All right. Not sure how if this was mentioned before, but I was just browsing along and came across a proposal a few years back to pilot a program to let CDL holders under 21 drive interstate. There were increased schooling and training requirements, etc, but of course the proposal was canked because those of us under 21 just aren't mature.
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Am I saying that the rest of my generation is that mature? No, but at the same time, most of them don't come close to the driving experience that I've had. And experience can only come with that... experience. I know how my pickup handles at highway speed. I know that a rig will handle differently, and I won't know what to expect until I get there. But with the additional training period, with the idea of safety being impressed upon those who feel this is the career for them, they will be far more mature and capable than those in the same age group who are simply licensed without any real driving course.
As for myself, I was working 9pm to 5am on my own at a convenience store from 16 til I turned 18. Most of my time driving on my permit was in the middle of winter at night, or when summer came, on the highway going up to my cottage. Now I live a good 10 hours from home and usually wind up making the drive home and back about once a month. I know my own limits, I know the limits of my vehicle. I respect both, because that's how I was taught. I don't see any other person seriously thinking of truck driving looking at it any other way.