Commuting - Commercial Driver's Liscense?

Does anyone else here ride a bike to work only to drive the biggest, ugliest, and smelliest vehicles on the road? I find it mildly (very mildly) amusing when a-holes go ripping by treating me like a bum when I am much more qualified to be behind the wheel than they are. That's my 30 second rant. Any other CDL drivers here? BTW I'm just a relief driver for the company I work for. If I was a driver full time I couldn't be on bike forum for 3 hours a day at work.

How exactly are they "treating you like a bum"?

I had to get my CDL to drive the bus in college... that was a pretty cool part time job.

How exactly are they "treating you like a bum"?
Oh you know, just general stuff that we all experience. Buzzing me and then swerving for manhole covers, yelling sh&t as they drive by. Just the regular stuff.

That's not "regular stuff" where I come from -- here it seems like people who drive for a living are m ore courteous than usual, not less.

That's right, Bat. He wasn't complaining about the people who had the CDLs. He was remarking that it amused him to have people dis him while he was on his bike, not knowing that he held a CDL and was probably far more qualified to operate a motor vehicle than they were.

I think it's called irony.

I don't have a CDL and never did, but I used to drive pretty much all the time when I was an employee of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 8 hours/day, 5 days/week driving around the refuge. I had second shift, so I got to enjoy the sunsets and people coming out for evening picniks, swimming and boating, or just plain having fun. Best minimum wage job I ever had.

That's not "regular stuff" where I come from -- here it seems like people who drive for a living are m ore courteous than usual, not less.

missing the point again.

I think it's called irony.

That's what I was looking for. thanks :-)

A few weeks back I passed a tractor (minus trailer) that had a bike strapped to the back of the cab. I thought it was pretty cool.

A few weeks back I passed a tractor (minus trailer) that had a bike strapped to the back of the cab. I thought it was pretty cool.

+1. I've seen that too! Nice C'dale road bike w/ clip on aeros. cool truck driver.

My dad basically has that job, bikes to work, then drives work trucks around campus and out where they need to go to do projects. The main ride is a 1980's Air Force Surplus dumptruck, it's quite loud. Learned to drive stick on it, though. No CDL's needed, but they are definitely big, not fuel efficient trucks.

I drive a truck for a living. A garbage truck. I find it funny that on my way to and from work, I have to work hard to keep the idiots from killing me, then when I'm at work, I have to work just as hard trying to keep the same idiots from killing themselves under my truck! The things people do with their cars just amazes me. On a side note, years ago when I was learning to drive trucks, the guy who trained me to get my class A license kept a bmx bike behind the cab of the tractor. He liked to ride whenever he had down time. He raced bmx and could realy ride that bike.

I drive a school bus, going on 5 years now. I carry my R20 folding bike behind the rear seat of the the bus. The kids love when I open it up and show it to them while we wait at the school.

I always look out for cyclist and on several occasions hung back until there was at least 4 ft of clearance to safely pass the rider.

I always marvel at the stupid things people do around trucks. In particular, I would never hang out in the left lane next to one for any longer than I have to.

Ever hear that Hank Snow song, "I've been everywhere"? I've been an over the road driver and trainer for 34 of the past 38 years. I've logged somewhere between 3 and 4 million miles watching the landscape go by through the windshields of Macks, Fords, Peterbilts, Kenworths, etc. etc.
I'm back at it again, albeit part time, after closing down my lbs at the end of last year.
When I ran coast to coast, I carried a bike with me and rode it every chance I got.
I've mostly been happy with the treatment I recieve from my fellow gearjammers when I'm on my bike, but I have had a few encounters with some I would not recognize as professionals.
Needless to say, I always extend the utmost courtesy and care while passing my fellow cyclists.

CDL holder here. I may let it go at the end of the year. NC is getting stupid with the requirements...again. Drove an oil tanker for a while, latest use has been the occasional load of gravel for my wife's uncle...and one trip in a 12 yard cement mixer:rolleyes: (now that is a beast of a truck! all axle drive with a 4 over 5 tranny and a high/low)

Aaron:)

You bike to work and then drive a big truck.
I bike to work and repair big trucks.

