WTF is with these NO SPEAK CDL-A work visa holders?!!!!!

[70mackMB]

And what the hell is going on in Texas over all! They sure have made a hard left turn down there!!    .....Hippy

 Travis County Judge SLASHES Bond from $1.2 Million to $7,000 for Foreign Trucker Who Killed 5 Including a Baby in Fiery Austin Crash

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/outrage-travis-county-judge-slashes-bond-1-2/

Bonehead Truckers on YouTube has been covering this story. Along with Mutha Trucker also............

[The Heinz]

But hey, in order for me to get a CDL, I have to either take a lot of time off work, or not have weekends for several months. Surely this keeps bad drivers from ever getting a CDL, right? 

[Geoff Weeks]

I don't put much faith in GWP reporting, but not failing a blood test says the DUI Charges were not valid. None of that has any bearing on the fact that he killed people only that the DUI charge is not valid. There were reports of a Colorado LEO that was charging people with DUI's that were fake to up his number (and ruining the lives of those charged and not convicted)

There is no room in this country for these "fly by night" trucking operations. As one who operated my own I know what it takes to do the job right, and these sleezey operations should never even get a DOT number. The DOT is supposed to cross-check new applicants for previous numbers, and an address that pops up again and again in new filings should be a red flag, along with similar names. They should at least flag for further investigation, but doesn't seam that happens, and now with all the jobs cut I suspect it will not improve that fact. How many innocent lives lost, is worth the cuts?

Edited Thursday at 03:37 PM by Geoff Weeks

[Joey Mack]

Amen GW.... 

[Terry T]

We have outside carriers come to our service center to drop off refused freight from grocery warehouses on a regular basis. They drop the product off to us to be returned to the shipper. This is not an exaggeration... 9 out of 10 of the OTR drivers are not American born. Of the 9 that are not 7 of those 9 have so little comprehension of the English language that they either have an interpreter app on their phone or have to call their company to have someone who speaks English speak to us. 

[BigMackTruck]

I don't understand how the bail could be slashed so far down, I don't understand who is in charge of setting the bail, i am certain of one thing, this man will not face justice. He will escape his sentence due to these relaxed bail settings. I hope the community monitors his release and dispenses the justice that he rightfully deserves.

[Geoff Weeks]

I can't speak a word of French, but never faced any backlash when trucking in Quebec. The language isn't the issue, the actions are the issue, and that goes back to the company. 

It is easy to point out language it is noticeable, but isn't the problem, I met a "Dumb" (couldn't speak) truckdriver in Canada, he worked for a heavy-haul outfit.  He was highly regarded by the customer for his attention to detail.

What is the issue is trucking "companies" that flout the regulations and aren't held to account. A quality company will not heir an unqualified driver, those that are willing to cut corners on equipment will also do so on employees.

 

[BigMackTruck]

13 minutes ago, Geoff Weeks said:

I can't speak a word of French, but never faced any backlash when trucking in Quebec. The language isn't the issue, the actions are the issue, and that goes back to the company. 

It is easy to point out language it is noticeable, but isn't the problem, I met a "Dumb" (couldn't speak) truckdriver in Canada, he worked for a heavy-haul outfit.  He was highly regarded by the customer for his attention to detail.

What is the issue is trucking "companies" that flout the regulations and aren't held to account. A quality company will not heir an unqualified driver, those that are willing to cut corners on equipment will also do so on employees.

 

I agree, they can't get any qualified drivers so they shove some sorry excuse of a driver onto the road with barely any experience IE. My cousin went to swift driving school as a community program paid for by city of Albuquerque. At the end of his 2 month training I picked him up and had him show me what he had learned, he barely was able to maintain lane, couldn't park to save his life and was about 50% prepared to drive on his own. I felt highly unsafe in the passenger seat as we traveled down I40 at night with hardly any traffic to contend with. He required another month trained by me, where we practiced parking, backing and pulling into spots, and maintaining his lane. I was outraged disgusted and down right concerned about how swift could manage to give him a class A CDL despite all of his inadequacies.

[mowerman]

Don’t worry, Texas has got us covered. They’re sending out rigs down the road now with no driver at all and everybody is OK with this wow…. Bob

[Joseph Cummings]

I'm from a time before CDL schools, and for that matter before CDLs. Back then the way you learned was pickup trucks, F-350, F600, air brake straight job, and then tractor trailers. It took a lot of time and involved old timers who could be kind of harsh with their words lol.

Now they go from Honda Civic to 80,000 combination in a matter of like 6 weeks.

