Really would like to start truck driving please offer me advice!

Right on the money. It isn't as if someone with no common sense is going to suddenly develop good judgment.

I admire the character in Chinatown and others who actually are trying to help op, but frankly I believe second chances are handed out way to often in our new world.

Certain things SHOULD keep a person from getting certain jobs. Drink and drive, and you can't drive for a living. Molest a kid, you can't work at a daycare. Commit a felony, and you can't be in LE.

My gosh, I mean it isn't like it's a secret that testing dirty is the kiss of death. Has everyone forgotten the expression of "Thems the breaks". Pick another career and this time don't break the cardinal rule before you even get started.

 

The FMCSA will have to make changes to their rules, the federal government will have to make changes to theirs, followed by each individual state, then the carriers are going to have to remove their rules.

This is like waiting for the sun, moon, planets, and all the stars to be perfectly in alignment. Not gonna happen.

 

I agree. He's not all the sudden going to have good judgement. And China's heart is in the right place. I just EXTREMELY disagree with trying to get these guys into trucking. Let them go elsewhere until they get their crap together. We've had enough bad out here and we need better.

 

Ya dood, give it up...you'll eventually find a company, or an IC that will hire you, but then thier insurance carrier will say 'NO'...

I recommend going Heavy Equipment Operator...You can be stoned all day at some Mom and Pop sand and gravel pit running a loader for 12.50 and hour...OR, you can clean up and make 28 bucks an hour with a big busy contractor running same loader..

O, dont mess with synthetic wee wee..the clinics are hip now, have to clean up for real..

Or move to colorady...work for colorady carrier..be the same as for alcohol, cant be on it or have it at work

Still screwed tho, startin with ugliness from the gate and all...Everythings so electronic and tracked now a days, no way to cheat or hide from anything..Trucking not for dopers anymore

Maybe you can get a job delivering dope for a dispensary! It might be on a bike, but we can be smokin!!

"juzt tryin to help man"

 

I can't believe people think that we're only a year or two away from legal marijuana everywhere (which we're not) and then it will be legal for drivers. There are plenty of things legal for average citizens that are different for people even just holding a CDL. Painkillers, a different BAC limit, idk, other stuff... Driver's are still gonna have pee tests because a dose of Crest can pass a Saliva test for drugs, and they're not going to be able to trust that drivers aren't smoking and driving if there's no test better than those.

 

To the people who are making your points with bold type and multiple exclamation points, I get it, but tell me: Are you fighting the good fight in getting alcohol out of the truck stops, or do you see no problem with that? It always makes me just shake my head when someone uses the argument "it's the law". The heaviest crime I've ever committed was public intoxication at nineteen years old (other than drug possession of which I was never arrested or convicted for, thankfully), and I'm smart enough (and open minded enough) to know that "the law" isn't and hasn't in the past, always been right or ethical. What I'd like to get through to people is to stop judging a person's character for a positive UA, for goodness sake. How do you know the OP hadn't smoked for the past thirty days? If he'd done coke, he'd have been clean. If he'd done meth, he'd have been clean. I really haven't done my research regarding it, but what about the synthetic stuff? Some of you are talking to him or about him like he was stupid enough to be high when he took the test. I would imagine he had enough sense to think he had given enough clean time to pass the test. To folks like Tony, I have respect for your position, because clearly you're not a hypocrite about it. To the ones who think it's perfectly fine to have truck stops selling alcohol, and there's nothing wrong with having a few during your off time, I have no respect at all because you contribute to the social psychosis that abounds. We have prisons busting at the seams with people who committed drug "offenses", yet some little rich kid kills four people while intoxicated on alcohol, and gets sentenced to a year at a resort. I guess what I'm trying to say is open your eyes? Do we need to discuss Big Pharma? If you're squeaky clean, virtually perfect, then judge away. Do you smoke when you're behind the wheel? When was the last time you dropped a cigarette and had to take your attention away from the road. How often do you talk on the cell phone while you're driving? How often do you tailgate a four wheeler? Are you overweight, eating and exercising poorly, and virtually a heart attack waiting to happen? How often do you fudge the logs, and drive when you're not at 100% rested (or in other words, fatigued to the point where you know you shouldn't be driving)? Do you drive when your health (cold, fever, etc) isn't 100%? Every one of these examples are legitimate causes for concern, yet are common practice. Every one of them are also far more dangerous to the general public than a driver who smoked marijuana while sitting at home 2 days ago, or maybe even did a line of coke instead. I don't know, maybe it's me, but I cannot comprehend a driver who would consider a recreational drug user any more dangerous than a recreational alcohol user. Next time you lift that glass or bottle, just consider for one moment that in doing so you are a menace to society. Are you getting my drift yet? I have full confidence that statistically speaking, the facts will most definitely show that alcohol consumption is far more of a menace to society than any other substance, yet it's perfectly acceptable to use it at one's leisure while condemning other drug users. It's legal, so it makes it okay, right? Whatever, boss, judge away while that beam is stuck in your eye. One more thought, completely off topic: Until the day truck drivers collectively shut 'em down for no less than two weeks will I ever take them seriously about wanting to do something to clean up the industry. In the meantime, please work on getting alcohol banned from being sold at truck stops. That would also make me take the positive UA issue more seriously.

