Class A CDL License?? What about Hazmat?

[EweSheep]

Dunkopf, yep, she is serious!

I remember the stories that my sister had to drive the BIG Army trucks thru the town of Seoul, Korea. She said those people are fearless about their driving and getting runned over or shoved off from the side of the road is nothing new for them. If you hit them, they know they can complain to the CEO chain of command or commanding officer and get big bucks for the damages that it cost more than the car itself! The honking, tail gating, road rage, yep, its there!

 

[Dunkopf]

Knew a lot of soldiers in Germany that did time in Korea. Sounded like tough duty. Really COLD and a lot of mountains. Tight streets and quite a few open sewers. Of course that was in 82. Hopefully they have better sewers now.

Passochicken, sorry if I offended you, wasn't meaning to. I will not bring that up again.

 

[EweSheep]

I do remember she said that it smelled so bad, rotted cabbages. They sure know how to throw a good party for the men in general LOL!

She brought back some nice things from Korea, mostly clothes LOL. So utterly cheap that you would laugh at the prices in USA and say I can get it cheaper in Korea.

Food is good, as long the Army knows which places it is safe to eat and stay away from street vendors or you would get sick. They do eat dogs LOL and she wants no part of it.

It was very educational for my sister to learn to drive those trucks and it gave her a bit of a "power" edge to it that her truck was bigger than their little bitty cars LOL! Move over or get runned over!

She was a communication specialist, not sure what level but either a three or four. She loved that job. I think she was in the Army around after HS graduation in 1987 or 88.

 

[pasochicken]

I hope you're putting us on with the bible routine passochicken. I always thought that kind of stuff was just a Hollywood shtick. Are you being serious?

Why do you hope?

Honey, I have had too many miracles happen to me in my life and most in this past year and without going into any detail, I have met the devil and God in the same twinkle of an eye and PRAISE GOD MY GOD IS BIGGER. When whomsoever will calls upon the name of the Lord and He delivers one ...you cant ask for a more mightier God than that. Now that is what I call AMAZING GRACE!

I have laid hands on some of the sick and prayed for them.. seen my husband literally rise from being near dead and know far too many Christians with the same experience so no ones gonna be calling it Hollywood or changing my mind. Its not MY doing, its GOD making a move in someone.

And it truly is what Jesus has done for us at the Cross. If you cannot seek it in your heart to give praise to the Almighty for giving you the breaths you take, the beats of your heart, cures for unspeakable or potentially terminal illnesses, blind seeing, deaf hearing....the food you eat and your load making it safe through the nastiest storms or for surviving an accident, and your soul being saved as you enter his gates....there is something terrible wrong. It might have gotten there by truck, but it made it there under the wings and eyes of God.

If your searching your soul tonite and thinking maybe, just maybe your thinking has been wrong and you have had so much strife and tormoil in your life, let me ask you something.... The Lamb, Jesus Christ, who was sent by his Father to make the ultimate sacrifice to wash away our filthy sins....if he did not come, then why are so many people taking to bended knee still in this day some 2000 years later begging, praying , pleading for miracles to happen in their life and to be cleansed and find Salvation? Next time you have a serious issue, think on this for a moment then... if an innocent man died for you and you were forgiven of all the evils you did in your life, what would you feel? Question yourself, did NOTHING happen nearly 2000 years ago? Then how did teh ruins happen in the Holy Land and what of all the evidence. Its not Hollywood. I know people who have been to to the Holy Land.

Todays sermon where I went held a modern current time story of several children who were coming home form a birthday party. They were on the otherside of a hill and a young teenager came speeding up the hill and just as he got over it just as the nine childdren were in the middle of crossing the road he slammed into them. To make a long story short... the family was contacted by the sheriff and they were asked if they wanted to press charges. The sheriff said the young man was so distrought he wanted to kill himself and so they had to put him under continuous gard while he sat in jail.

The family said press charges for what, it would not bring the children back and there was no point in seeing another man suffer for something he could not help and so they told the sheriff to go back to the jail and tell the boy that the family forgave him. Imagine that... the mercy the young man must have felt for such. Their mercy releived the man of all the burdon of condemnation he must have felt, even though it was truly an accident of epic proportions, but to be releived of having to deal with more than what he was already carrying? Now that is mercy. That is my God, my Jesus making a movement in someones heart and soul especially his/her soul.

