Profile For Keith A.

What is this editorial for?

I’m not sure how that would make sense that this vaccine wouldn’t make you contagious. It doesn’t kill the virus. It’s supposed to make the symptoms less severe right? So what would be the science behind someone getting the shot, getting the virus that has been said is highly contagious but than somehow not contagious? Honest question.

As I understand things, the running premise is that getting the vaccine significantly reduces your chances of suffering long-term complications from the virus. Ideally it would stop transmission as well, but if you and everyone in your social circle is vaccinated, you're basically only susceptible to what's going to feel a bit like a cold or the flu.

At the end of the day, that's why high percentage rates of vaccination are really critical. You have a better chance of fighting off the virus as an individual, thus giving less room for the virus to mutate into variants.

There are going to be booster shots and new vaccines for Covid-19 forever now. It's in the general population, has been since probably March of last year. This is no longer a one-and-done sort of deal.

This sounds like the light at Vasquez/56th -- streets coming into the intersection from three different angles? If it is, while I would still follow Old School and Turtle's advice, I wouldn't stress *too* much either. I've accidentally tripped that in both a truck (once with Knight and once with the postal carrier I work for now) and my car once (early in my days of getting used to how short the timers were) and I've never actually seen a ticket show up. I think there's at least some sort of review on it. However, if this is the intersection I'm thinking of (and I don't know another in the Denver area with red light cameras, a Wal-Mart, and OD has a yard in the area), that light *never* has time for multiple semis to pass on a green arrow. Fingers crossed for ya tho. Even if you do actually get tagged, it's like Old School and Turtle said. Take it seriously and learn.

That looks like a slick parking job, well done.

Oh no need lol I’m pure 😂 thank u I will def do that. Hey I just had r&l call me offering me spot. Starting top pay seems. Tho he said it was paid off the run. didn’t fully understand it. $29 hour I think

Don't forget to study!

Seriously congratulations!

Don't be afraid to ask any questions you have here I'll be more than happy to answer any questions no matter how dumb you think it is.

$29 is great to start with. It's taken me three and a half years and three companies (my last one was bought out, so I'm not job hopping) to get up that high. If they bring you onboard, no more stale CDL. Six months+ and you'll start getting random texts and emails from companies wanting to headhunt you. XD

As a professional dreamer still trying to get settled in in this industry: focus on that commitment. What are your long term goals with this? --- not in the sense of "Oh I wanna go back to hauling for quarries" but --- is this a stepping stone, something to get you out of the pits of retail? Is it a second career?

Focus too much on the short term, like you did with the prior company, and you'll shoot yourself in the foot. Again.

There are reasons beyond number we recommend starting as an OTR driver but you're more or less locked in for at least a few months to build some distance from your previous errors. I'm hoping for the best for you and look forwards to reading updates as they happen.

California, in the Mojave?

My meet got moved to a different truck stop because my meet driver is delayed so I went to one closer to her. This place is full I couldnt even find a legal spot to park, so I'm creatively parked in the lot just hoping someone doesn't tell me to move.

It's 7:30 am why are all these OTR guys still here?? Siesta? Sleeping off the long weekend?? Get on the road and make some room for the rest of us!

Or at least leave a few pull through spots open.

Long weekends? Who has those? XD

Alright everyone, just to be clear, I have no problem with the automatic per se. As I said in the post, I’ve gotten used to it after a few years of driving one. My problem is with disabling the manual mode. Just yesterday I was on a 6% grade about 5 miles downhill and I was around 60,000 lbs. So following the instructions for descent control given by Freightliner, I slowed down well in advance of the hill to about 35 mph ( truck speed limit was 45 mph) with my flashers on. I put the truck in 9th gear and engaged the engine brake to the middle position and I set the cruise to 35 mph. It did alright. I didn’t have to touch the service brake the whole way down and it maintained a speed of about 35-40 mph and the rpms were good. I even passed another truck that was going slower than 35. But it still wanted to downshift to 8th gear a few times which would rev the rpms, and I would adjust the engine brake and then it wanted to up shift to 10th gear a couple times which would increase the speed. And in those instances, being in manual mode would have been better to hold the gear and by working the engine brake, keep a steady speed and rpms. The name of the transmission is a Manual Automatic Transmission. They built in the manual mode for a reason. And I still haven’t heard anyone here explain how they control descent in the winter, besides the obvious slowing down and lowering the gears, when you shouldn’t be using cruise control and even the engine brakes.

The one time I've had to run without jakes down a grade was coming out of Medicine Bow towards Laramie, WY. Corners were slicked over and most of the road was wet. I did between 10 and 15mph down with ~25k in the box. When I hit the bottom I could barely smell my brakes (I basically had to stick my nose right next to them -- wanted to check on them when I hit the bottom.)

So, ballparking, I'd say take whatever you run x grade at with the jakes & weight and cut that speed in half to descend using only the service brakes. It miiiight be a little excessive but not being able to use jakes makes me incredibly nervous about my ability to respond to, say, a stalled vehicle in the travel lanes hidden behind a curve. I empathize with the frustration over them disabling that setting --- whether or not a truck can be driven safely without some functionality or other, under ideal circumstances that decision should be left in the driver's hands.

I'm going to play Devil's advocate here the point is if you think it is illegal than it probably is. I'm pretty sure that parking like the CR Driver is not legal in any state no matter the circumstances! Like I posted in my last post I should have added the caviot that the situation in Virginia was Pre- FMCSA HOS Rule change. I propose this scenario: What if another driver slammed into the CR driver who would be at Fault? I get it S##t happens and we all have had to park some place sketchy and maybe bent the rules but it doesn't excuse the fact that that CR driver is creating a potential hazard and breaking the law.

If the CR England driver was stationary and is hit, it is the moving vehicle at fault.

Risk control is one thing, and I agree, the CR England driver should have had an alarm set to check to get into a proper parking spot. I've done that before.

But at the same time, if he's parking that late, he's going to /remain/ parked into the daylight hours when, barring some really specific regions, there is always room for a truck to park.

This is really making a mountain out of a molehill, especially because if there's room for trucks to pull out of the spots in front of the England driver, there's room for trucks to back into those spots.