Profile For Lisa L.

I didn't say I had no intention of using it; I just said I didn't plan to drive as a career. I do envision driving occasionally and probably locally. Be that as it may, your advice about a "stale" CDL is useful.

I'm about to begin training with my local school district, after which I'll be eligible for a Class B license. Since I plan to pass all of the tests for every possible class and endorsement in Washington State, I'd love to find a way to add in the additional training to get a Class A before my permit expires.

Beyond the training I will have taken, I'll need an additional: Classroom instruction – 20 hours Behind-the-wheel training - 4 hours Backing maneuvers – 12 hours Proficiency development – 12 hours Observation, lab, and range work – 64 hours

Is this feasible (on a shoestring, if that)? I'm not looking at trucking as a career; this is more of a whim, but there are probably times when it could come handy.

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Driving doesn't mean you can't keep thinking. You might explain to your interlocutors that while driving you can listen to books and lectures. You can also have a voice-activated recorder handy and write as you drive. If anything, it's an opportunity to get away from the lure of computers and the distraction of phone calls, and focus on your thoughts. (This assumes, of course, that such activities would be of interest to you.) That time to do nothing but think can produce amazing results. Dr. Kary Mullis, for example, was seeking a way to detect mutations in human genes. Only when he was driving his Honda down a long and winding road in Mendocino County did the idea for PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) occur to him. In his case, knowledge, a problem to solve, and space to think led to a Nobel Prize. Just sayin'.