I have pretty bad attention deficit disorder. I get easily distracted and forget things, including where I am, on a regular basis. On the other hand I have a clean driving record. If something appears on the road, I'm aware of it. I've never been in a dangerous accident. I generally feel safe and legal, unless I'm sleep deprived.

Should I become a truck driver? I could get medication, but I assume it's inappropriate. Will I know by the time I get through training?

Is there a way to guarantee that I will get enough sleep. I mean. If I'm feeling tired or whatever can I postpone a job or let someone else drive?

If you have a serious case of ADHD and cannot take medication to keep it under control, I honestly don't think truck driving would be a good idea for you. There are many times the traffic is hectic and nerve-wracking to even the most even-tempered drivers. I can't imagine how upsetting it would be if you had ADHD.

On the other hand, if you were to get a local or regular route doing the same thing day after day or week after week, it might work out really well for you because driving can be very routine and repetitive, which I've heard is good for people with ADHD - regular schedule, repetitiveness, etc.

Only you can really judge this. Do you belong to any groups of people who have ADHD or know of any? Maybe they could help you get a better picture of what it'd be like as well.

I wish you the best of luck whatever you decide to do

you might want to check into the dot medical requirements, you might not qualify and there is a chance you would waste your money on cdl training.

and if you cant continually keep your mind on your surroundings you might crash the truck. there is more responsebility driving a truck than a car. and your licence is now your job.

Garspete has given you good advice.
Many medications are automatic disqualifiers for truck driving. Usually DOT certified doctors will know what is allowable and what isnt.

Best to find out first if the medicines you require will be legal on the truck before you spend your time and money for training.

I don't want to offend you, but are you serious? I don't want to be brutal here, but +++++ You'll have to consult with your doctor about it.

Ok...there are many different fields in the Trucking Industry.
There might be a slot where you would fit in. You might consider dump truck, sugar beets, grain hauling. Something local, where you could be home every night.
But......if you are forgetful, and get disoriented a lot of the time, and are apt to forget where you are....let me throw a few scenarios at you.

1.) You pull into a grocery warehouse. The guard at the Gate tells you to go forward 300 feet. Stop there and come back to check in with him. (Another truck just pulled in behind you so you are feeling anxious.)
Then the Guard gives you these instructions:

Go straight ahead to the 3rd building. Then turn left between it and the 4th building. Then go to the end of the 2nd building. Then go right. Park the truck in the staging area under the left side of the water tower. Then walk to the office between doors #43 & #44. Check in there. Give them your paperwork. Then walk to the office between doors #2 & #3, and wait there for a Lumper. Check in with him. Then he'll tell you where to go from there. Then he'll tell you to put your CB on channel 11, and you'll wait to be called on it and assigned to a dock, where you'll have to drop your trailer, and pull out from under it. Then bobtail back to the area by the Guardhouse, Park in the waiting area against the fence, and wait. They'll call you on the CB to let you know when you're empty. When you get hooked back up to your trailer, don't close your doors. Leave the trailer doors open so I (Guard) can inspect your trailer when you check out.

2.) You drive for a Company that does mostly "Drop & Hooks". (Hook onto a pre-loaded trailer. All you have to do is go pick up the trailer and deliver it to it's destination.)
Ok...you have a loaded trailer going 700 miles to it's destination. You have a 65 mph truck.
You start at 8:00 AM on Monday. The load has to be delivered Tuesday morning at 4:45 AM. Without fail. This like all loads, is very important. It's a "JIT" Just-In-Time load.
There's a production line in a factory that will have to shut down it's assembly line, if you are late with their product.

You have just enough time to get there, because you'll need a 10 hour break in there at some point.. You have already calculated that your driving time will be 11 hrs. and 15 minutes. That means you will have to do your pre trip again (after you sleep), buy fuel, give time for checking in, hooking up, and eating.

The thing is, you have already put in 2,500 miles in the last 4 days, and you're already Semi-tired .
(pardon the punn).

So you get started. After 4 hours the time drags by, you stop for an hour to eat lunch.
The scenery is flat desert, you ate too much at the buffet for lunch, and you're getting sleepy! You run Solo, so there's no one else to drive for you, so what are you going to do?
You stop and take a nap for a couple of hours. Then you drive another 6 hours.

