General questions to help with a career change

I was given the impression that they pasted the legislation on fire arms in commercial vehicles to be no way/no how. I was told years ago by a friend who is a DOT cop in Florida,(used to be a O/O) that I had to take my 9 mil. out of the truck, Even though I still carried permits and licenses for carrying and concealed. Maybe I misunderstood him or didn't hear all the details. We were just two friends talking.

 

We're both correct. I know that sounds stupid. But it's not really.

It's all about the money, nothing else.

It's like a $25 parking ticket. Are you really going to shell out $500 to fight it? Or just pay it. Getting nailed with a gun, is much more expensive. But it is defendable.

The question remains, are you willing to fork over the money?

Depending on the neighborhood I deliver to. The customer has 2 options for his load, if I come in without a gun.

Late...or later. I won't arrive early. I'll attempt to time traffic. But, I'm not a miracle worker.

 

Your right about the neighborhood thing.Problem is they have cars and don't necessarily have to be from the area your in. It may be a good area your at, but, you can still have trouble.I do carry protection(and I don't mean condoms either)But, not a firearm anymore.I also heard that the firearm rule pertains to lookalike weapons as well, (ie....BB/pellet guns, soft shell guns,even a rubber band pistal, etc......).anything a speed cop could mistake for a firearm.

 

I always carried a .357 magnum, semi-jacketed hollow points. I wasn't messing around. At 3:00 a.m. you are all alone and won't have time to call the cops, let alone wait for them to get there. It will all be over by then and you will come out on the short end of the stick without some type of protection. I don't give a #### what the law says. My life is more important than any law and no one can tell me that I don't have the right to defend myself.

You can find out exactly what the law states but it is up to you and how you feel.

I was a company driver and it was a written policy that you were not to carry any kind of weapon but it was an unspoken policy that you would not get into trouble with the company if you did decide to carry.

In fact, after we had 2 drivers stabbed in Terrell, TX the dispatcher would ask if you have a gun with you before dispatching you to Terrell. If you said no, you would not get the load.

I'm not trying to scare you but things do happen. I have never had a problem personally but I always have protection.

 

I drove for 3 years otr, and just recently had to switch back to a regular license. I have a couple of incidents on my DAC, and I know I have to wait at least 3 years until they drop. What I want to know is, since I don't have my CDL anymore, can I go back to school and retrain? If so, how long do I have to wait? I really love driving, miss it.... I have a jackknife on my DAC, but nobody else was involved and I was not charged. But I was terminated due to company policy violation...

 

I did 20 years and got out to make the big bucks. I got out in 1990 and to this day both my wife and I say we wished we would have done 30. I didn't do bad when I got out either. It wasn't long before I had my dream job and I took an early retirement from them also. I believe you'd be much better off if you came into the trucking business 10 years from now but you never know. Only you know your situation. However, I'll pass on what I was told by an old merchant seaman "you stay until you wake up and do not want to go to work" It took me 19 and 6.