cdl investigation

That's scary! They should all have to take their tests where I did. Filled with State Troopers, and the lady administering the driving tests kept flunking everyone who went before me. She never smiled once and just had this "look" that was very intimidating. You bursted my niave little bubble of course there are places here that just hand over a license and just as many I'm sure that accept payment not logged in the books.

 

Haha when I got my cdl there was a female trooper there. I didn't know she was female until she spoke though. Scary lady for sure. She was pretty mean to everyone that flunked out. Nice to the people that did well though.

 

Terrorists don't need to have a CDL to drive a truck.

One gets the license, buys the truck. They tell the dealer a company they are leasing to or their own. The dealer just files the papers.

They can drive the truck anywhere. There are roads to drive to miss scales.

How safe are we really?

 

We aren't. Safety is simply a mith sold to the general public by politicians looking to be re-elected. There is no such thing as safety that is provided by someone else. You can get killed walking down the street minding your own business and have a car hit you. Or eating at the wrong restaurant at the wrong time and getting the wrong food poisioning.

As far as "safety for the whole country" is concerned, our military and cops do the best they can with what the politicians give them to work with. . .

Ah, I'm gonna shut up here, I feel a real strong urge to "hold forth" on this, and that just means I'll be putting my foot in my (keyboard so to speak.)

 

Mine did, and I wish every state's test included this. Nobody should be allowed on the road until they can demonstrate their ability to back...at an angle...into a single spot between two trucks. Truck driving is more than just going straight down the road.

Also, it's alot easier to back a 53' tandem than it is a 48 foot spread axle. The pivot point on a 48' spread is about 6 to 7 feet longer than on a 53' tandem set at 40' KPRA.

 

There's no way you can guarantee a driver can back a truck at the CDL testing facility. That's the companies responsibility. There are too many different types of trucks out there. I've driven doubles, triples, truck and trailers, and semi's and they're all different. Even the truck and trailers are different when the truck is longer like super tankers. I've said this before that companies need a good safety program in place and I believe there should be another endorsement on the CDL for driver trainers.

If the terrorists want a truck they're going to get it. We've had loaded gasoline trucks parked in the yard come up missing at one of our large terminals and there were all kinds of security measures in place including a gate guard. Sure the guard got fired and measures were increased but if they want it they will find the weak link. Luckly, the thiefs were after the load and not the tragady the load could have caused.

 

Haha I know you're right. You guys should have seen my first time backing that skateboard into a full Flying J. You would have thought I had never drove before.

 

My wife was shot by the "Beltway Snipers"....just walking outside a building and for no reason. Police was a couple of blocks away but who would think of a sniper being in the truck of a car.

 

The difficulty backing is that they keep changing where you have to back and what you have to back. I have had places like Melissa's on Soto in Los Angeles where you only have inches between your bumper and the fence, not to mention limited side to side. There is sometimes simly not enough room to setup correctly for the back. Other times it might be a blind side back, or a wierd angle.. Who knows why that driver was having problems, the good part was he did it with causing damage to another vehicle.... Good job #########... I hate the ones whom act like they know what they are doing as they go over your hood. Much rather have them do pull ups.

 

I sat at a truckstop, waiting for a guy to back in, literally for 20 minutes (trucks behind me, all talking crap of course) I was the first one in line, so to speak, and I sat and I waited patiently the entire time! because certainly like the last post said.... I know for a fact that not ONE of those truckers complaining, would complain any LESS if he just hurried up and backed over their truck. They driver was on the radio apologizing profusely and getting nothing but more garbage. I decided to speak up, told the guy basically what I said here. Take all the time you need, they will be much more pissed if you happen to drive off with one of their bumpers hooked to your truck. No one else talked anymore crap. and the driver finally got it backed in, with no damage. with the crowed, dark parking lots, saying about flying comes into mind "Any landing you walk away from is a good landing" .... well, interpret that into trucking and jockeying these trucks around the country. I also think we should ease up on the "towel head" comments though. just because you are a certain religion, doesnt mean you are a terrorist, or deserve to be called something negative. However, different side of the same coin, I see ALOT of middle eastern drivers speeding up and down the highways of northern California, however, I barely see them and in docks and warehouses... that part is a little bit worrisome. Maybe though I am not looking enough, or simply not going to the same warehouses, never know.