In the last 5 months I have met some Mighty Men and women of God. I have seen what they are doing and I guarantee its not the work of the man in the position of president, or some idol.

Those of you just sitting down and reading the Bible and thinking the stories that are in it are just myths,
and lies or just unbeliveable... you really need to seek the help of someone who knows how to interpret those "fables" and how they relate to todays times. You absolutely cannot sit there and read the Bible for face words without knowing what those words actually interpret to based on the times of Jesus Christ. ANd there are actually Bibles out there onthe shelves that are false doctrine

Im going to plug an excellent Bible and a source to get it from.... go here to www.jsm.org and check into the EXPOSITORS BIBLE or the CROSS FIRE edition for the younger folks. They are actually King James Version, but what makes them special is is each bible vers and scripture in them are explained in plain language and what it means. Click to the shop there. They have some awesome music cds, dvds and great reading. These Bible editions are truly put together by the Masters.

You just also might learn some things there about what is going on in the world too and not just in the US or the Bible.

I know people are wondering well why is there war or tornadoes and death and things of nature...I dont have all the answers there, but I do know that good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good alike and so its not singling you out for an earthly reward or a curse put on you. But I can say this is that I beleive its Gods way of reckoning with each of us to see if we are going to be true to him in the end just as we hope and pray he is true to his promises to us.

Let me ask you thes too then, and perhaps you could help me! If Jesus Christ did not walk the earth some 2000 years ago, then why then do we have all the turmoil in the Holy Land over it? Why did our forefathers come to this country to establish a country, a Nation UNDER GOD and to give us freedoms? And why are there so many so hell bent on destroying that? I know some mighty men and women of God that know more of the answers than what I have learned in my day. Perhaps if when I was younger and spent more time reading the good Book, I myself would know more and understand it today, but the more I learn, there is no turning back in learning about what the Word says. Some might call it an obsession. Others call it a passion.

I do want to clarify something too.. religion is one thing and Christianity is another. Perhaps some of us need to take time to understand that and the two are different. We also need to understand too that there exists today religions that are political. And religions that are nothing but idol worship and cults. As for Jesus, there is ONLY ONE. As for Chritainity, it is the faith we have in Jesus the oneness that sets it apart from a religion. Just my take on it, but many do agree.

I also dont have all the answers... Im still searching, but the one answer I have is no one can take what the Lord has given to me away. They might try to take my money, my family, maybe even my friends, but they cannot take my salvation and therefore they cannot destroy something they cannot reach. Finally something in my life NO ONE CAN TAKE!

Dunkopft, No offense taken.

This ends todays "sermon" and the ramblings of a professional truck drivers wife.

For a good read...John 3:12, JOhn 13:15, Romans 4:23 and Acts 18:10

And the Church said......Amen!

Catstar68... DOT says BPs should be under 140....correct me if I am wrong but last I heard....nice to met ya here too!​

 

[EweSheep]

Pasochicken, here is the link that you can read from, despite of the warnings of our moderators how they felt about these threads, so go easy on your sermons...it's turning some of them off because we got sidetracked here on this thread about truckers. Dunkopf said he was sorry that he will not bring it up so let it go and get back to the trucking experiences. There are alot of BYCers with different morals and beliefs, Christians or not and its a hot, sticky subject. What we could do agree that we can stay on topic. If you want to start a religious thread, please do so but be mindful that the mods will be watching very closely. It almost ended badly just about every time, but not ALL.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=310626&p=1

Enjoy this thread!

I thought if you had HBP, you can take meds and still be on the road. Truckers just have to be more viligiant on their medications so they can drive effectively and more carefully too!

I caught myself noticing ever since I saw Ice Truckers show, I would give them more room to pass, or let them pass or go around me, etc. I wished they didnt have to have that greasy spoon truck stops and offer more of a healthy diet for them. I can not imagine how it would hurt their backs alot, the truck manufactors would have better seats, etc. or is it from sitting too long?

 

[Catstar68]

Quote:
When we ordered our truck, I made sure to go for the best seats I could get. Heck, my butt was going to be in it 10 hours a day! National Seating had heated leather seats, with about a bizzilion air-cushions that you could independently inflate/deflate to fit your bottom like a glove.

I went for the massage feature, too. It was like sitting in your favorite recliner.
We had a fridge and microwave in the truck so I could have salads, make eggs, carry milk and other healthier foods. Walmart generally has big parking lots so we stopped twice a week and bought groceries - it was healthier and saved money.
I thought Ice Road Truckers was an interesting show. That woman they had on it though....she couldn't change a tail light or replace a gladhand! Luckily she was cute enough to get the boys to do it for her.

