Defensive drivers don't tear up trucks

Ever seen a CDL truck driver that didn't have grey hair?

There aren't many... baby boomers out number 20 year olds by something like 2 to 1.
There's just a lot more of us than there are of them...

Youngsters like to "hot dog" their trucks.

Just because a truck "CAN do something", doesn't mean it's a good idea to.

Take two drivers.

both make the same # of runs for the company

both come in ontime, and don't call out sick unless they really are sick

One drives defensively
The other ( a Youngster) hot rods his truck.

Which one earns the most money for the company?

It's not what you make, it's what you get to keep!

The hot rod will cost his company not just thousands more in repair costs, insurance claims, etc... it could easily run TENS of Thousands of dollars!

Here's a rule of thumb:

Place a coffee cup on the dash of your truck.

Run through all 13 gears...

if you don't spill the coffee, you're a truck driver

if you get coffee down into the defroster vents... the head mechanic will hunt you down and... you get the picture.







This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

Drug and Alcohol Testing for CDL Drivers is a Complex Issue

By Richard Slagle

The issue of drug and alcohol testing of county employees has, at best, been a gray area. Questions frequently arise as to when an employee's protection under the Fourth Amendment of the Federal Constitution and Article 1, Section 9 of the Texas Constitution (unreasonable search and seizure by a governmental entity) is overridden by a greater governmental need to test for drugs and alcohol.

To further add to the confusion, the courts have not been consistent in their answers. While testing public sector employees in "safety-sensitive positions" has been found acceptable by different courts to varying degrees, the definition of "safety-sensitive position" itself can be highly subjective. Needless to say, it is quite a challenge for a county to develop an effective drug and alcohol testing program without the possibility of violating an employee's constitutional rights.

There is one area of county employment, however, where the right to conduct drug and alcohol tests is not only clearly defined, it is specifically required. In fact, failure to follow the requirements can lead to severe penalties.

What employee group falls into this category? — county employees who drive vehicles that require the driver to have a commercial drivers' license (CDL). These requirements, administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), are not new.

Testing for drivers in counties with 50 or more qualifying CDL drivers became effective on Jan. 1, 1995 and, for counties with fewer than 50 qualifying drivers, testing became effective on Jan. 1, 1996.

Any county that operates vehicles that meet the definition of a "commercial vehicle," as defined in the regulations, is subject to the testing requirements and responsibilities, as are all drivers who operate those vehicles. By definition, a commercial vehicle, for purposes of these drug and alcohol testing requirements, includes any vehicle which:

Has a gross combination weight rating of 11,794 or more kilograms (26,001 or more pounds) inclusive of a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds); or

Has a gross vehicle weight rating of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 or more pounds); or

Is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; or
Is any size and is used in the transportation of materials found to be hazardous for the purposes of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 5103(b)) and which require the motor vehicle to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR part 172, subpart F)

The rest of this article can be found here

information from http://www.county.org/resources/library/county_mag/county/156/2.html

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For CDL drivers in Frederick Maryland... if you even think you're dirty, don't test.
If you have need for the sentence above, go to one or more of my blogs:

http://crackaddictionrecovery.blogspot.com

http://victimbehavior.blogspot.com

You can... drink lots of water to pass a drug screen, but you won't really be out of suspicion, you might not test positive, but the test can come back 'diluted'...

I know of someone who: got hit by a car (not their fault, the truck didn't hit the car, the car hit the truck), drank lots of water... thought they were out of the forrest... test came back diluted... had to retest

it wasn't pretty...

if you aren't clean, do NOT drive, it's as simple as that.

When you wiegh 80,000 lbs everyone else's life is in your hands.

This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

More on Owner Operators vs Company Drivers

If you have a clean driving record, it's probably best to work for a larger company.

However, small independent owner operators can be useful if you're driving record leaves something to be desired.

If you've got a few months until a suspension or points come off your Maryland MVA driving record you may want to work for a smaller company.

PROS and CONS

Larger Companies pay from the moment you turn the key OR clock in

smaller companies often rent their trucks out to larger firms, you get paid ONLY for the hours the truck is earning money...

This isn't technically legal, the law is the law: just because you agree to violate the law, doesn't mean the law doesn't apply!

However... you got your licence messed up, you did that to yourself.
You DO want to work, don't you?

If you don't have enough experience, working for a small company might be just what the doctor ordered... just suck it up and pay your dues.

It wont take long, (less than a year, remember, demand exceeds supply) and you can quit the crappy job and get a real job.

MORE PROS and CONS

Bigger companies pay either once a week or every two weeks

Owner Operators often pay cash at the end of each day

If you're working a job, temporarily, just until you get a better job, getting paid cash could really work out for you.

How do I know any of this?

I've taken jobs that pay cash... you do NOT have to work a job unless it's to YOUR advantage...

They need you more than you need them.

There AREN'T ENOUGH CDL TRUCK DRIVERS

This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

Owner operators vs. company drivers

Once you get your CDL licence, now you have to find someone to work for.

You could work for a large Maryland trucking company, OR you could work for a small owner operator.

Owner operators frequently work within tiny profit margins, and the skyrocketing cost of diesel fuel isn't making it any easier for the little business owner.

