For newbies - Confessions of a veteran driver

great post. thanks for sharing

 

I have to disagree with the part about leaving the CB turned off, I keep mine on and squelched when a someone starts acting stupid I turn it down for a while.

Some days having the radio squelched can be like winning the Lotto.

A while back, on 29 north of St Joe there was over a 2 mile backup. 1 lane closed for bridge painting, of the 12 or so trucks that I called out to on the CB 4 or 5 came back to me, used the alt. route that I told them about and everyone else got to sit through that backup. I couldn't count the times that on 40 in Ark. I heard about a backup, got off and ran around it on a 2 lane.

Too many drivers out there are too busy on the phone, listening to satellite radio, books on cd or whatever, drive up to a backup then ask what's going on. Too late to do anything but sit at that point.

Then there is the guy cluelessly driving down the road with his ipod phones in with a blown tire and nothing but sidewalls left and CB turned off, I always hope they pull into a scale like that.

Somedays... that radio can help you out a lot.

 

Thanks Fretless for some sound advice for us new drivers. Glad the road has been mostly good to you. What do most truckers do these days for personal protection
on the road ? By that I mean physical safety, nothing further.
Rick in SC

 

Rambo,

Not sure what you mean by physical safety...

I wear safety glasses in every plant I walk into, most require them anyway. I have a reflective vest that I throw on if I have to get out at night and do a walk around or swing my doors on a street.

As far as protection goes, I just plan ahead so I don't sleep in unfamiliar areas. I use a combination of map, gps and written directions so I don't end up in a bad situation in some problem areas. I guess if I ever felt that I couldn't do without a weapon to protect myself, I'd just as soon find another career. You'll get a lot of different answers on this question.

The thing is, everyone does things a little different...find out what works well for you!

 

Not exactly sure what you're asking about but I won't get out of the truck esp. at night unless I know what kind of area that I'm in w/o my 6 D cell Maglight.

I go to Canada weekly so I can't carry a pistol or stungun... just bearspray.

 

Hey there yourself N&M! I'm with Primary Transportation out of Brillion.

 

And this is an excellent example of the 19 out of 20 folks who are there to help you out!

 

Thanks Bro!
R.

 

Thanks Paul for the update. I was asking specifically about personal security on the road in terms of keeping people away from your rig and yourself if needed. It's hard to get a federal concealed carry license, and you'll probably not be able to get a license for every state even considering reciprocity from one state to another. Not sure if they cover this in the school or not.

 

Wow! A great post filled with information, inspiration and heartfelt dedication to a great profession! Thank you for the encouraging and inspiring words. I promise to do my best to live up to them. Hope to hear more like it in the future.
Be safe.