These CDL mills just create documentation of training, some of it fictitious, grade easy, issue CDLs and collect the money. The easier they make it, and the shorter the training, the more money they make

Pennsylvania didn't even have any classes of drivers license back then, only a motorcycle endorsement. Legally you could take your test in a VW Beatle in the morning, and drive a 73,280 lbs. tractor trailer after lunch. But that didn't happen much. Guys that owned heavy trucks didn't hire drivers unless they were confident you weren't a F -up. Now you have office personnel that never even rode in the helper seat doing the hiring based on documents presented to them that were produced by someone else

Edited 12 hours ago by Joseph Cummings

[Geoff Weeks]

Same here, from the days before CDL, Never took a driving test in a semi, believe it or not. Grandfathered into CDL,

Started in smaller trucks and wreckers and just kept moving bigger, Skills needed transfer up, but if you stop learning you are going backwards. I always learned something when I was on the road, decades after being deemed competent to drive by the states standards.

[Joseph Cummings]

I learned in Philly from some of this crowd. Believe me, if I F=ed up and tried to make an excuse or lie about it, I didn't fool them for a minute.

And as far as harsh words go, they were many levels above "normal" people

[mowerman]

most of us same way,,,i broke in with guys that started on chain drives and side curtains,,,lol.bob

[70mackMB]

3 hours ago, BigMackTruck said:

My cousin went to swift driving school as a community program

Swift, sure wish l finished training    .....Hippy  

[Brocky]

I am the same!! Started on farm tractors and farm trucks in the field, later before I was old enough for a regular drivers license, on the road, local small township Hwy Dpt trucks. At 21 (1966) in college I got a part time job as fuel boy, dock helper, and half a$$ed mechanic with a small intercity out fit. By this time NYS had created a classified chauffeur license program. Got my permit and went to the rail yards with the night dock man.. In June I took a road test for my class 1 tractor trailer license, on a 1953 Brockway 154 gas job and a 35 ft van trailer. Had to start the test right in front of city hall in downtown Syracuse!!!

Edited 6 hours ago by Brocky

[terry]

7 hours ago, Geoff Weeks said:

Same here, from the days before CDL, Never took a driving test in a semi, believe it or not. Grandfathered into CDL,

Started in smaller trucks and wreckers and just kept moving bigger, Skills needed transfer up, but if you stop learning you are going backwards. I always learned something when I was on the road, decades after being deemed competent to drive by the states standards.

Same thing for me Geoff, learned driving dump trucks in the service, 67,68,69, got my first dump truck about “72” got a letter from the state of iowa when cdl’s were starting, that i could self certify the driving, but i think i had to do a written test.   Terry

[terry]

Not to change the subject, but all of a sudden I’m getting ads at the top of my smartphone whenever i click on a topic here, anyone else getting these?  terry

[Geoff Weeks]

9 hours ago, BigMackTruck said:

I don't understand how the bail could be slashed so far down, I don't understand who is in charge of setting the bail, i am certain of one thing, this man will not face justice. He will escape his sentence due to these relaxed bail settings. I hope the community monitors his release and dispenses the justice that he rightfully deserves.

Reading several news reports, it seams he did not slow for a construction site where 3 lanes funneled into one.

Bail is a means to make sure the defendant shows for trial, it is not and can not be a punishment. If he shows on no bail, none is needed, if jumps on 7million it wasn't enough.

Bail is set by a judge, after consultation with both sides.

Driver had been cited (this fact only mentioned in one news report) for previous logbook Hours of Service violation.

Reduced bail was agreed to for whatever reason, My guess the DUI charge can't stand and that was the reason for high bail.

 Fall asleep or drunk and kill me, I'm dead either way and not sure I care if it was sleep or intoxication  that got me killed.

Again, the carrier is just as complicit in the deal if they are ignoring HOS violations.

I've seen white English speaking drivers fall asleep, go across 6 lanes of traffic and hit the guardrail so hard it knocked the steer axle out from under the tractor, just a miracle no one got hurt in that one. Fatigue is an equal opportunity thief of life. I know many like to brag about how long they have pushed themselves, we've all done it myself included, but I only did it once before I realized I was not making more money and was putting myself and other at risk.

I'm not talking about driving 650 miles in a shift, when the clock ran out at 635, I'm talking about 1000 miles without a break or no sleep (or very little) in 24 hrs.

I guess working a wrecker opens your eyes a bit, and it isn't being tough, macho, or "the man" it is being stupid.

In the above case of the truck knocking the axle out, I was bobtail, and saw it all happen in real time, flipped on my O/D rotator and flashers and skidded to a stop in the median, ran across the 4 lanes expecting to find a driver having a cardiac arrest, only to see him climbing out the passenger door with no idea how or what just happened.