Now you have driven 10 hours, been On Duty Not Driving for 45 minutes (Pre-trip, Check-in, Drop & Hook.) So you have worked 10 3/4's hrs. (we'll forget that you had to drive to pick the load up in the first place.) Stopped for 1 hour (eat), took a nap for 2 hrs. so you have burnt up 13 3/4's hours the first day. Now you need a 10 hour break. You have covered 630 miles. And it's 9:45 PM.

You have 70 miles to go to your destination when you wake up. It will take 1 hr.15 minutes to drive that 70 miles.
You need 15 minutes for your morning pre-trip inspection. So...you need to get up at 7:45 AM and you're late!

Seriously, I don't know why someone with adhd can't be a competent driver.
I was diagnosed with adhd over 16 years ago. I don't take any medication, and as long as I limit myself to focusing on one or two things at a time (which means no "multi-tasking") I do very well. The ONLY accidents I have EVER had (since I started driving in 1973) were caused by the "other" driver, and I have only had 4 moving violations in that time as well, with my last "speeding" ticket being almost 10 years old.

__________________

Some people manage things better than others.

Thanks for the thoughts folks.
I don't know how I feel about traffic. I mean it is hectic, and I'd imagine it would be that much worse for trucks. In fact, as a rule, I avoid trucks. On the other hand, as best I can tell, I'm aware of whether or not someone is doing something funny.
Garspete-- I'll ask my recruiter about it. And then I'll double check elsewhere because I suppose recruiters aren't always to be trusted. I don't require medicine-- at least not for functioning in other ways.
Mtmomma-- The first scenario is ok. I forget things, but most often it's a different kind of forgetting-- things usually slip-my-mind. I'll forget that 3 hours from now I'm supposed to do X. I have relatively little trouble with long lists.
The second scenario terrifies me. I don't know. Sleeping pills? Sigh. I really don't trust myself on the road when I haven't slept. What do you guys do?

I know in Canada, you can get Benadryl over the counter and it usually makes you very tired and sleep. You could always think about something like this if you find you cannot sleep.

I would strongly suggest you see if you can find ANYONE you know who is a trucker and see if you can ride along for a week. That'll give you a really good idea of what it's like out there and if you can handle it. Anyone who owns their own truck could probably take you, especially if you were to sign a waiver for insurance purposes (just to CYA for the driver!)

Good luck!!!

I wouldn't talk to the Recruiter about adhd. He don't need to be concerned about it, and probably don't know anything about it anyway.. But I would consult with your doctor when you take your physical for your Medical Card.

I know some people that have adhd. A few of them (light cases) would do just fine out here on the road. And a couple of others would have MANY problems.

I gathered from you first Post, that you had a severe case:


However, in your second Post, I understand that you aren't on Med's, and don't have trouble with lists. So you shouldn't have problems following directions.
That's a good thing, as truck drivers are dealing with directions on a daily basis.

The second scenario is very real. It forces you to use "time management" skills.
"What do other drivers do?"
We do a "Pre-Plan." and STICK TO IT! You have to have self discipline.

Time verses miles. Plan out in advance how long it'll take, and your hours available to do it in.
Then decide (plan) to grab or make a sandwich when you stop for fuel. (No time to take an hour for lunch.) Then you won't over eat enough to make you tired. (Thus hopefully avoiding the need for a 2 hour nap.) So right there, you've taken care of two problems, and saved yourself 3 hours! (3 hours is exactly what you needed to make an on time delivery.)

So, if you get tired after your first 4 hrs. of driving, you open your window and get some fresh air. You turn up the radio, or listen to an Audio Book. You move around in the seat, to keep your blood pumping. You use the Cell phone (headset), and call a friend. (You stop to use the restroom, maybe run around the truck, careful not to be stopped for very long. Check your tires.) You key up on the CB, and talk to another truck driver. Pretty soon you're across the miles you planned to cover for the day.
AND...because you didn't stop for that nap, you sleep like a baby during your 10 hour break.

Of that 10 hours, you "pre-plan" to sleep 8 hrs. of it, then wake up, take a shower, eat breakfast (now you've had a 10 hour break)....then go finish your miles and deliver the load--ON TIME, and feeling great!