More CB Talk

Its been a long while since I have posted anything here. For that I'm sorry. I have found that juggling a blog along with driving and getting stuff done at a new house to be hard. I have however tried to keep up with whats going on in our industry. The news and reports have been pretty much the same thing for the past month. I have had some experiences here lately that I feel the need to talk about. The title of this post is 'More CB Talk', well sometimes as drivers we find ourselves stuck over the weekend with no load. When this happens, some drivers tend to drink. Now I'm not saying that drinking is bad, but all things in moderation. Recently a driver was on the CB, and you guessed it, he was plastered. For some reason, be it the beer or something else, he wanted to fight. Now being fair about it, there were a few drivers who made comments just to get him mad, but several were trying to talk him out of starting a fight. Lets look at the problems here.

First. As a CDL if that driver wanted to drink then a hotel should have been arranged. Why? Regulations do not allow a driver to be intoxicated while in his vehicle, regardless of duty status, and having any alcohol in the truck at any time. He endangered his CDL.

Second. Fortunately for him no one took him up on his offer of a good fight. No one wins at this. Both would have been jailed costing hundreds if not thousands of dollars for both, not to mention losing your job for a drunken brawl. In these kinds of fights, someone always goes to the hospital.
More money!

Third. Driver reputation. We deal everyday with truckers are bad, why make it worse for everyone else? Our industry used to have the nickname ' Knights of the Highway'. Drivers were respectful of others, helpful to travelers, and hard workers. Since then many new drivers have come aboard and we have had a dramatic turn around on our rep. I'm not saying its the new drivers fault, but these type of behaviors have played a major roll on it. How many drivers do you hear of falling asleep at the wheel or even being drunk!

Last Words. We are held to a higher standard when we drive, because of what we drive and some who have made poor choices. At the same time we need a break and having a beer is not bad, but there is a time and place for everything. If you hear someone on the radio who is drunk and causing trouble, Don't Talk To Them! If you plan to drink, plan having a hotel or other arrangements. Remember having any alcohol in your truck is illegal. If your caught you will go to jail and loose you job and career. Think before you take that first drink, and before you get on that CB.