How can this be? Common sense hauling... Fed approved??? DOT Exemption!

[Jcoon]

That’s about it! Lol I had -14 Sunday morning.

 

[zing]

While the difficulty involved in getting a CDL is way too easy do you think just anyone should be able to drive a huge truck and trailer around without passing a road and written test to prove at least some level of competency? What is any piece of paper? What about a medical license should joe blow be able to operate on anyone down at the hospital?

I agree things like DOT numbers on the door, ifta stickers, UCR, and the like are just taxes and do nothing for Safety but a license is different. I don稚 think anyone should be allowed to drive a vehicle over 26k without having a license showing that they passed a road and written test on a vehicle of that size.

I didn't read all 10 pages of this thread, so sorry if someone already mentioned this.

Here in Nova Scotia when you register a trailer it is an annual registration cost plus a 2 year safety inspection up until 4500KG. Any trailer with larger capacity than 4500KG can be registered as 4500KG to minimize owner expense, but if you go over that you run the risk of fines at scales. If you register your trailer for over 4500kg, then they hit you three ways....
- more expensive yearly registration
- safety inspections must be done yearly instead of bi-yearly
- before they will register it for the higher weight you have to pass a towing test with a drivers examiner.

I am not a fan of the extra cost of registration and twice as frequent inspections, but I am a fan of requiring those that are pulling a bigger, heavier trailer to have to pass a towing test. It covers that in-between area that doesn't require a CDL, but does recognize that the bigger trailers should require you to demonstrate some basic level of skill/experience.

 

[cabover4us]

Never much on driving around with my pants unbuckled, much less getting out of the truck like that. As far as driving with my shoes off, been there done that. I would wear tennis shoe most of the time, or boots. I tend to wake up a little when I remove my shoes, not sure why, but running the long hours I did, whatever works is what you do. A lot of today's drivers are a new breed that doesn't really dress all that well to start with, so showing up to a shipper or receiver in flip flops and sweat pants and a T shirt... nothing new to them. I wouldn't be caught at work in my yard like that, much less going to work where I meet people. It is "home" but there is still having pride in your appearance.
Jcoon, welcome to the sight, probably not easy for you to join and admit your employment. I understand it is your job, and if I do mine, all should be well. Keeping the motoring public safe is both of our goals, despite how they treat us.
David from jax

Could never understand the whole pants in a pile look, but at our corporation we have a dress code and uniforms. I'm 58 and been told I look 70,.. thanks for nothing, lol....been at this same company for 25 years and love every minute of it, fantastic company I've been blessed to work for...
I have a couple of pet peeves, 1. tailgating 2. high beam use.
Years ago hauling frozen food from a company over in Vermont, on a holiday, actually, Christmas Eve 5 stops from Albany, then Poughkeepsie, then into Conn. south of Albany on 87 blasting down the highway at 4am, small pickup in front of me, two automobiles in left lane dogging me on my left. Trying to pass, and two deer come across the median, the pickup runs them down and stops right in front, I had time to just hit the pedal and I rear-ended her. The impact drove her head through the back window of her Toyota. I'm not proud of what I did, and the Trooper said, "if there weren't two deer here in the road I would arrest you for reckless driving". She stopped or nearly stopped because of the crash I was at full speed at that moment, and remember back then speed limit was 55.
So, coming from history in the 1980s I have a different perspective on following distance and tailgating. And the second one, HIGH BEAMS. Some years later I worked for a company from East Syracuse, pulled doubles, so alot of compound area hooking and unhooking at night. Company installed 4" rubber housing on bottom sides of fairings for spot lights used in night work... You can probably guess where this is going, as drivers, we took out checkered bulbs and installed GE 9505s I think they were, Iights that were used on small aircraft 100 Watts of pure white light. Pulling doubles on Thruway down to outside NYC we drivers encountered a few folks with high-beam syndrome, a quick flip of the switch was more than enough to persuade someone to think twice about blinding other drivers. Of course, if we did that today everybody from Dictator Andrew to Honest Al Sharpton would be protesting the cruel and indecent behavior exhibited to his motoring client. What about my right to do my job safely and unhindered? We also drive out of Cleveland with argon to Boston, and it's like a HIGH BEAM CONVENTION from Ohio to Massachusetts, unbelievable, no one cares to be courteous, never mind pulling someone over for blinding another motorist.
That last one was a zinger.....lmao....