Top age

I better clarify my last post before I get chastise for saying that I drove a hopper instead of pulling one.

 

Average age where I work is 65. have alot in their 70's. I'm the baby, in my 40's

 

There is one company website that has an age of 65 as cut-off,

unless they can pass the physical.

At continental Express we had a driver who was 77, could pass for 60-65 easily !!

 

as far as i know there is no company that will hire a driver that cannot pass a physical. However, that company that dieselbear found letting people drive without a CDL might...

 

Rest In Peace, Joe Rocha.

"Joe M. Rocha
1/21/1918 – 11/15/2011

Joe “Mr. Cool” Rocha, 93, entered into rest on November 15, 2011 in San Francisco. He was born on January 21, 1918 in Gilroy and had been a resident of the Oakdale/Escalon area for over 50 years. He was a veteran of the Army, serving during World War II. He enjoyed being a dairyman and was employed as a truck driver for Fritz Hummer in Oakdale for 20 years. He had a strong work ethic and drove an 18 wheeler until he was 92 years old; his motto was “keep on trucking”. He loved going to Portuguese events, talking with his friends at the Oakdale donut shop, and attending the Escalon livestock auctions.

Joe is survived by his three children JoAnn Vander Beek of Oakdale, Tim Rocha of Modesto and Rebecca Rocha of Oakdale. He is also survived by his sisters Betty Miracle of Escalon, Emily Burkhart of Gilroy, and Barbara Stephens of Merced; 5 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. Joe was preceded in death by his wife Mary who passed away in 2000 and 5 of his siblings ..."

"
OAKDALE -- At 90, Joe Rocha fondly remembers the days when truckers used flashlights to communicate, engines had to be cranked by hand, and it took 29 hours to drive from San Jose to El Centro in Southern California.

Today's truck cabs look to Rocha like the inside of an airplane ####pit, with a dashboard full of buttons and switches. Everyone has a cell phone. And instead of puttering along at 30 miles an hour, trucks can travel at speeds more than double that.

Rocha climbed behind the wheel of his first truck in 1938. The Oakdale resident officially retired in the 1980s, at the age of 66.

Six months later, Vincent "Fritz" Hummer, the co-owner of Hummer Trucking in Oakdale, asked Rocha if he'd like to help out occasionally. Rocha was a little bored with retirement, so he said yes.

A couple of hours turned into a couple of days, then a couple of weeks.


Twenty-four years later, Rocha still shows up at 9 a.m. every workday at the office of the family-owned trucking company and checks the schedule for his route.

Douglas Hummer, the company's operations manager and son of its founders, said he believes that Rocha is the oldest commercial truck driver on the road in California.

"No, I haven't found any other drivers older than me," Rocha agreed, nodding his head under a tan cowboy hat, matched with a pair of brown cowboy boots, blue jeans and flannel shirt. "I think I'm the oldest."

Confidentiality rules prevent the California Department of Motor Vehicles from naming the oldest active trucker in the state.


But there are just seven drivers ages 90 to 99 with commercial licenses, so that means "it's safe to say he is one of the seven oldest, which is still pretty amazing," said DMV spokesman Steven Haskins.

Of the 24 million commercial drivers in the state, 634 of them are ages 80 to 89, Haskins said.

All drivers 70 and older have to renew their licenses in person by taking written and vision tests, Haskins said.

Commercial drivers must have a medical examination every two years, regardless of age. The DMV reviews the results of the exam to determine whether the driver meets federal medical standards.


Those who harbor stereotypes about elderly drivers should climb behind the wheel with Rocha, Douglas Hummer said.

The nonagenarian has a perfect driving record, according to the Hummers and DMV records. Rocha doesn't wear glasses and can drive better than most younger truckers on the road, Douglas Hummer said.

Hummer Trucking was started in 1958 after Vincent Hummer was discharged from the Army and announced to his wife that he wasn't going to take orders anymore. He wanted to haul livestock around the country.

His wife, Dorothy Hummer, wasn't happy. She had hoped he would return to his well-paying job at a nearby plant, but instead she had to adapt to being a trucker's wife.

"It's horrible, uneven hours that can last six or seven days a week," she said.

In the 1960s, Dorothy Hummer decided to join her husband on the road, defying convention at a time when few women were behind the wheel. The company would do it again when it brought Rocha out of retirement.

Dorothy Hummer learned how to drive a truck and the duo built up the business. It was so un- usual for a woman to be a truck driver that she'd often sail through toll booths for free because the operators were shocked to see her behind the wheel.

Dorothy Hummer kept driving until she was eight months pregnant. Another driver warned her that if she didn't take a break, her baby would be born "with a gearshift in his head."

When her son turned 18, he told his mother that she didn't need to drive trucks anymore. It was his turn. The three Hummers still work closely every day at the business, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in May.

Today, the trucking company has 17 drivers.

Among them is Rocha, who doesn't feel a day over 70.

And he'll keep on driving "as long as I can."

Bee staff writer Christina Salerno can be reached at [email protected] or 238-4574.


Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/local/article3099877.html#storylink=cpy "

 

We have one in Arkansas, a Lady at 90+ and still CDL driving a semi.

Im past 50, but medically no good. I will need a bunch of new parts inside my body before I can try it again. And really don't want to anyhow. Keep in mind the life expectancy in my time was only about 56 years at most. I made it almost that long without breaking, killing someone or losing something valuable.

Drive on. Take care of yourself.

 

Me too. Because of epilepsy I lost my drivers license.

 

There's a old dump truck driver around here that is 85. Still holds a medical card and is still one of the best drivers I know.

He once told me he started driving dump trucks at age 14. 71 years is a pretty good run. He owned the dump truck business which he has turned over to his son. He still drives for his son.

 

I was worried about resurrecting this zombie thread, relieved to know my post was appreciated.

 

Don't worry it's ok. I was thinking of a friend of mine who started work at 14 after he got kicked out until the day he died late Jan 2015 or so shoveling a few feet of snow in a storm. I think he was around 59 or so. I have to think that number carefully based on my own age. We did quite a bit of dump trucking together for a few years. Even racing each other now and then when feeling frisky and the old trucks are running well. One thing I did learn from him is to laugh it off no matter how dark and grim the battle gets over something in life. If you can laugh, you can also cry and live well. Unfortunately the doctors were very slow and slothful in progressing towards a surgery that would have given him a good future. The Human Body tore his main blood vessals from sheer wear and tear and chafing until it finally just ripped away and bled him out the hard way. Ive wondered about that. Do they fix people who have money? Or do they do nothing at all waiting for you to drop as he did. I tell you what. Ive had a number of second birthdays after saving myself in situations too crazy to write here. if Im going to go out, lord willing it's with brass flying and by god boots on the ground taking down the bad guy saving more lives if necessry. Anything else is a waste.