Here's irony-I bike to work and drive a fuel truck. Plus, I don't ever use any of my monthly personal fuel alotment. :thumb:

missing the point again.

So who died and made you Miss Connie of this Romper Room? Go take a ride and get over whatever's itching you today already.

So who died and made you Miss Connie of this Romper Room? Go take a ride and get over whatever's itching you today already.

Ahhhh little brown bat..... you make my butt itch.

Here's irony-I bike to work and drive a fuel truck. Plus, I don't ever use any of my monthly personal fuel alotment. :thumb:
That's funny. I wouldn't mind getting my hazmat and tanker endorsements. I think that would be a good job.

I drive a Coke truck. Just started bikin to work this week.

Ever hear that Hank Snow song, "I've been everywhere"? I've been an over the road driver and trainer for 34 of the past 38 years. I've logged somewhere between 3 and 4 million miles watching the landscape go by through the windshields of Macks, Fords, Peterbilts, Kenworths, etc. etc.:twitchy: woah



I've mostly been happy with the treatment I recieve from my fellow gearjammers when I'm on my bike, but I have had a few encounters with some I would not recognize as professionals.

I'm trying to figure out why the ones that drive past my house give me just about zero room -- particularly the giant dump trucks that are coming from the quarry but I have no idea where they are going. But in general, I've been happy about how much room I get from trucks.

So anyway -- what exactly do you do to obtain a CDL? What's the testing like, etc?

So anyway -- what exactly do you do to obtain a CDL? What's the testing like, etc?
Well, I don't know about other jurisdictions, but Here in Ontario the aquisition of a CDL can be accompished by one of three ways. In each case, the first step is a medical exam. This is to ensure the candidate meets a minimum requirement for overall health and fitness.
The second step is a written exam to demonstrate knowlege of basic rules of the road as well as rules specific to commercial vehicles. There is also a segment on air brakes.
The third step is a practical demonstration of proficiency, or, road test. This includes a pre trip inspection, an air brake inspection, and a driving test.
The most common proceedure for this is to take training from an accredited driver training school, and at the end of the training, take the test at a Ministry of Transport examination centre.
The second route is to take the training from a community college that has a MOT signing authority. At the successful completion of training, and passing the road test, the college can upgrade your license.
It's worth stressing that a CDL is a license upgrade, meaning you must have a valid car license to start with.
The third option is to take training from a transport company that has a signing authority. The process is similar to the comunity college, but the training is more real world and on the job.
I worked as a trainer at a school back in the 80s for a couple of years, and the training recieved by our students was very basic. It amounted to steerin and gearin around town in the daylight with empty trailers. Basically, we taught them how to pass an MOT road test, and not much more.
Whatever the route taken to a CDL, the real training is on the job after the license is aquired. Most large fleets, including the one I am now working for, have a finishing program for new drivers. This entails having the newly licensed driver work with an in cab trainer for a period of one or two months to develop their proficiency.
Even in these lean times, the industry is still looking for drivers. It's not a bad qualification to hold.

I got my training on the job. I learned from a dude that has driven 30 years. Even in some stressful times for me he was calm and cool. When I'd be sitting at a green light grinding the gears to start he wouldn't even break a sweat. 'Twas a very good experience. With my generation (20 somethings) moving to tech stuff, I think it's safe to say there is a place behind the wheel if things get rough out there. That's why I did it. A backup plan you can say.

I used to drive a big truck on occasion in my previous job. (18 speed eaton fuller transmission). I always found it amusing how cars would treat a big truck kind've like a bicycle. ie the old 'must pass slower vehicle without any regard to external factors'. External factors like a red light in 200' swerving in and slamming on the brakes.

Never got a CDL, but one of my first summer jobs after getting my drivers license (15 1/2) was driving trucks for wheat harvest (MT also....Hi Line....Chinook.....where are you at Destikon?). I would bike about five miles to the farm and drive the trucks from there.

Not semis, but old clunkers that required double shifting.

Chinook? Holy smokes. That's the capital of nowhere :-) I live in Billings but have been up there plenty. The hi line from ND to Havre and back down. There is no more of a boring stretch of a road than there.