Comments By Chuck S.

a few shippers and receivers use them, dot in california likes to yell at you in the scales, some truck stops use them when you are on their scales, it's handy when you need them. you will probably spend 100 bucks for a start up system, you can spend a lot more then that if you want.

you might want to get a hand held (portable) radio to start out with... might be all you would need tip ... don't put batteries in the hand held, just plug it into the cigarette lighter when you need to use it... good luck

Hey guys, Maybe a silly question but I've seen people talking about buying a CB - do trucks not come equipped w/ a CB? Or maybe people just like the upgraded / fancy ones? How important is getting a "good" one? Thoughts / advice on CB's? Thanks!

I agree with everything but number 10 I was forced to listen to country music as a child and I will never ever listen to it ever...even if I am in the middle of Texas and its the only station on the radio... I would sing to myself at that point.

Okay, here's the things that I think are important for a rookie to have with them when they are just starting out:

1) Make sure you have a great attitude packed away somewhere - you're gonna need it for sure.

2) Plenty of humility - yeah, you're gonna need plenty of that also.

3) A big can of whoop-ass - there are gonna be problems you are going to have to face - and you need to be able to "whoop" em.

4) A "can do" spirit. It's really tough being a new rookie driver out here, you'll need this two or three times a day.

5) A big dose of Independence - You're all by yourself out here - the last thing your dispatcher needs is you ringing his phone off the wall.

6) Lots of confidence - everyday you will be challenged by things you've never faced before - some confidence will go a long ways to help you.

7) A willingness to learn - I'm still learning stuff about how to succeed in this career everyday - if you stop learning you need to hang up your keys.

8) A willingness to help others - I do this everyday - there are a lot of clueless newbies out here - try to lend a hand when you see someone in need.

9) A Motor Carriers Atlas - I hope I don't need top explain that one.

10) A Merle Haggard C.D. - no self-respecting truck driver hits the road without taking the Mighty Merle along for the ride!

Some of those delays may feel like sittin it out till next spring. I got caught several times in 10+ years in the big town of Laramie Wy. cause the freeway was shut down. Your only hope is that the Wendy's doesn't run out of food. It's seems they never run out of ice cream though, da!

When you realize you are driving in the right lane doing 55 (California) a few truck lengths behind a big truck in your sister's brand new bmw, while she's taking a nap next to you...

Ronald M. many can share what you are going through, esp. me.

Don't get so frustrated you can't think, it's not helping you.

I know you are not driving / training now, FYI the longer you stay out is going to determine if a company is going to make you go thru the entire training process all over again.

You mentioned working with Knight, and I'm not sure how long you trained or if you passed their program. Knight in the past would work with drivers to finish their training, not sure if that policy has changed, but you could ask.

I trained a number of drivers from a variety of experience, some with as much as a year of driving on their own.

It all comes down to your drive test at hiring with most companies. This is when it's determined if you have the skills to go on your own or if you need more training.

Some things you can work on until you do decide to get back behind the wheel is imagining in your head what is happening to your truck when you are backing it up.

Just think about it ... buy a small toy tractor/trailer and play with it.... use your imagination.

Good luck

Don't beat yourself up over this, you can do this

Well said

Although you are entitled to your opinions, you are not entitled to use our site to call people idiots for making career choices you don't agree with so I edited out that garbage. And considering that many of your "facts" are flat out wrong we'll go ahead and point the idiot finger back at you, and it's well deserved.

You don't have to work for a company with cameras in their trucks and you're free to share that opinion. But it would be nice if you would get your facts straight before you go slandering companies or spreading misinformation.

The cameras are not recording all the time. [Edit: They do record all the time. I'll explain in a follow-up comment]. They only record transmit when they are triggered by a certain event like hard braking, leaning too hard laterally, or a significant bump like those caused by a huge pothole or a collision.

And to say they don't value privacy is childish to be honest. You're driving their truck and they're financially responsible if you screw up. They have every right in the world to monitor what you're doing.

Again, you don't have to like it, but where do you get off calling people names for their career decisions or spreading misinformation? If you want to have an intelligent, fact-based conversation about this topic then let's have it. If you're going to get your facts wrong and criticize people then you're in the wrong place.

I once came across an accident that had just happened at a roundabout in Arizona, a couple driving a blue Dodge pickup pulling a travel trailer drove under the center of a semi trailer that was proceeding thru that roundabout. The speed of the pickup and trailer was so fast at impact that it broke the trailer lose from the pickup, and the pickup ended up with the front half of the truck protruding out the opposite side of impact.

It was later determined to be deliberate.

That was a sight I will never forget as long as I live

No moving violations... that's a good point in all of this. No one was injured... that's a great point in all of this.

Now just pay off the cost of the damage and chalk it up to time served, never forget the mistake you made, and remember when you are at the end of a long day and you are that tired ... that's when stuff like this happens.

Best of luck in the future...

I know in the past there were several companies that would train a couple on the same truck if that's what you are asking about.

And with the shortage of drivers the industry is having currently is just a matter of calling a company who will do this.

Good Luck

Hello. I'm looking for information about team driving. My husband and I are interested in finding a company that we can train and drive together. Looking for ideas and/or suggestions. Thoughts?

Growing up in Wisconsin ... well need I say more, I just that I learned to like the snow and cold until I could make my own choice to move out of it.

Which took me to the southwest and for a number of years it was great just looking at the mountains with all the snow up there, but not having to deal with it like I did in Wisconsin.

But then the reality of driving a big truck in this stuff hit me when I was training in Salt Lake City, and one time during this training they took us to the mountains, and on the day we went they got hit with a sudden snow storm and we needed to chain up. We had a trainer who chained trucks for 30+ years out of SLC and he was to say the least a true expert.

I know there are a number of opinions about chaining up and driving in bad weather, just let me say this.

I made a choice to do this job, (in which I never regretted) I also made a choice to deal with everything this career would present to me. These choices are what led to my success in this business. I am not saying that my choices would lead anyone else to the same success's ... you all with me on that.

I learned by the school of hard knocks, I made plenty of mistakes. Fortunately for me they were not bad enough mistakes that ended my career early, like it does so many others.

As bad as the road conditions could ever get, even to the point you can't get your truck to move from where it sits... (now that's about as bad as it get's in my opinion, unless you are stuck in the mud somewhere on a rainy day) you need to make good choices, but I always kept one perspective in my head in all conditions. Except for warm, dry, conditions... ( so stay with me on this) which would include driving in rainy up to icy road conditions, I would treat everything like I was driving on ice. Yes I took it all the way to the worst condition of all ICE. Growing up in Wisconsin, learning from watching my parents drive in this crap, and then my own learning experiences, there is never a worse feeling (EVER) when driving any vehicle then the time you put your foot on the breaks and nothing happens.

At that point you have lost complete control of your vehicle. Not a good situation for anyone.

I was sitting in Laramie, Wy. during a bad storm. They had I 80 shut down (common during the winter get used to it) and after about 10 hours they opened it up. The speed limit can be changed it that part of I 80 to match the road conditions, and on that day they had it down to 35 mph. As we cursed, about two hours into this low speed crawl with hundreds of trucks nose to tail, someone sees a trooper in the middle of the freeway and decides to hit the breaks. It was a miracle I didn't get hit, but let me just say it was not a good day for a lot of other drivers. You can find plenty of video from plenty of mishaps on this stretch of highway on the internet if you want to see what I am referring to.

After training new drivers for a number of years I learned everyone learns at a different pace. Some pick things up quick, some take a bit longer. This is just a fact.

Some make the choice to face their fears head on, some never do. I never judged anyone on how they wanted to live their lives.