What are the pros and cons of each?

If you have bad stuff on your driving record OR if you have experience is one type of driving but not another, working for a small outfit might be just what you need to round out your CDL driving resume.

Off Road driving vs. on road driving.

These two are very different beasts.

Different skill sets. The suspension of an off road dump truck/ concrete mixer/ or what have you is MUCH stiffer. When you raise the bed of a dump truck, the center of gravity shifts.

It's VERY easy to flip a dump truck over, you must make sure that both rear wheels are level or you'll turn the damn thing over.

The turning radius of a concrete mixer is surprising. If you turn AGAINST the rotation of the drum, you can turn as fast as you'd like.

Turn WITH the rotation of the drum and you're buthole will be suckin naugahyde (the artificial leather seats are made of)!

Think about this: Both a dump truck and a concrete mixer are 20 ton loads, the max you can carry on a truck's back (in Maryland anyway)... but the dump truck's center of gravity is on the truck's frame, or near your butt.

A mixer is carrying a liquid load, one that's rotating, and the center of gravity is behind your head.

It only takes one time for the wheels to leave the ground (just for a moment) and you'll learn to NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.

(note) When I write about driving a truck, remember this:
I've been fired at least once, for everything you could possibly think of to NOT do.
So when I tell you DON'T Do X, Y or Z, I know what I'm talking about.





This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate discription of what it was like to work there.

Demand Exceeds Supply, it still does construction or no

How many young CDL truck drivers do you see?

Not many.

How many CDL truck drivers do you see with grey hair?

Most of em.

Baby Boomers make up the largest part of the population, and we're all retiring at once... There ARE no 25 year olds to take our place.

This is a fact!

Now the economy is changing, the status quo no longer holds, entire careers are becoming obsolete at a faster and faster rate.

You're career is likely to be gone within 11 years, so if you're going to get a raise or move up you should switch jobs every 3 years.

The thing I like about construction CDL jobs is overtime. In an over the road job, you get paid for miles driven, the law says your company does not have to pay time & a half.

What's wrong with this is frequently you get stuck off loading and not getting paid.

What I like about tractor trailer jobs is that you're availablity of work is NOT dependent on housing starts, the prime rate, mortgage money availablity... you can 'pack up your marbles' and haul something else.

Frederick Maryland construction CDL jobs are in short supply, there's probably 100 drivers seeking 30 job openings...

that said, you can haul something else, you do not have to work in construction!

Demand Still Exceeds Supply

David Bruce Jr.
Frederick Web Promotions
http://frederickwebpromotions.com

This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

Hahn Transportation- Good Job near Frederick

One of the first CDL truck driving jobs I landed when I first moved to Frederick was delivering gasoline for Hahn Transportation in New Market Maryland.

I found them a good company to work for, although I did NOT get along with the other truck drivers. This was probably more due to my attitude toward any job, and my ideas clashing with the old timers that have worked for Hahn for upwards of 30 years.

At Hahn, you get paid to be careful.. not just drive the truck. You're carrying roughly 8,000 gallons of flammable liquid. To deliver gasoline, you have to have your head screwed on straight!

Being a free lance writer, Local Frederick Google advertising consultant... I'm not your typical blue collar worker... I prefer to be self employed and ONLY work a 'job' when I need to raise cash for my next business venture.

This attitude did not set well with the drivers who trained me at Hahn, I called them dinosaurs... I believe

demand exceeds supply
lets face it, the status quo has been gone for a long time.

80% of all truck drivers are baby boomers.

There are very few young people coming up the ranks to fill our places when we retire.

The old timers at Hahn still remember the scarcity of the last depression.

The employment rule for the 21st century is that your entire career is going to be obsolete in roughly 12 years.

Computers put secretaries out of a job... technology is going to put all of us out the traditional concept of staying at a job for life.





This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

Who NOT to work for.

There are in Frederick, quite a few truck driving jobs that are less than useful.

(I'm being politically correct with that phrasing)

Because of the downturn in residential home construction, there are currently more CDL drivers with construction backgrounds looking for a decreasing number of construction CDL jobs.

Fear not, the Maryland construction scene is not dead. It's just not in residential construction.

Infrastructure- Bridges, overpasses, highway construction, utilities are all being built in mass quantities.

Last Year I worked for Dewey Jordan.
I drove the water truck, I have Hazmat, Tanker and 25 years verifiable expierience.

Dewey Jordan Inc paid me $25,000 in 5 months. ($16.50 an hour, 24.75 for overtime)
averaging roughly $1000 week.


Find out about Dewey Jordan Inc here (they do NOT have thier own website so this is what I found on Dewey Jordan)

http://www.hotfrog.com/Companies/DEWEY-JORDAN-INC
Tractor Trailer jobs are not required to pay time and a half.

Local driving jobs ARE required to pay time and a half.

for that reason, I prefer a straight truck (under 100 mile radius) to a tractor trailer job.

Hahn Transportation in New Market paid me $19 an hour to deliver gasoline, but it was straight time.

Dewey Jordan's overtime brought my average pay (even though it was only $16.50 an hour) to the same pay as Hahn Transportation.

more coming, this is a new blog




This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate discription of what it was like to work there.