drive across state lines, under 21?
what do you guys think? we don't have enough long haul drivers but one thing is that you can't drive across state lines until 21... what do you think - should they open that up to help fit the need?
i feel like a lot of those kids are getting other jobs like construction and maybe we could keep them if we let them drive across states before 21
NO! It's bad enough having to deal the drivers with 6 week experience ( that was 6 weeks with a trainer).
Very bad idea. IMO a CDL should not be issued until 23 at least.
I think it's a REALLY bad idea
No way, most of them can't keep their minds on driving, it's usually on their phone. Until they see the importance of paying attention to trucking and have hopefully just some close calls, then have a respect for the speed that things can happen. I wouldn't feel safe with them on the road.
No
I'd say 19, and no more than one speeding or other serious moving violation in last year
Nothing has changed but a lot more regulation an it just keeps getting worse an harder to make a living
I started out in '97 at .26 a mile. Someone showed me this pic the other day and it really hit home just how much the industry has changed.
Look at the bottom of that paper. Feb 1974. How much are you making four decades later? See the problem?
One of the biggest issue I see is wages. The large companies are already paying very little to a lot of drivers just trying to make a living. once you introduce an 18 y/o who has no real bills or family to support, who will work for far less (because it seems like good money to them). Now you have introduced a factor that will drive down wages through out the whole market. Driver pay is FINALLY starting to increase. Small and mid-sized companies are greatly increasing driver pay. It is finally worth getting back on the road again. As far as 18 and being in the military, that is FAR DIFFERENT. You are taken through intense training and stripped of everything you are, to become something greater. My beloved Marine Corps did this for me and I am grateful; however, before this I was not ready to set out and be let loose on my own. There are also NCO/SNCO/Officers etc who continue to guide and train you as you gain more maturity and grow up more.
I started driving when I was 21 in 1973. I learned how to drive with an experienced driver who took the time to teach me the proper driving attitude. He taught me the rules and regulations back then and showed me how to keep up with the regulations. I spent almost 3 months with him before I started driving solo. I drove for over 20 years and 3 million miles with no preventable accidents and no speeding tickets (in the truck or in my personal vehicle). The trucking companies that have a training program start drivers at age 21 and that training takes them over state lines. I was a Driver Training Supervisor for a company and we made sure no driver went on the road without being a safe driver. Those trainers spend the time to teach those that don't have the required experience to be on their own. What I am against is the truck driving schools. I don't feel they spend enough time to teach the students all they need to know to drive solo at 21. I have seen 21's who drive their cars without thinking of others and I sure as hell would not want that 21 year old behind 18 wheels