Protect your CDL

Any recommendations on repairing a damaged CDL? Got dinged with a few minor incidents that fell real close together, and was terminated. Now nobody wants to talk to me. Hate the idea of having to go to JBHunt long enough for the junk to drop off, but its looking more and more like I may have to.

You are so right about 'Protecting your CDL'! My advice learned the hard way -- once you sit down in the driver's seat, it is ALL business. You cannot let yourself be distracted by anything at anytime. Be totally aware of your surroundings and what potential hazards are around you. And yes, that truck parked next to you in the truck stop is a hazard. A moment's distraction can lead to minor damage but a disaster on your livelihood.

 

If JB Hunt will take you cool, we'll be trapped there together lol. I have "preventable incidents" for "passing when I should've waited" and for some guy trying to pass me on the right as I took a junction with no lane change but he thought he was slick and could beat me in essentially the same lane I was already in. When someone calls that number, no matter what, you had a preventable incident. And at B service when you have a scrape from driving under a tree or I hear even driving over a tree or over some tracks too fast...anything any scratch is a preventable incident. So protect your CDL and pray I can go somewhere else with my current record. Or join me at being trapped with Johnnie Bryan. Swift used to fix things for me no questions asked, antennaes taken out by trees, whatever. I got towed out of a ditch once and no incident, so that "stuff happens" attitude is a lot nicer to your CDL than you think.

 

Don't these two kinda contradict each other?

 

Dont' forget DACcidents, those little nit-picky incidents a company will charge you with so you can't quit 'em and move on to greener pastures. These are things that are barely above "farting in a terminal". At some outfits, I'm sure even farting in a terminal will get you a DACmark. This is especially true for those guys they get their hooks in who are always on-time with deliveries, have spotless driving records, and have had maybe one previous employer the past five years.

And yes, there are a lot of contradictions in trucking, or so it seems. A company will try to "keep you around" through dirty trickery, while it will also suspend you for being short two bags of dixie cups on a load having over 17,000. They'll also do anything to keep those with pristine work histories and driving records no matter what, even though replacing them with newbies is in their interest.

The "contradictions" in trucking aren't really contradictions at all. We just think they are in our limited knowlege. We have yet to learn all the facts behind the odd behavior of the creature known as the American trucking company. While we try to figure out what is going on, we'll grope around in the dark and try to guess what those facts are. No insider is ever going to give us the scoop on how trucking companies work. If we knew, we could build a case out of that info and maybe even turn it into a political issue. No, we aren't going to be allowed to empower ourselves. We have to use common sense and wisdom to walk the tightrope of circumstantial evidence and propaganda in trucking if we are to make the best decisions we can make. We should use our common sense and wisdom to the hilt, as they are all we got.

 

A few weeks ago when my boyfriend called and was really down and frustrated, I told him to protect his CDL. He was frustrated that the dispatchers weren't understanding that he was out of hours, that they wanted him to keep going, yet there was an entire department dedicated to checking his logs, ready to fire him if he went over. He wanted to know how he could possibly do his job when he had these competing messages from the company. I outlined his choices (granted, worst case scenarios)--1. Run over his hours, make the dispatcher happy, get a ticket, pay a fine, get fired by the company for going over hours. 2. Stop driving, annoy the dispatcher, possibly get fired for not working hard enough. Which way enables you to get another job? Which way leaves your CDL clean? I told him that ultimately, he needs to watch out for himself because no matter how good the company is, he is just a number. No one will ever look out for him the way that he can. I could hear the light bulb go on, and he said that suddenly it was clear. He needed to do what was in his best interest, not the companies. He said that I really made him understand the statement, "protect your CDL"

 

Tickets are not the only issue you have to protect your CDL's from.

While DACcidents were mentioned.....other incidents can occur.

False DAC reports are getting more and more common among companies now as they compete to keep drivers (even if they have to trap them). I would advise every driver to check their DAC for erroneous entries. Especially if you have changed jobs more than 3 times over the past 3 years.

I have one entry...and I'm d@#$ proud of it. "Driver quit without notice". I'd quit the lame ### company again...if I had a chance LOL.