 

[Dunkopf]

Quote:
My wife was an operations manager for a trucking firm in Tx. Worked her way up the ladder on the office end. She knew a lot of truckers. Said a big problem was hemorrhoids from sitting in the same place for hours on end. They have nice seats in most of them. Of course a lot of truckers tip the scales over 300. That and any lifting job requires proper lifting techniques and a belt. A lot of truckers are too old to be lifting also. Age deteriorates your spinal cord along with weight and poor diet. Not surprising they have a lot of back problems.

The drivers that worked for my wife were all very safety conscious. They had awards dinners every end of year. The awards were all for safety and mileage. These guys have millions of safe miles under their belts. At least half of them had to be on BP and cholesterol meds. Most of them smoked too. I'm sure the smoking is probably illegal though.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
When we ordered our truck, I made sure to go for the best seats I could get. Heck, my butt was going to be in it 10 hours a day! National Seating had heated leather seats, with about a bizzilion air-cushions that you could independently inflate/deflate to fit your bottom like a glove.

I went for the massage feature, too. It was like sitting in your favorite recliner.
We had a fridge and microwave in the truck so I could have salads, make eggs, carry milk and other healthier foods. Walmart generally has big parking lots so we stopped twice a week and bought groceries - it was healthier and saved money.
I thought Ice Road Truckers was an interesting show. That woman they had on it though....she couldn't change a tail light or replace a gladhand! Luckily she was cute enough to get the boys to do it for her.

Oh yeah, she can just bat those eyes and they will be more than happy to help her. OR for those who knows her, they can "sister" her up and be protective of her, as the good example of the spinoff from IRTangerous Roads (India driving

) I think as time goes on, with the knowledge she gleaned from those men, she would use them later and put them to use when situation calls for it.

I didnt know they came with massage chairs........I would have just aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh in it!

I love the idea of microwave and fridge, but it looks sooo small! I'm a big gal so I can visualize how I would fit in there LOL! Camper on wheels LOL!

Its a wonder they don't have TV on the dashboards LOL! Eyes on the road, please!

 

[pasochicken]

Robin, you asked about my life as a truckers wife. My hub drives HAZ to0o. So you just got a BIG dose of what my life and his is like. Lastly, I am not a religious person, however, I am a strong woman of FAITH. So, with that said.. your not listening to well with what was said. And that is how come people of faith and religion can be so confused. Meanwhile and back to trucking....

Like I said, you asked me about being a truckers wife.. and being a trucker, my husband and I get and hear sermons like that daily and not meaning to be insensative, but you folks still thinking you want into this industry.. if you think you came to a teensy weensy prayer meeting, your gonna get a ruder awakening if you ever step foot into a truck and get on the road......but that is life.

As wives at home, we dont cotton to getting phone calls that can bring bad news such as an accident report, but if we do, we prepare ourselves for whatever comes. Cherish the moments you have with your loved ones. You want the truth of the life of a trucking family, but some people refuse to listen. You become a driver, you best know what you and your families are in for before you go in and so stop living in cyberspace and fantasy. I dont cotton much to having a state trooper on my front porch door giving me bad news and I have been there. Chances are I already know the bad news BEFORE the trooper arrives there and I thank God for the ministor who might be at my side. And yeah, I have been there and so too has the other two.

God Bless the state troopers, they equally have a difficult job. But we love the state troopers and all the others that have to do thier job within the industry. You go head to head with one, thats on both your consciences and at the end of the day, both want to go home. And I guarantee, some days even those friendships can get a tad strained. You all best prepare for what to do incase of any such emergency.

As for HPB, no one here is on any medication. Not me, nor my hub so PRAISE GOD. Neither one of us got it. So chill out . I suggest all families do themselves a favour.. and that is get themselves a BP tester. If your new to trucking, I suggest you take your BPS every day and several times a day to learn your curve and what might choke your chicken. LBP can be equally dangerous and you have to know what is correct for YOU and the parameters of what is set forth for health.

Some people who have never had HPB before they started trucking, get it the first few weeks of training and entering into a new job. SO if something is annoying you, you might want to strap that tester kit on and see. Are you gettting angry, frustrated? Are you TOO CALM? I guarantee your BP is involved. The bottom line is dealing with it. Some go on medication. Some never get off of it, and others do. The ones that do, learn how to take care of themselves. The ones staying off of it are lucky.

