why is it only truckdrivers/busdrivers have to have CDL's???

Question

for example, people driving RV's should be required to have more than a regular license-have you ever watched one of them??? an RV pulling a trailer, pulling a car!!!!
or people in cars who think we have 18 wheels, so we must have 18 brakes and can stop on a dime!!!
learning how to share the road should be a requirement for everyone.

Answer 1

I am not too worried about it. I know my truck would tear an RV to shreds. I once T-boned a U-haul truck that decided to just merge across 2 lanes from a direct stop on the shoulder...of course no blinker no nothing. I was going about 65 saw him get out into the right lane...didn't see any signs of him straightening his wheel as he came into the middle lane it was either roll it or klobber him. My expierence is it is always better to not swerve for dummys. IF you know you can swerve around a potential hazard without wrecking yourself or someone else than that is encouraged but if there is a slight chance of rollin it or hitting another vehicle just eliminate the hazard. It is a lot easier to explain to the insurance company why you broke a few headlights and bent the bumper on your truck and tottally destroyed the other vehicle. You can simply tell them what happend and when they come out and assess the damages it will be easy to see what happend. Now if I had rolled my truck to avoid the dumb bastard...Do you think he is going to stick around and say that it was his fault. Of course not. So now the insurance companies automatic assumption is you lost control of the vehicle. So now you are out of a truck and just what are you going to tell your contractor about their load. Anyway, dumb bastard took a helicopter ride to the hospital and his dog was killed. But guess what? I got put up for 3 days in a hotel so the authorities could do their investigation replaced my pass side fender and headlight and zip tied the grill and back on down the road. Load shifted but it could have been a hell of a lot worse. As for **** head that caused the whole mess who knows and who cares. I would have only been sorry if he had passengers with him. Luckily he did not.

Answer 2

Car and RV drivers can cause substantial damage in an accident, if they make a mistake. But this is mild compared to the buses and big rigs on the highway. A bus driver can be responsible for 100 passengers on his bus, as well as the general public. The weight of this vehicle is much greater then most RV's.
Truck drivers are in control of a potential "destruction machine" if not handled properly. Most States have a weight limit of approximately 80,000 lbs...some higher with permits. In Western Canada, the weights can go as high as 137,000 lbs...This is a rig consisting of a power unit, pulling 2-53 ft trailers (9 axles-34 tires). Even if these units are allowed by permit only, and restricted to 4-lane highways, they require a lot of experience and tremendous professionalism on the part of the drivers. Much more than handling an RV, don't you think. Furthermore, in Manitoba where I live, an upgraded license is required for any vehicle weighing over 10,000 lbs. So, chances are that a motor home pulling a car would fall in that category, thus requiring a Class 3 license.

Answer 3

You sound like one of us. We all have seen the types you mention and wonder why. The simple answer is there are more of us and our size scares the vocal minority who put controls on us, especially when one of us screws up. Yes, people pulling any kind of trailer should have a trailer endorsement which requires a road test to get and regular written test renewals. The same applies to vehicles longer than a full size car, vehicles subject roll over such as SU? and vans, and vehicles carrying over 100 pounds of cargo, especially in an open box. If they want to pull two trailers behind there vehicle or carry over 8 people then they should have to have the same licencing as a bus or highway train driver.

Oh, and for Kenneth S, so a commercial driver has to go to bed after being up for 14 hours but an office worker can get up a 4 am, commute to work for 9, work till 5 pm, commute home another 2 hours and then drive 4 hours to the cottage total of 19 hours up and they are perfectly safe. We need TDASP (tired drivers against stupid parents).

Answer 4

It is Federal Law. I have always said RV drivers should be made to take special test, to be sure that they are able to handled the vehicle they are operating Some are almost as big as a bus and truck. As far as sharing the road, I believe it is on both sides of the fence. Not any group. And most "4 Wheelers" have no clue as what it takes to operate an 18 wheeler.

Answer 5

CDL = commercial driver's license. this requires drivers to know about thier vehicle. It also requires them to keep a log of what they do. Commercial drivers are on the road a lot more than the average driver. The rules of the CDL keep them from driving extended hrs on the road ...which makes them get some sleep..making the road a safer place.

Don't like it...too bad...it's a good thing.

Answer 6

I agree with everything you say, many people should have more training to drive. Unfortunately laws for CDL's apply only to business drivers ( CDL stands for Commercial Driver's License, as I'm sure that you know, but some others may not ).

Answer 7

MY RULE: Anything BIG and HEAVYand CAN'T STOP and can run over me like a card board box, gets "right of way", If you get into a collision with something a lot heavier than you, you come out 2nd best every time, 2nd best is NOT GOOD ! I give them room, must be a pain in the azz to push those big rigs around, i always give 'em extra room and courtesy

Answer 8

Here is the answer!!!! how many Law makers or Senators drive Buses or the Big Rigs???? How many Law makers or Senators own and drive RVs?
I rest my case!!!!