Ride Along

Unfortunately, as another poster pointed out, most companies do not allow riders who are not immediate family. I suppose an independent owner/operator might not have the same restrictions, but then, really, you have to find one who might be willing to assist on your quest for a new perspective. This board is probably the best place to start. The posts that you view as a lack of courtesy are just "the guys trying to be funny". Most of us are probably going to read this and ask ourselves, "Now why the heck would anyone want to ride along with one of us? This is not a fun ride!"

 

sorry for my (and i use the term loosely fellow truckers)your idea not so far fetched i am allowed passengers as i own my truck am leased to no one,would not be real problem as i only go out deliver and head back home.dont know if i would do it but open to idea

 

Have fun with that.

 

Boo friggin hoo. Cry me a #### river already.

In other words, unless a motor carrier authorizes a driver to carry a specific person for a specific duration of time inside the CMV, the driver is prohibited under federal regulations from carrying a passenger and can get a ticket for doing so...and that passenger can be put out of the truck wherever that truck happens to be when the officer stops it.

Many carriers have a flat out prohibition against drivers bringing along passengers, and the ones who allow it tend to be very restrictive in who exactly they allow....spouses, children above a certain age....and this goes back to the insurance companies, too. It is a liability issue with most carriers....anyone injured in a wreck involving that truck might turn around and sue the carrier, however a wife may not have the same legal standing to sue the carrier for injuries sustained in a wreck which may have been caused by the husband that a total stranger would have.

Owner operators, operating under their own motor carrier authority, can grant permission to have anyone they care to share a cab with ride along with them. However, remember that the truck is that owner operator's home-away-from-home. Not everyone is willing to invite a total stranger into their home for a week or two's worth of R&R....especially when that home is not much bigger than a closet.

It is a truck, not a bed and breakfast.

PS...you'll quickly find out that many drivers have lost patience for idiots who drive like you are proposing...and remaining along side of a truck for too long once that turn signal starts blinking may find you being squeezed out of the lane. There is a reason that truck is trying to get over, and right or wrong, sideswiping a car or forcing a car into the median isn't nearly as bad as rear ending one. That fiberglass POS you are driving won't even scuff the bumper on most trucks and offers you VERY little protection in the event you make contact with anything on/in/next to the road. It is in your best interest NOT to "refuse to slow up and let you over"...because you may not be fully aware of WHY that truck needs over, and squishing you're ignorant ### may be the driver's best option....and that is IF the driver even SEES you there to begin with! Blind spots on these trucks are found in more places than you think, and hanging out in them is a sure-fire way to get run over because that tiny little insignificant car you are driving is hard to see.

 

Mr. Vette, I thought I treated your question with kindness, and was being fair. Truckers are a different breed. What we do most people can't. The long hours, the staggering amount of work involved. We for the most part are kind carring hard working people. There are a few that are not. They don't last long in our world. I hope you don't think bad of us. If you really want to do this, talk with some older owner operators at truck stops. Might take some time, But I'm sure some driver may grant your request.

 

and most fail miserably at it. These are the same guys that get so angry at the drivers who only turn the CB on when they see brake lights. I find that HILARIOUS!

 

Well, I would say hook up with a Owner Operator that has a riders policy.

 

Sure, but Ill have to strap you to a pallet and youll have to ride in the trailer. Bring a bill of lading for yourself.

 

Yes, it would have. You would subject yourself to more whining than an animal shelter full of puppies just before feeding time.

If you were a hot chick, you would have had 14 pages of offers with no regard to "DOT" regulations.

But no, you're just a regular guy who wanted to see things from the other side. I appreciate your curiosity, and if I was still in the industry, and I didn't have a noose around my nuts from [insert mega carriers name here], I would offer you a ride along. My kids all went big-truck truckin' with me when I was an owner-operator and they still remember it to this day.

I always kind of shake my head when I see some of the posts in this forum, because it is here to interact with the "general public". Ambassadors indeed. Especially when some steering wheel holder gets to flap his yap at "those dumb 4-wheelers"

Won't right things....

Most company drivers or people leased to a large carrier won't risk getting in trouble to satisfy your curiosity. A true independent may, but as long as it doesn't interfere with his operations, or schedule.

Good luck.

 

Vette Ill let you drive my old hunk of junk Volvo if you let me drive your Vette.