for the first few months the worst critic of my specific job (not how I do it, but merely working for my company) was really myself. I think the vast majority are either drivers that would give you the shirt off their back, or the ones that will stay out of things. The ones that will be 'complaining drivers' just happen to be several times louder than all the other ones combined at times, despite being a much smaller group.

On the bright side, you'll be back out on the road. It might seem like a long time, but compared to getting another dizzy spell and potentially causing an accident, it's nothing.

I had a similar incident just outside Denver a few months back. It turned out to be dehydration, so a rather easy fix, but there are so many things that can cause dizziness that it's definitely worth getting checked out.

CR England will.

Lol Great minds, eh? I was planning on replying "*had" when I read that...

I love when typos make things funnier. 9.5mph for 350 miles, you say? That sounds like a long day!

To add to that for people reading and thinking about getting into this, it should be noted that 0.08 means nothing in a CMV. By the time you get to that level of intoxication, you're at twice the legal limit for CDL holders in relation to getting DUIs, and when G-Town says any trace, that's any percentage at all and you're put out of service which goes on your record. That was easy to me as, in my alcohol binging days, I'd go through a six pack in a year, but for people that like to crack one open at the end of the day that can be a difficult adjustment. Should also note, 'near beer' or 'non-alcoholic' beer DOES contain alcohol, just significantly less. But when you're dealing with a limit of none, 'significantly less' is still quite significant.

That first little bit from when you make the phone call to a company until you climb into your first truck are some of the most mind numbingly terrible times there is in this job, but the good thing is that it isn't forever. You're going through that so you can make great money in an exciting career while seeing more of this country in a year than most people see in their entire life. The few weeks or a couple months you spend in the torture that's school and training is SO worth it!