What is the life of a commercial truck driver like?
It honestly depends on a lot of situations such as a local driver, regional driver, or an over the road driver. I did all three. This is what I think from my experience:OVER THE ROAD:When I started I was a single guy. I would stay out on the road for 3-4 months at a time before visiting my family and friends. I loved it! Had a brand new truck, non governed, paper logs, and plenty of miles! My favorite was going west back then. Talk all day on the phone with friends, listen to music, and drive. Sleep wherever when I'm tired, make money, and best of all I'd pre plan my trips such as anytime I pass a place like LA, Vegas, Miami, etc I'd make sure I get a day or two out of it. It was awesome. If you're a person that loves their own time, and loves to stop at random places and meet strangers at bars, clubs, beach, and so on, it's great. Example: Drive down to Florida, there is a truck stop close to Miami, take a taxi to the airport, get a car rental for $30-40/day and go explore Miami, Key West, Naples, what ever you wish.LOCAL:I tried local for a month, and I hate it. Wake up every day, traffic, talking to people I don't want to talk to non stop, and I stopped doing it. It didn't make sense to wake up 4-5 AM, and come back home 8-9 PM, to sleep, and do it again.REGIONAL:This is what I currently do now. I'll stretch my legs out a bit down to Florida or Texas, but mostly 400-600 miles radius from home is the best. I feel like I'm always close to home, get plenty of rest a day, and know all my routes. Got plenty of time to shower, do whatever I like, and still make money. Not being single anymore and having a kid this helps a lot knowing I am only 10 hours away at most, even if I have to drive empty.I do have a lot of friends that tried being a driver, and they couldn't cut it. Not because they couldn't drive, but being away from home really bothered them. Few guys did turn into alcoholics because on their off time they only drank, and slowly they started craving a lot of off time! The most coziest feeling I ever get in my life is winter time being in my cozy, clean warm truck with food and movies. I would only suggest OTR for people that are into adventures because it's more of n adventure than a "job".
Does NTB (National Tire and Battery) take checks?
The NTB has stores all over and they're all a little bit different. To better answer the question you have to be a little more definitive in your question. Every tire store I've dealt with take checks so I'm MAKING the assumption that NTB takes checks. Do you live near DC?
Are there any national gym or spa chains that offer nationwide memberships?
I'm at the YMCA. They have branch membership (for only one branch). Flex membership (For all the branches in the same town and surrounding towns. Upstate membership (For all the towns in the upstate part of the state. They don't have state membership for the whole state or country membership for the whole country. Edit: I don’t know if you’re a truck driver…they usually have sleeping accommodations in their trucks. Surely having to rent a motel room to use their shower just for one night would cost the monthly membership fee of a gym (the Y is $45 for one adult, $24 if you’re under 23yo and $37 if you’re 65yo or older…it does not cost much more if you want to include the whole family). I had to run away from home (from my ex-husband) a few years ago and drove like 200 miles to the soothing ocean. I had a very comfortable Honda Odyssey van to sleep in (I took the middle and back seats away and put a mattress in) and I had cash (did not want to use my credit card and be tracked). Without reservation, each time I needed a not too crappy motel/hotel room (I’ve seen Psycho!), I had to pay $100 to $115!! You might want to chart your routes, find out where you will be most likely to stop, do some online research about the gyms in those areas and pay several memberships here and there. When you plan ahead a get organized…everything is easier and cheaper.
Why are Russian people such bad drivers?
