Trans Am Still

Cleo sure did enjoy catching it. She had several good days of chewing up sticks, laying in the sun, being babied, and catching a possum before her beautiful big heart gave out on her.

 

Back when I was in training, TA has us sign a list of rules we would abide by. High on the list was that no one was to be in the top bunk while the truck was moving. The first time my trainer drove, I was in the top bunk sleeping. He did not say anything to me, I was just woken up being thrown around in that bunk.

I do agree with Cranky, we are living in an over protective nanny state, people should be allowed to use common sense. I do disagree, however on the top bunk issue. Even a minor accident, or even an emergency stop with no accident, could cause serious injury when ejected, fired out from that bunk like a sling shot, with no soft place to land. I don't need a nanny to tell me not to have someone in that bunk while driving, I can use my common sense to figure that one out.

I think you did the right thing to report your trainer T-dog, he was out of line, and he knew it.

I think you are also right T-dog to have on eye on being a trainer. You can have a positive influence on someone and it really is the best way to make money at TA. You can "semi-team", run extra miles, make extra money and still properly train. Not full out team, but add some extra drive hours with the extra driver in the truck. To me, running heavy miles is not the problem while in training, putting in miles on a truck is the best way to learn, there just needs to be dedication to using those miles as a training opportunity.

 

How do I sign up for that program? I have never caught a possum, but I am willing to learn.

 

I thought the software system was ok enough. It did have the weird feature of giving you positive feedback, in the form of an audio tone as if some entry was excepted when in fact it was not.

Remember to fill in the fuel level on your empty call. It is off to the far right and not in flow, it is easy to skip over and then not get a fuel solution for your next load.

A lot of people don't favor the CoPilot GPS system, after I got to really know it and use all of the features, I liked it a lot. I now have a Rand McNally system, it has some nice bells and whistles but for base GPS navigation, I still like the CoPilot better.

 

Well said, Sir passport. This is what I was trying to convey but just couldn't find the right words this week.
We, meaning drivers and driving families, are the only real method of change in this industry. Those that make a profit from your work will never make policy changes that would dig into their bottom line.

 

The first car I can remember ridding in as a child was my dad's Chevy Impala. It only had two seat belts, for front seats. The lap belt parts were cursed for being in the way, pushed down as far into the seat as possible. The shoulder belt part where folded up above the windows, held in place with medal clips. I don't think we ever removed them from the clips the whole time we owned the car.

I have lived in two worlds: I have walked down the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 5 foot sink holes in the middle of the sidewalk, no barriers or warning, just a big hole in the pathway. Public utility wires hanging off poles down to the street. Live or not? Who knows? A gauntlet of spikey street vender umbrellas, with their medal spears pointed out perfectly at my eye level.

I have lived in the USA, where I can't get a truly hot cup of coffee because the dumbest among us might spill it on themselves and get burned. The USA where in terms of safety, we have gone to the lowest common denominator. Living in a way as if we are all the least capable that can possibly be found.

So, I am in a weird position on this one. I agree with you in general, but not specifically on the top bunk issue.

It is a case of risk vs reward.

The risk: someone more easily hurt or killed in that place in the truck than most other place you would find a passenger. As a trainer, if an unrestrained student was hurt or killed in a moving truck from the top bunk, how hellish would the consequences be? I could go on for another full page with the risks.

The reward: You don't have to go through the inconvenience of changing out bedding.

If someone tells you that you need to put on your seat belt every time you move a few inches when adjusting your tandems .... tell them to Shut The <censored> Up!. If someone tells you not to ride, unrestrained in the top bunk of a truck, based on risk vs reward, go ahead, move bedding and stay off the top bunk. IMHO

 

You rode in the backseat gripping the edge and swaying back and forth every time mom made a turn!

I am the diplomat in this discussion....I can see and agree with all sides. For me, as I have gotten older, I realize more and more that it is up to me to weigh what is right for my situation. I am old and mean and it is very hard to make me do something that I feel is wrong for me personally. I also weigh the consequences and rewards on any decisions. I most likely would have done what texashounddog did, gone along with something I considered unsafe because I had a family depending on me financially, and made up my mind to try and change that for the next guy. Sometimes that is the best that we can do.