How to deal with anxiety about losing your CDL?

Don't get complacent, that's when you'll get into trouble. A little bit of fear/anxiety is a good thing. Not so much fear you freeze up but a little bit is healthy

 

I’m a city LTL driver in Houston. At least half of the motoring public here has no business having a drivers license. My goal every day is to not have an accident and get home in one piece.

Sometimes I’m jealous of you guys that are on the open road most of the time. I deliver to lots of warehouses and talk to OTR guys who say they love being out on the highway but hate driving in cities like this.

 

I like Houston. Big town with lots of industry. That means there’s money to be made. For the right amount of money, I will deal with traffic. Plus, with 2 loops around the city, you do have lots more options with traffic.

 

I was going to start this with the words "The only time -----" but thought better of it and decided to just go with Generally speaking instead!

Generally speaking, if a driver loses their CDL over an excessive amount of accidents they are also most likely going to lose all driving privileges. This will in almost every case be the direct result of some violation that was deemed to be a contributing reason for the accident. For the purposes of general things like accidents, the CDL and the regular DL will be handled the same. I might also add the CDL/DL is not necessarily "lost" as much as it is suspended for a time period. Now would be a good time to LINK to 383.51 and admonish ALL green drivers to study ALL those tables. Don't fall for that malarky about those tables only applying when driving a CMV. Most do, but look very closely at the wording!

The bottom line is simple. You are not going to lose your CDL over a simple fender bender in some big city! As to that local thing? As an OTR driver, I was making deliveries all the time in downtown areas. There was one place I went to a lot carrying FUJI supplies to an advertising company in downtown Indy! You just have to really watch to make sure your blind spots are cleared and you need to ensure overhead is as well. Driving in urban areas can be highly stressful. Still, after doing it time and time again you will develop confidence born out of the experience.

HOWEVER! Not everybody is cut out to do this job! If you can't handle the stress get out!

 

Ain't that the truth.

Yeah, OTR is tame compared to city driving.

 

Don't worry driverless trucks will be here next year.

 

There’s gonna be 3 loops around the city once the grand parkway is complete. When it’s done it’s gonna be bigger then the state of Rhode Island. Crazy.

 

Speaking of Texas city loops! Am I the only one to notice something interesting about what the loops around the DFW area look like upsidedown on a map?

 

if you are this paranoid, get out of trucking now.

just continue to look over your shoulder every 1.4 seconds, the rest of your life.

 

I drive through downtown Atlanta daily and I feel the same. I have enough saved up to last about 4 years without working incase I'm terminated.