I’m a ex-pat and have been living in Russia for almost 10 years and i am a driver here. Yep, every time I go for a spin, everyyyy timeeee, I see a crash or a shunt. Going to the dacha i can come across at least 5. Here's the funny thing: the drivers of these cars involved in crashes are probably nice people; the kind i meet in the gym or a bar. So why does it happen?1) There is no concept of "consequence" in Russia. This comes from their lack of lateral thinking which is not nurtured during their upbringing as well as their education. So they might drive like idiots really believing they're not causing any harm.2) From point (1) they believe the bigger the car the safer they are. Hence why drivers in 4x4s tend to seem aggressive. 3) As mentioned in the article, their is a lot of corruption so basically a one-armed blind monkey can take to the wheel providing it's got some cash with it. Due to this fact there is little reason to learn the highway code. So everyone has their own vision as to what the laws of the road really are. For example, around Himki (north Moscow) you will find one of Moscow's few roundabouts. Up until recently (about 18 months ago) the traffic coming onto the roundabout had right of way. Many drivers still believe this so i cruise around the roundabout with a lot of caution. 4) Continuing with corruption, if you drive like a total twat and get stopped, yep, you can bribe your way our of being punished. So there is basically no fear of punishment so drivers can behave at the wheel like they do with impunity. 5) And continuing from point (4) the Police are nowhere to be seen. They might occasionally pull you over nearer the centre by being flagged down but in my 10 years i have NEVER seen a police car pull someone over. Never! There are no cameras, except around the city centre but even if you are sent a bill, there is no decent system in place to guarantee payment. I know many Russians who have been sent a fine and have never paid it. So again, you can act without fear of punishment,So all in all, this theme finds its way into the Russian psyche. The Russians are not stupid because, well, being stupid, you ought to know the difference between right and wrong. Sorry for saying this but... the Russians are primitive. There is a big difference.
How has long-haul trucking changed over the years? My great uncle used to tell me crazy stories
For one thing, it's much more regulated. I'm not just talking about Hours of Service, we've had them for decades, but the strictures over what we can/cannot do with our time.It's to the point where you can be charged with a violation for a harmless prank: One guy I heard a lot about--from several sources--years ago, when he had a heavy flatbed load headed to the southwest, he'd pull over at the start of a long hill on I-40 at the CA border, get out and grab a heavy hemp rope with a big hook on the end. He'd hook the front bumper, get about 20 feet ahead and pull (his partner would be hiding in the bunk and put the truck in extreme low gear and idle it up the road at about 1-2mph). People would slow down to watch in disbelief as this trucker towed his own truck. Today, you risk a ticket for impeding traffic and creating a hazard.Other guys would strap a Tonka toy (truck, bulldozer, loader, grader, etc) to the deck and cross the scales. Too many DOT guys have lost (never born with?) their sense of humor, hello Level I inspection.I can remember a time (barely, it was vanishing even then) when you could find a bar-b-que in almost any truck stop on a summer weekend. Several drivers would get together, buy some burger, steaks and chicken, something to drink, and fire up a charcoal grill in the back of the parking lot. Someone would show up with a portable radio or cassette player and they'd have a good ol' time. Try that today, and you risk getting kicked out, or even an arrest for “serving food without a license" or an unpermitted “open fire".Another big change is the CB. Once ubiquitous, now almost unheard, thanks to the advances and lowered costs of cell phone and satellite entertainment. Time was, a group of drivers would entertain each other and stay awake and alert driving through the night exchanging “trucker stories". Now everyone travels in their own insulated bubble, listening to one or another of a couple hundred satellite channels.Finally, and saddest of all, we're much less of a community than we used to be. Life has gotten so much more hectic and rushed, there’s so much more pressure to meet deadlines and make that dollar, that we don't have/take the time to get to know each other. This job is lonely enough as it is. And it's only getting more isolated.
Driving cross country from Tampa FL to Seattle WA and very scared, advice?
1. have your car serviced before departure 2. limit your driving to about 7-8 hours per day 3. join aaa or some other emergency road service organization 4. get aaa hotel directories 5. get a bluetooth for your phone so you can talk to friends while driving 6Identify a friend good with maps and computers to call if you get into trouble 7 take a laptop with you for use at night to plan the next day 8 do something fun every day for an hour or two( visit something, go to a movie) follow the southern route http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s... 9.have fun! 10. don't eat junk food while driving;get fruit nuts and water at a grocery store every day 11. Exercise for at least 30 minutes each day(pick hotel motel with a gym 12 Allow 8-9 days for your trip...