Physical test

Do you realize that if this industry required all of it's drivers to these kinds of standards 25% to 40% maybe more of the drivers currently holding steering wheels would not be driving. As it is most of the top 25 carriers have had to reduce their standards (re the 3 felony thread) to the point they have to take chances with drivers that never should have been allowed to drive. I am 60 years old. I am also a 2nd generation in my family driver. I remember those days clearly. Drivers did a lot more physical labor then. Heck some of today"s drivers have to call breakdown for a road call because they can't get a landing gear up or down. I spent several summers out with my dad going places and helping unload a trailer. In fact I did this from around 1967 to the last summer before I joined the Air Force in 1975. In the 90s and for a long time I have seen morbid obese drivers. Some of these guys were so large it was a struggle for them to enter and exit their trucks. I watched one guy I know had to be around 500 pounds go all the way to his truck and bring a small ladder just so he could climb into his reefer and sweep it out. By the time he finished I was positive I was going to have to call 911. When the FMCSA reduced the BP standards for a 2 year card from 160/I forgot this bottom number to todays 140/90 and the toughing of the sleep apnea rules followed by the medical examiner registry I see less and less of these guys.

 

Great post! Nobody wants to do anything physical anymore. But before America was fat back in your days they actually worked. I’m also a 2nd gen driver but 20 years younger. My dad was a flatbeder pulled doubles in a old cabover. Truck bounced like crazy when empty. I remembered on his days off he take me to the yard to hang out while he tarped both his trailers before he hit the road the next day. I think of it he was pretty physical even as a truck driver. I did OTR, Linehaul, after getting tired of just driving I jumped into Foodservice. I actually like the challenge of unloading my trailer. I get looked at like I’m a alien cause I do physical work in trucking. It’s kept that 70lbs off of me that I gained OTR and my health is in great shape at 40. I’m also hitting the gym on my days off believe it or not. People will say I’m gonna get hurt. Well everyone I know that has had a serious injury all came from sitting behind a desk or sitting behind the wheel of a truck doing nothing. When they did something physical that’s when the serious injury happened. I feel if you don’t strengthen your body it will deteriorate and injuries happen. For example My buddy was doing linehaul for X amount of years. He jogged across a parking lot at the scale house and his achillies tendon snapped. He was in his late 20’s maybe 20-30lbs overweight. I tore my ACL in my early 30’s not at Foodservice but as a overweight OTR driver. My teammate fell off the top step and shattered his knee OTR he was barely 29. Doc told him he was fat why this happened. My other buddy sits behind a desk 40hrs a week but jumps out of planes for the national guard 1 weekend a month is now having knee problems. He doesn’t work out or anything physical all month. Just weird how that works.