Comments By Tom W.

I can understand the caseworker's doubt. Here is why he asks.

A typical class of students who have all made that decision to be a truck driver will lose 75% of its students by the end. Only a quarter will get their cdl. Even less than that will actually follow through and get a job. On top of that most of that tiny remainder will quit or be fired before even finishing a year of driving.

The reason most fail at this career is because you got to really want it. You have to want it enough that you are willing to do whatever it takes.

Yes there are women truckers. My own company has no problem hiring females and will give them the exact same testing and expectations as the men. Out of our current 35 drivers zero of them are women. It is just the demographics of trucking.

The caseworker is just concerned that this money you will be given will be wasted.

But one thing you can do to convince him otherwise would be to go get your commercial driver's permit on your own. This site has enough material that you can study for it in just a few days time. If he sees you have initiative enough to do that then that should be enough to get your grant. It will also give you a great head start in your training.

Was heading down us-69 going through Oklahoma.

Truck in front of me suddenly swerves right. Crashes into the guardrail, entire tractor trailer jumps into the air and comes crashing down into the grass ditch.

Trailer door rolls up and cargo is flying everywhere. Passenger side diesel tank ruptures and floods the area.

Driver is okay. Did not see a scratch on him.

All this is from a blown steer tire. I admit to have been getting lazy and only bothering to gauge my truck tires once a week lately.

90 degrees is just another day outside of winter in the south. The only time it should bother you is if you have to unload your own trailer or the air conditioning needs some freon. Maybe you will have an increased risk of blowing a tire if you do not keep them inflated right.

Anything below freezing means at any time you can run into snow and ice and all the troubles that come with that. Everything gets more difficult. You will be doing less miles in general so less money.

Do not know anything about beet juice but a good way to keep blood pressure down is go to the physical on an empty stomach. If it is anywhere from morning till afternoon then do not eat breakfast until after blood pressure test.

Couple weeks ago I thought I had done the same thing. Dropped a trailer in a dirt trailer yard and picked up a loaded one. Next day I came back again and saw the trailer I had dropped the day before looking just like the one photo'd there lying on the ground in the exact spot I had placed it.

Except I knew I had not done so. On a closer look I saw that the landing gear was actually lowered all the way down, the whole trailer had just sunk down all the way. Not just a few inches, I mean completely all the way down into the ground, and this place was supposed to be a drop yard.

I do not know the details of sleep apnea or the short-term medical cards but I have known a couple drivers with different health problems that are struggling with having to deal with the extra physicals and the rest of the problems that come with it.

Getting the physical every two years is hassle enough, I cannot imagine having to deal with it even more than that.

It is great to have a good relationship with the folks at the office. You are a good reminder to myself of my own job and how much I am blessed to have such an awesome support team. That makes all the difference in loving or hating your job.

You need to get the weight down. Even at six feet tall you are going to have trouble. The average driver gains a lot of weight their first year, it is just the nature of the job. Losing weight as a driver is going to be even more difficult than it is right now.

Have you tried getting a dot physical yet? That would be the first thing to do before going any further. Even if you are healthy enough to pass and get a job it is likely that you will be required to go and do one every three months which can get to be a real pain.

I love this job and that helps motivate me to keep in shape as best I can , good luck to you.

Sorry for your frustration. Even with an automatic though truck driving is going to get even more frustrating than this.

If you are missing or unable to use a limb then this job will be limited for you, you are going to need to be able to deal with situations just like you are having now often.

I know it is frustrating having to go in and explain every time the alarm goes off. Over time though as long as you never get involved in any accidents or incidents then the office folks likely will hassle you about it less and less when you do get some critical event.

In fact just last night a car came to a complete stop at night on tx highway 34 right in front of me. 65 to zero in about eight seconds for no reason that I could see. I got the hard breaking trigger but not a word from anyone in the office about it.

Just a couple years ago I would have been signing papers and getting the talk from one of the route planners.