Yes there are certain medications professional drivers can take... DOT has a list of them so if you are on meds.. ask the DOT for the list if you are wanting to start out. The medication you take, may mean the difference whether or not you drive a truck. You are not going to be handed any load without the company or the DOT knowing what dope you are on. Too bad its not the same for the fourwheelers. They are the ones that actually cause the majority of accidents. The road ragers especially. And as a professional trucker , we are supposed to be able to deal with all of it.

I dont know of one HAZMAT DRIVER that does not say at the end of a day that IF his load has gotten to where he was taking it and arriving with it safely and in the worstest weather or thickest traffic, the very words PRAISE GOD after they breath their sighs of releif. Maybe you do, but I dont. As far as I am concerned being labled hazmat is one thing, but as far as I am concerned.. ALL LOADS should be treated as such especially by those who like to cut those pro-drivers off or tailgate one.

EVERYTHING IS A STICKY SUBJECT in these days so with that said, message to you or the admins, Im not known to be too politically correct but I am known for the truth.. With that said.. what you do with what I post and say, its your forum, just like any other person here. No one is flaming. When you sensor truth, you can then wonder why the world is in the shape its in and there are sides to all stories.. Your turn.

What would help any driver on the road would be to give others SPACE. You cannot stop a big rig on a dime so back off dont ride on a semis rear end, nose or side. You never know when a tire will blow or some idiot infront of you hauling furniture in a pickup truck ahead of you is gonna lose part of his load and it flies off because he did nto heel it on. Space yourself. I am amazed on how many brainless 4 wheel drivers are out their cutting trucks off, Trucks are generally not cutting you off they are where they are because that generally is wehre they are supposed to be but when someone cuts them of and takes their position and forces them to be where they should not.. then we got issues and potential for fines. These yokels dont know how to yeild, dont use turn signals are on illegal drugs, alcohol and really have no clue on how they should drive. Then those same people wonder why such and such got into an accident and more than likely it is their fault.

You want to drive a truck, put aside your pills and alcohol. 365/365 24/7

A while bacl, my hub had a DRIVE shaft go with out any warning whatsoever and when that happens...theres no telling where that load or bobtail is going to go. Driving a bobtail is one of the most dangerous types of driving a trucker does. Drivers are supposed to do a pretrip on their rigs. They check their tires, lights, brakes, air, secure their loads, do everthing to make sure things are as best as possible, but sometimes things still can go bad. And granted there are a few that skip it... but then one day they learn their blues. Unlike most small vehicle drivers who hop in their vehicles and never give thought to doing that no less take the snow off their lights an windows. You see them all the time, no lights at night, loads flying of pickups that the dummies have not secured and whatever the case. Then they want to blame some trucker for their problems. Yep, thats a find thing and the pros are supposed to smile and be happy some idiot is flipping them.

Ice trucking is one thing, double wides, extra longs, those are just some of the specialty. What safety measures might apply to one sect of the industry does not apply to the other and to drive those rigs, you need to understand what those rigs are all about. This is why I stress, you go to a company that offers schooling. They school you on the rig you will be driving. After that, you want to drive another, then you ask about the education you need for that, but a college? You are only getting the basics to get on the road and you are getting short changed especially if you if you do not get enough hours as required by DOT. I am wondering, does a college teach anything about microsleeps, or how to manage stress or the realities of trucking other than the basics to try to help you get a license? Just because you have a license means nothing with out the job backing it up. Micro sleeps and sleep apnea are major causes of highway accidents.

You know why a lot of truckers and wives dont have TV.s at all, its because we dont need any more crap on the road or at home. Stupid "reality" programs and BS you guys watch on TV are just polluting your heads.

Then you wonder why the "sermon" was long. Your either sleeping through it or eating it like candy. If your sleeping through it then its not long enough and if you miss something, its your fault.

So whose got a good Biblical read for me so I can go curl up with the good book? Im done trucking here for today.

This has been the ramblings of a profesional truckers wife who has better things to do than play on the internet and listen to idle chatter!

