Retiring from driving. It's too dangerous now.

Well congratulations on starting a new chapter in life. I wish you all the best, but that being said you don’t need to leave the forum here. Once a trucker always a trucker and I’m sure you’ve got some good advice for us.

 

Yarr, laddie, tis' no shame in retirement, heck, I wager a bet most of us here are retired. Now, I know you are po'd now, but if the truck is paid for, and I imagine it is, might want to hang on to it. Pull a goose neck camper, or plant daisies around it, but you may want or need it again. We are entering a very troubled time in our countrys history. As the economy tanks, scofflaws will have their day,,,again, and you might be able to haul a bootleg load, no questions asked. That's how I started, and history does repeat itself, kind of. Don't sell the truck yet, do something else, I regret selling my Pete almost everyday. Good luck, pal.

 

Going on three years since I parked my truck. There’s things I miss, but a lot that I don’t.
Saw a woman plow into the back of a 3/4 ton dodge today and the brake lights didn’t come on until about 20’ from impact.

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/VaP3a6_ZY7U?is=ymKm23P9UHaDN9V0

 

retired for about 7 yrs now and still come in here to amuse myself at the antics of the new kids.

 

Been fully retired now for almost 2 years. However, I kept my CDL and medical card current. Just in case...well, just in case kinda happened. A FedEx Ground Contracted Service Provider contacted me about doing road tests for him as he doesn't have a CDL. He offered me $150 cash per test. I don't do them very often but a few weeks ago he lined up two on the same day and stuck 3 $100 bills in my palm at the end of about 2 hours of road testing. Nice!

 

I feel like the things that I tolerated early in my career I had lost patience for at the end. I sold my rig in February after much thought about many things including the drivers on the road getting worse daily. I am hardly 6 months in to this retirement gig after 38 mostly really good years trucking. I miss it but gradually I am getting to where I like retirement. I still wake up at 3 am most days but years of doing that are hard for me to get over. I hope retirement works out well for you.

 

I still have my CDL, dropped the endorsements and self certified.

might let it go next time around. at 70 some yrs old, I don't think I need the hassle. lol