Originally Posted by lil daddy

When I first began driving big trucks 15yrs ago, a old timer told me one day that "son no matter what you do out here on the road that one day the DOT is going to pull you over and the best thing you can do is to be nice and polite to him and maybe he'll just take a little bit of your money, if you're nasty and aggressive he'll take alot". What the old timer told me was true. The DOT has so much authority over commercial drivers and there vehicles that they can basicly write you numerous citations at anytime for a multitude of reasons. Thats just the way that the law is set up. You can buy a brand new rig, drive it off the lot and any DOT officer worth his badge can find numerous things wrong on that rig to write you up on if he or she wants too. When I tell the newbies this most don't beleive me, ask any DOT officer and he will tell you the same. Is there really any such thing as running completely legal? 15yrs ago this industry was much different from what we have out here today. Drivers stuck together more and the level of hate and discontent was far less than what it is today. Back then I think that we as drivers approached our jobs with a totaly different mindset, it was about doing your job, taking pride in your ride and having fun on your run. Most of us really enjoyed the freedom and the lifestyle that trucking was all about. Convoys were big back then, 10 to 20(sometimes much larger) big trucks all running together. We would carry on on the CB radio for miles joking,talking and exchanging info about road conditions,traffic, bears and scale houses and whatever. It was great, you could just ride and have a good time while making new freinds and moving freight across the country. Sometimes you would be having so much fun and enjoying the comradery of the people that you were running with, that you hated to leave them to go deliver your load.It was agreat time to be a truckdriver. Now a days drivers isolate themselves in their trucks only communicating with other drivers to find out why traffic has stopped. Most of the drivers that I see out on the road these days are unhappy, in poor health and lack good hygiene. Somewhere along the way, it seems as though all of the fun was taken out of it. I'm still trucking and I still enjoy it, but it makes me sad to see were trucking is going. Most companys out here now just use and abuse drivers for as long as they can stand it and then move on to the next one. You have drivers out here that don't know what they are doing training other drivers and instead of drivers becoming better, they're getting worst. It seems to me that the industry as a whole is trying to take the driver out of the decision making process all together, but when the ---- hits the fan its all the drivers fault. And logs and new hours of service, what a joke. We've got some pot belly politician in washington(who has never even been inside of a big truck telling us the best way to do our jobs, what a joke. I log what I have to to show the DOT what they want to see, and I do what I have to do to get the job done. Log books are about revenue not safety. If they were you would be able to log your driving exactly as is without the threat of violation. Somedays I only drive 3 or 4hrs and I'm so tired that I can hardly keep my eyes open, other days I drive 12 to 14hrs non stop and feel great. A log book or HOS rules don't determine how you feel. You as being a professional truckdriver have to determine how you feel and when you are okay to drive. If I had to drive for one of these companys that I see crowding the highways today I would'nt be driving OTR. They expect drivers to take it with a smile and never question anything, just do as you are told. Thats not trucking, thats slavery. If you question then you will be labeled a problem driver. When a driver leaves a company, 1 of 2 things happen. Either they get you or you get them, and when you get them, you know what happens to your DAC(which is also a joke). I own my own truck and trailer and I run under my own authority. I only run with 3 brokers and they know me and they know where I like to run. I fax them a BOL and they cut me a check(no waiting). Owning a trucking business is'nt all fun and games, you must have a good accountant and attorney and your paperwork must be meticoulous at all times. Some weeks are better than others and nothings promised. For me its the only way to fly, I control my loads, when and where I run and my money. For me thats priceless. This industry is forever changing and we as drivers must cotinue with it, but one thing holds true" common sense will take you along way in this business", .

Originally Posted by lil daddy

OUCH. Luv, I'm not perfect, I've never seen anyone who was. I do have a business to run and from time to time I do have to "git er done", if that makes me a outlaw then so be it, been called a lot worst and because I speak on the benifits of living a healthy life and share my knowlege on fitness, diet and nutrition with other truckers in the drivers health corner, that does'nt make me any better or worst than the next man.

Luv, if I've said something or did anything to offend you, I apologize as thats not my intent, but right now I am feeling a little heat coming from your side of the room. I am peace loving man and I'm into making love not war so please except my apologies and lets move on.
Thanks LUV,
Lil daddy

Originally Posted by sevenmph

I plan on driving 3-5 years before entertaining the idea of o/o. That may be along time to be a slave,

Originally Posted by lil daddy

This just keeps getting better, now I'm being called a supertrucker along with wannabe and outlaw. Whats next? Just because we have different opinions on logs and HOS, must we resort to name calling Luv? I don't agree with your veiws on this topic, but I do respect your right to express your veiws and opinions, and I know you do not agree with mine. Thats fine, just give me the same respect that I give you. Right or wrong, good or bad, we all have our own veiws and opinions on topics that affect this industry and thats the true beauty of this forum, "being able to express veiws and opinions without the threat of verbal attacks".

Common sense over rules the law when It comes to someone else telling me how to drive or how to run my business. Safety is 1st and foremost in my business. If I don't feel that it's safe me to drive for whatever reason or that road conditions or traffic are such that I need to stop, than I stop. I don't keep driving because my log book says that I can still drive for another 4hrs, or because new HOS rules say that if I stop than I have to stop for 10hrs, to me thats not smart trucking. On the flip side of that, If I've been driving for 12hrs and I feel alert and energetic, I'm not going to stop because a book says that I'm out of hours. I never push myself to the point of total exaustion while driving. If I feel tired or drowsy, then I stop, I don't care what a log book says. There are numerous factors that determine how long I drive on a daily basis that override HOS or a log book.

Just because the speed limit on a given stretch of highway is 65mph does'nt mean that I drive 65mph. Road conditions, traffic and other factors dictate what it's safe for me to do, even though legally I can drive 65mph, that does'nt make it right. With me the same goes with logs and HOS. Just because it's legal does'nt make it right or the smartest thing to do.

That being said," I in am not telling/suggesting/encouraging anyone to drive illegal". I was only stating what I do and I am a man who accepts full responsibility for my actions. As a truckdriver be smart and use common sense, it'll take you along way in this business.