18-21 year old truck drivers

Here are a couple of question then since some 18 to 21 year olds are mature enough to drive a truck and some are not.

1) Who will decide who has the maturity and discipline to drive a truck?
2) Who will be the one to come up with the evaluation to determine if they are mature and disciplined or not? and then who will be responsable to administer such evaluation? The trucking company or a 3rd party?
3) The way the megas and CDL mills are now don't you think that they would find a way to get around those regulations just to get a warm body in the seat?

Just some thought on the subject as it is unfortunate to exclude the ones who are capable of handling a truck safely, but to find those that are it would cost a lot more than its worth in either in some sort of evaluation or worse yet accidents.

 

Related topic -
A 17 year old teenager I know tried to get a minimum wage at Cracker Barrel and other restaurants.
They don't hire anyone under 18. Why? "Child" labor laws make it risky and expensive.

How expensive? If that 17 works more than fours in a school day, or more than 20 hours in a week, or without breaks on Saturday and Sunday, employer can be fined $10,000 per occurrence.

The fines are far less getting caught with illegal immigrants using fake documents.

See for yourself. Next time you're in a business, ask the manager about the penalties for hiring "children" under 18.

 

Driving up and down US-13 for the past week. I saw semi drivers weaving all over the place, going 45 in a 55 in the passing lane, or failing to go on green lights.........................all talking on cell phones. None of these were young people. Saw another driver park his truck on the north bound break down lane with his truck tires still on the road way while he ran into the Velaro store to get coffee......not a young driver either.

Some of you "wrinkled up old crap for brains drivers" should take a look at yourselves first.

 

I got my CDL two weeks after my 18th birthday and started hauling sugar beets that afternoon. Went on to tomatoes and grapes. Then flatbed freight for the winter. Hauled logs for a few years. All before I was 21. Only accident I was in was was when "Mr Super Experienced Trucker" backed into me. I was a lot better driver than a good percentage of the bozo's I see driving now. I drive to LA from Phoenix every other week and am just amazed at the sheer stupidity I see every trip.

 

Yes, I will pigeon-hole you, because, by comparison, you do not have the same experience and skill set with a truck as I do. You likely know very little about load securement, haven't had to account for extra-legal dimensions in traffic and with infrastructure (i.e. high loads and bridges), extremely high-center-of-gravity loads. I have slammed doors (reefer) and bumped docks, along with pulling smoothbore tanker. Let me make it simple for you, Wild Murphy... you couldn't drive my truck (that's right, I'm an O/O), because you'd likely hang the brownie (I drive a set of sticks), and yet, because of you're experience with 18-21 year olds, you're willing to say they shouldn't be allowed to drive.

And don't take that as me saying I'm some trucking God who knows it all. I'm not, I have plenty to learn, but, by comparison, you do have a more limited skill set than I do when it comes to trucking.

Before telling the young ones they shouldn't be allowed to drive, make sure you can.

I don't pre-suppose to know the prerequisites to work in a steel mill, to work in a library, as an investment banker, a teacher, a cashier, whatever your employment history is. And to that extent, I don't make suggestions or suppositions about who should and shouldn't be allowed to work in those fields based on age. You have done exactly that with little experience in this field.

 

I would like to ad Old enough to go to war in Iraq, possibly get killed or wounded.
Also maybe poor kids on the city streets selling drugs and packing guns would be given a chance at a decent
paying job.
We're making pot legal,. but driving a truck at 18 illegal

 

Here's the thing that I don't understand about allowing under 21 drivers only intrastate vs interstate. I am 20 years old, I started driving a straight truck when I was 19. I recently completed a CDL program through a community college and was lucky to start with a smaller company (around 75 trucks) doing local runs within state lines. I've held a drivers license since the day I turned 15 and have 0 tickets or accidents of any kind (not much to brag on though, it's likely more luck than "skill").

I just finished a 2 day run to southern Illinois swapping loads with a team and delivering to Chicago, along with a few other pickups which totaled about 900 miles. What exactly is the difference in me doing a 900 mile run inside Illinois lines or doing a 50 mile run into Wisconsin to grab a trailer and bring it back?

I understand that drivers are apprehensive with teenagers and early twenties drivers behind the wheel because it's no secret that majority of us are careless and/or reckless in an automobile, let alone a tractor trailer. However I don't see what difference it makes if we're allowed out of state or not. Do the responsibilities and challenges suddenly increase because you pass by a welcome sign on the interstate? Don't you think that the poor quality drivers are going to be making poor choices no matter what state they're in?