 

[pasochicken]

Dunkopf said:


"My wife was an operations manager for a trucking firm in Tx. Worked her way up the ladder on the office end. She knew a lot of truckers. Said a big problem was hemorrhoids from sitting in the same place for hours on end. They have nice seats in most of them. Of course a lot of truckers tip the scales over 300. That and any lifting job requires proper lifting techniques and a belt. A lot of truckers are too old to be lifting also. Age deteriorates your spinal cord along with weight and poor diet. Not surprising they have a lot of back problems.

The drivers that worked for my wife were all very safety conscious. They had awards dinners every end of year. The awards were all for safety and mileage. These guys have millions of safe miles under their belts. At least half of them had to be on BP and cholesterol meds. Most of them smoked too. I'm sure the smoking is probably illegal though."

Got news for those drivers tipping the scales at horrible overweights of their person, DOT getting after weight issues and not just the weight of the truck.

Big companies make the employees pass a physical. You have to be able to do a certain amount of lifting and such and there are a lot of potentail drivers who have gotten past the point of where they have their CDL license, but still are out of a job because .. oops., they cant pass the physical. A lot of drivers are getting the boot because they smoke and they dont want you to be doping or drinking.

Not sure what you were saying about the smoking being illegal....that can be taken in an implied way of how you wrote it and how I interpretated it. Sorrry if I took wrong Smoking dope is illegal at any costs. As for cigerettes, the insurance companies are pushing and DOT are pushing to quit. While cigerette smoking is not illegal, due to safety a lot of companies are not wanting drivers to smoke, not just for health but forfire hazard reasons, just like some certain cooking equipment is not welcome in a truck.

If your doing dope smoke... its beyond me how your company allowed you in to start driving in the first place.

We see a lot of drivers that really give trucking as a whole a black eye in how they perform... most of them will not last too long if they are not performing well. There are more drivers available than trucks to go around so companies that are having performance problems with DOT or their contractors are being forced to shape up and ship them out.

The larger companies prefer to hire older drivers simply becasue they are more mature in life and can handle more of what is going on. The younger drivers are often to cocky and can get canned just on attitude. Safety is the biggest issue no matter what the age.

Hemerroids eh? You might want to get a check up for cancer. Just my
humble thoughts there.

Not sure what you meant by too old....I know some old farts that would put some of the younger generation to shame. Like I said... the big companies are looking for mature, safe, healthy drivers. For some reason a lot of the younger ones have too many problems that often get them into trouble. brawls, booze, just to name a few and if your doing, most will get canned as soon as it is found out. There are
certain foods and drinks that should not consumed that could really mess up a drug test.

Annual physicals, Med cards, DOT is picky picky picky picky on who drives and getting moreso by the day. The industry is changing so fast that the little guys cant afford the new technology being insisted upon and the big old companies cant keep up with the pace in installing what the government is requiring.

The biggest problem the truckers do face is diet. And the country is getting anymore that they are very trucker unfriendly when it comes to having a good place to eat and park. People want their goods and services, but seem to say no trucks allowed. One can only pack so much food in that truck and it is not as big as one would think for the drivers to live in. It is no luxury trip by any means.

Thanks to the LOUSY economy the good truckstops that used to have a great buffet are now downsized
or gon bankruptured and so there is not much of a good choice.. to eat out. Used to be a trucker could get a great meal, a shower and have a place to park, fuel up and things were a lot better many years back.

At $53,000 per second that this current administration is spending into obliviun, one would think that for
those who move the goods across the nation, those in the powers that be would see that there is great room for improvements to get the goods there and fill some of those potholes up and make places for the truckers to stop and eat and sleep to the very rules they impose instead of chronically making a bigger mess of the situation. Those trucks on the road could run a lot better if their metall guts were nto so rattled making them even less fuel efficient but do they think about that? No, they put stuff on them that
solves nothing. Its just more of a survey spending getting no results.

Those that are willing to drive are forced to oblidge by rules that are getting impossible in certain cases
yet, those that want it want the goods now and not after their scheduled appointments. Time for a change there for sure.

Back problems are a real big issue. Not only from sitting but from laying on mattresses that are a drivers nightmare.. If I had one wish was that they get smart and improve on those for the drivers. The Drivers seats are not all that comfortable either and could be adjusted to accomodate the drivers better but companies seem to cut expenses no matter how and the drivers do suffer the consequences which is too bad. Some of the larger companies have therapists at their terminals to help their drivers... all is not a bed of roses and even the companies therapists might not be able to hep the driver without him first seeing his own doctor.

The dispatchers had a nerve racking job keeping the loads going too so even dispatching is a difficult job.​