Alcohol prohibited from trucks during down time?

Company rule for me is 12hrs, .00 or you are fired

 

perfectly fair to me.

im not gonna get drunk around a tanker as i said earlier...but i dont see why anyone would risk it around any truck really.

 

In my opinion, only a fool drinks in their truck.

What if it has to be moved for some reason while under the influence?

 

I was looking for a truckstop once, needed to go to the bathroom....and the only one i saw for ages looked like it had burned down within a few days of when i saw it. What if that happened when you were parked next to it, and drunk? And haulin flammable/explosive/radioactive?


what if im at a bar, drunk, and the bar burns down?

what if my house catches on fire while im drunk? i had a friend that almost caught her house on fire drunk once..lol.

 

From what I have read on this thread, I have inferred that it would indeed be a very poor idea to consume alcoholic beverages and then get in proximity to your truck. Therefore, as a newb, I would only consider consuming an alcoholic beverage
a. On vacation
b. On my Home time off
c. On a 34 hr reset or other circumstance where I was berthed in a hotel room or other accomodation other than CMV and was not going to be driving for a period of time sufficient to metabolize all alcohol from my system with a health 6-8 hour safety margin calculated into the equation.

I can be happy sipping virgin Pina Coladas or virgin Strawberry Margaritas when it's hot outside and when it's cold, well alcohol is a poor and dangerous choice for warming one up as well.
I guess it all depends on what you value more, your career or your booze.

 

Thank you for quoting chapter and verse. This conversation confirms my suspicion that most truck drivers are not exceptionally bright. The question at hand is, is it legal to posess and consume alchohol in the sleeper while off duty, as I recall. The human body, on average, will metabolize alchohol at the rate of one drink per hour. If you log line 2 at 7:00 PM, have a couple beers and go to sleep, you'll be at 0.0 BAC by the time you go on duty the next day. So all of this .04, 24 hour, 4 hour, crap is irrelevant. If you drink while driving or have any BOC while driving you're taking chances and the 4 hour rule addresses that issue. If you are a company driver (you have my deepest sympathy) or leased onto someone else's authority, you will likely be held to a higher standard as far as possession is concerned. But if you're a safe driver and drive sober, why exactly are the cops searching your sleeper for alchohol? The last time I checked, I can't drive for 10 hours after logging line 2 at the end of the day. If dispatch tells you to drive the truck on your break tell them to piss off.

There's a whole lot of opinion in these pages but not a lot of facts. Your company policy is not federal law. State laws pertaining to commercial vehicles vary and I can't research all 48 so there may be a state wherein simple posession in the sleeper is a crime for a sober individual not operating a commercial vehicle. I do know that case law supports the legal theory that a truck driver logged on line 2 has unique privacy rights due to the nature of the profession The bottom line is, I don't see any federal law that prevents a sober individual from operating a commercial unless they've had a drink whithin 4 hours which would be #### hard to prove under ordinary circumstances. If you find yourself in this highly unlikely situation, hire a good lawyer. It's cheaper than you think. Just for the record I've never turned the key in a truck at more than 0 BOC

 

Someone post a regulation and that makes all truck drivers stupid in your eyes. You're hilarious! Most of us dumb folks don't have to drink on the road.

BTW, his post is 3 years old.

 

Another confirmation?

 

Weekends stuck in the truck with a load and away from home? I'll find another driver and split a 4 pack with him. Hey, its only 2 cans. Testing on my week leave at thanksgiving shows I'm drunk at 6 cans. SHHHH.

 

Just this last winter, a driver spun out in the median on an icy freeway and got stuck one early afternoon. He contacted his company, they said they would dispatch a tow truck in the morning. So stuck trucker goes across the street to the bar and has a few drinks then goes back to his truck to sleep.

Full Grown 5-0 bangs on his door, and soon as he sees the keys in the ignition, truck running for heat (12 degrees F) he arrests the driver on the spot for Driving Under the Influence.

Bear in mind the truck is stuck...not going anywhere. Sometimes the choices you make can ruin your life..... This guy lost his job, and his CDL for life!