Teen Truckers

It's the lack of quality training and acceptable pay that I'm having an issue with.

Consider: 19 year old trainer with 18 year old student, neither of which has ever seen a real winter (we'll make them both Southern boys) tackling Vail Pass in the dead of winter. Since most teens are completely convinced they are immortal (O know I was at that age, and it's a wonder I survived!), common sense will go straight out the window when dispatch says "Oh, you gotta get that very important load of used paper towels and sneezed on Kleenexes through no matter what! We can't afford any delays!"

An older driver would look at that situation and (HOPEFULLY) tell dispatch to blow it out his ear. Teenagers? Heck, they'd slalom down the mountainside for kicks, probably trying to videotape their "sick tricks" as they go!

Now I ain't sayin' all young people are this level of idiot. Heck, I was a tender 22 when I started driving! But I do know I let myself get pushed by dispatch a lot more when I was a younger idiot (by reference, now I'm a cranky OLD idiot). I didn't have the age, confidence, or experience to tell dispatch off. Trucking was the first "real job" I had, and I spent a lot of time worrying about keeping that job. What's gonna stop dispatch from pushing these young kids just as hard if not harder than I was pushed?

 

This is a solution in search of a problem. I got my commercial license at 18. (In '88) Couldn't leave the state 'til I was 21. Sucked; but I lived..........would really have liked to have run flatbed regionally summers during college though.

Kids that have drive and an aptitude for this are drawn to it........the video gamers and couch creeps never will be drawn to work anyhow; so why fret about it.

 

I have no problem with this, have supported the idea for years. I obtained my class a cdl at 18, only 1 month after graduation from high school. I worked as a diesel mechanic for the school district, operated a heavy duty wrecker to tow the disabled buses and drove school bus the very next school year. I became the youngest cdl third party examiner in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania just a few days shy of my 19th birthday. I was already a state accredited school bus instructor, we are required to have pre-licensing instruction and refresher instruction to renew our school bus license. I have held my cdl ever since and the only at fault accidents I have ever had were in my personal vehicle, within the first 3 months of getting my regular license at 16. My brother obtained his class a just after his 18th birthday and was moving oversize construction equipment for our dad within 4 months, no problems ever.

The interstate restriction was a big pain in the arse for my brother and I, we are within 5 miles from the New York and New Jersey border in a tri-state area where all the work was across the lines, we could drive 300 miles to the west in a tractor trailer or 100 miles to the south but more than 5 miles east and we were dangerous criminals, incapable of safe operation of a commercial vehicle! NONSENSE!!!! I have friends in New Mexico and Texas who could drive far enough from home at 18 to need a sleeper break, but could not cross the border at San Jon or Hobbs, stupid if you ask me, 18 or 21 you either have it or you don't.

 

If someone is able to pass the physical requirements, skill requirements, and knowledge based requirements, then more power to him/her. I have to deal with people who can't speak english on a regular basis and they even have to have an interpreter listen to us through their phone on speaker to communicate. I would take the 18 year old any day over that. I had a driver who could not drive my service truck the other day while I was driving his truck back to our shop. He could not speak english and he couldn't even figure out where 1st gear or the parking brake was on the old dodge. I finally had to swap vehicles with him and guide him to our shop.
Aside from that, who am I to deprive an American who wants to work and make a living just so I can comfort my opinion. Last I checked, me trying to influence or restrict other peoples rights based on my fears is something the Liberals do, not red blooded Americans who believe in the freedom to pursue success with your own two hands.
As a side note, I learned on twin stick Macks when I was about 13-14 years of age. I have seen many a people who are much older than 21 who worry me quite a bit about them being on the road.

 

The age for a class 1 in Canada is either 18 or 19, depending on where you live.

I hate to break it to you, but there is no epidemic of 19 year old drivers crashing and causing the sky to fall.

The drinking age is also either 18 or 19 in every province of Canada, yet there is no epidemic of drunk 19 year olds crashing trucks either.

Are we really that different? A 19 year old takes the same tests that a 25 year old takes and it's the same toad test a 55 year old takes. I see plenty of old people driving cars who don't have a clue, speed like idiots, swerve and cut trucks off, text and drive and pulled over by troopers. Some people have what it takes and some don't, it's not an age thing.

 

I think it's a great idea. It would solve some issues in society. Think about it for a minute. Most graduate at 18 or so, some go to college, some to the military. The rest go to work or find themselves on mom and dad's couch playing video games and eating cheetos. Maybe that 18 year old playing video games wants to drive OTR, but can't, for three more years. Three Years is an eternity to an 18 year old who wants something. So what's he to do? There's no local driving jobs in his area, but Wal-Mart has just moved into town. Great! Work at Wallyworld till you're 21. Perfect! That'll last for a while until Junior has money, and time on his hands, and begins living like a teenager in college. Things go from bad to worse, and soon the whole town is hooked on crack, fired from Wal-Mart, and collecting welfare of some sort. So Wal-Mart has to fill the spots formerly held by Junior and his buddies, but there's no one around. Except the illegal aliens. Hmmm.... They'll work for cheap!


Now they move to town, take the jobs, depressing those who had a job, which causes more drug use. Suddenly Junior is 21, has a felony drug charge, and can't get hired by any good companies. So he goes to a bottom feeder company, and becomes a YouTube celebrity. Then quits because there's no money there. And it's back to welfare. And the cycle continues....

If junior could have driven OTR at 18, maybe this story has a better outcome...

 

Judgmental cuss, ain't ya?

 

You'd take a 19 year old tailgating your family over my 12 years of tax paid hard work - huh ?

Thanks a bunch.

 

What is the difference between a 19 year old tailgating you and a 21 year old tailgating you? Or a 41 year old tailgating you?

 

The 19 year old is more likely to do it than the 41 year old.

(Not my opinion. Just probably what the typical consensus is in the media, facts, whatever).