 

Truck stops aren't just for trucks. They are travel centers, note the car parking lot and gasoline pumps. It's a driver's responsibility not to buy beer at them.

As far as drugs being treated differently, drugs are generally harder to give up then alcohol. Everyone knows you can't drive drunk, but many drug users are convinced that they are ok. Drug users are also prone to sliding back into their addiction, so companies won't take your word that you quit. An addict saying he has quit drugs doesn't matter, many say that while they're still high, lol.

 

You've just demonstrated wonderfully the social psychosis that I speak of, Brandson. So, since "travel centers" are frequented by four wheelers, as well as truckers, selling alcohol is okay. Do the clerks refuse to sell alcohol to CDL holders? Is it illegal to sell alcohol to CDL holders? Does it bother you that some of these alcoholic beverages are being consumed by four wheelers as they travel down the interstate with you? Would you have the same nonchalant attitude if marijuana was also being sold at these locations? Have you never witnessed a driver return to his truck with a six pack? Are you convinced that the trucking industry is free of functioning alcoholics? Are you certain none of that alcohol being sold in "travel centers" is being consumed by these "hypothetical" functioning alcoholics, who just can't pass up the temptation of readily available alcohol just yards from their trucks?

What you've done here is defend one drug over all others, simply because society accepts it as such. None of the rest of what you say is true. I have met far more alcoholics than I have other drug addicts (which in a way is misleading, because it's a fact that alcohol seems to go hand in hand with other addictions), most of them during the inpatient SATP I attended, and I lost count early on of how many were caught with booze in their possession, or were actually caught while intoxicated. I don't blame you, or feel any sort of animosity toward you for your misperceptions, because the way I see it, your perceptions have been shaped by culture, and are widespread. I will ask you to research the facts, though. If what you said in your second paragraph is true, certainly you can provide evidence for your statements. It's getting late now, so I'm going to close with a challenge to you: I'm going to research incidents of known trucking accidents involving alcohol and other drug use and see which are more common, and ask that you do the same. Sometime tomorrow evening I'll share what I find.

 

Yeah, I'm not doing any of that to defend myself to a drug addict...

One of the reasons I think drug regulations are necessary compared to alcohol when using driving as an excuse, is that alcohol generally takes time. How long does it take to get drunk? Unless someone is slamming them down, drinking is a process that lasts for hours. Getting high takes a few moments, can easily be done anytime of the day, anywhere, in situations that leave that person needing/wanting to use an automobile.

As for hard facts, the only one I know off the top of my head is that the FMCSA 2012 fatal accidents data showed less than 2% being caused by impaired truck drivers (4 wheelers was over 75% I think), so I really don't think drunk truck drivers is a huge problem.

 

[QUOTE..TheTazTn]To the person (Tony, I think) who doesn't believe an offending person should get a 2nd chance, I ask this: What better candidate can a company have than one who has proven himself to be a reliable employee, who has been "caught" and did what was required by law, and who will now be monitored more closely regarding UA's. The only offender who I think should never get a second chance is a DUI (whether for drugs or alcohol, and I really do hate the distinction between the two, because it has made our society hypocritical to the point of social psychosis). Once one shows they are willing to put the public at risk by exhibiting dangerous behavior, then yes, ban them for life. One of my pet peeves is seeing a person with multiple DUI's running free in society, to me a ticking time bomb waiting to explode (as is shown over and over again).