Kids in trucks

My kids were in the truck when they were just a few months old . They had been all over the country before they were 10 !

 

Going back 18-19 years now but when I was 7 I went from northern Ontario to PA with my old man..

 

I used to take my son in the truck from when he was a baby. Had a few inspections when he was in the truck, the only law I know of is you need a permission slip from the carrier. I was the carrier but I sill needed to write myself a slip. We used to ratchet strap his car seat down through holes we drilled.

 

I heartily endorse the idea of taking your kids with you in the truck. I did it from the time they were infants, in an era when the car seat thing was just beginning. Longer and longer trips as they got older, over 10 years old they were with me for a couple of weeks at a time. I cannot think of a better way to bond with your children. They are in their 30's now and not a time doesn't come up at some holiday dinner:" hey Dad, remember that time you took me to ... and we saw that ..." I had long forgotten whatever event it was, but it was a learning opportunity for them.

 

Wow! I can remember the early 70's, going out in dad's old International cabover. That thing would literally bounce me out of the seat at times. He would take me an a 2-3 day run a few times a year. But I would always beg for a ride. When he would leave out on Sunday, I would ride with him to the terminal where he would grab his loaded trailer, then we would meet mom somewhere, usually an exit ramp, and he would drop me off.

My kids have always been a part of my career. They have driven every kind of backhoe, dozer, loader. And, I have plans to take my youngest, she is 7, out this summer. So far she has traveled in a car seat in the back seat, and will enjoy being able to actually see where we are going, lol.

 

I took my son out as young as two. I have to have a dated authorization form from my boss for every single trip.
If anything would happen (god forbid) I think the insurance company would put an end to the practice.
But I have enough motivation to not screw up with the kid on board.

As a practical matter, the wife comes along too. She handles diapers, snacks, drinks and entertainment, while I drive and navigate.

We have a small outfit, and I'm on a first name basis with the owner, your millage may vary with a mega corp.
I've definitely heard rumors and urban legends about single parents raising there kids OTR but I've never met anyone actually doing it.
I do see more families in rigs around the holidays. Once I saw a family of 5(?!?) go into a couple of showers at a T/A. They looked rather homeless, and I saw them later in a ratty looking Freightliner. Times is hard.

For the record, I use a standard auto car seat buckled into the shotgun with a slack adjuster.

 

I started riding very young not real sure how old I was. I think a car seat is the best way these days altough I survived without it. I seen a family pile out of a W900 the other day. Dad oversize Mom and two very small kids. Over heard the wresting match over showers at the fuel desk. They seemed to live in the truck no apartment nothing. I'm not sure if thats by choice or necessity.

 

Dad started takin me with him at 8 days old. I never rode in a car seat after I got out of the infant stage. I remember helping tarp and strap at like 7 or 8.

 

Sorry I'm going against popular opinion here. I don't see a reason what so ever to allow a kid in a truck. I have had one really close call with a truck where the kid lost his balance going into the sleeper and grabbed the steering wheel, running me off the road. I had to deal with a couple kids in a truck stop I almost ran over because their father wasn't watching them and having their father yell at me because I didn't see them. Then seeing an 8 year old fall out of a truck head first and cracking his head open. His father didn't even have a first aid kit with him and I had to help him keep him still and stop the bleeding.

All three of these things make me wonder if some people should be parents.

 

I played with dirt and rocks and sticks. I made it just fine. "He don't like it he'll spit it out"-Dad