Mortal coil endorsement
During my 16&1/2 year career of driving bus for Regional Transit Service (RTS — the transit-bus operator in Rochester, NY), the CDL (Commercial Driver License) program went into effect, requiring me to get a CDL.
As I recall, I was “grandfathered” into a CDL, since I had already driven bus a number of years, Class B, which I guess was carrying passengers.
That is, I wasn’t required to take tests, or otherwise jump through hoops, to get my CDL.
Anyone desiring a CDL nowadays has to have instruction, I guess.
Although I had instruction in driving bus. —RTS had a class.
The main thing was awareness of the length of your vehicle.
We’re talking about a 33-foot wheelbase.
What mattered was accurately placing your rear wheels, which were always inside your fronts in a corner.
Otherwise you were clipping curbs and taking out phone-poles.
This was especially true of our articulated (“bendable”) buses, on which the trailer steered.
Not pay attention, and your trailer bopped cars in the adjacent lane. —I saw it happen once; the bus driver was oblivious.
A stroke in October of 1993 ended my bus-driving with a bang, but I still had my CDL.
A while ago my Driver’s License came up for renewal, and I was concerned about whether it should be a CDL.
Slam-dunk! “No problem,” the Department of Motor Vehicles said. They renewed it as a CDL.
My license is up for renewal in a month, and again I don’t need a CDL.
This time New York State, in its infinite wisdom, had instituted multiple hoops.
Not that I care. I don’t need a CDL any more.
An envelope arrived with multiple forms, and a mountain of gibberish, for renewing a CDL; an eye-test, certification of health, etc.
I remember years ago I had opportunity to add a haz-mat endorsement to my CDL.
I never pursued it, since passengers weren’t hazardous material, at least not by state definition.
Now there’s a form for metal-coil endorsement — led me to question whether there’s a “mortal coil endorsement.”
What’s next? A “spaghetti endorsement,” for hauling spaghetti? (“Your license will be marked with an ‘S.’”)
• For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service, the transit-bus operator in Rochester, NY. My stroke October 26, 1993 ended that.
• An “articulated bus” was a two-section (“bendable”) bus powered by one motor. The second section was a trailer connected to the first section by drawbar/bellows. It had a single driver. —The motor was in the first section. (They were my favorite ride.)
As I recall, I was “grandfathered” into a CDL, since I had already driven bus a number of years, Class B, which I guess was carrying passengers.
That is, I wasn’t required to take tests, or otherwise jump through hoops, to get my CDL.
Anyone desiring a CDL nowadays has to have instruction, I guess.
Although I had instruction in driving bus. —RTS had a class.
The main thing was awareness of the length of your vehicle.
We’re talking about a 33-foot wheelbase.
What mattered was accurately placing your rear wheels, which were always inside your fronts in a corner.
Otherwise you were clipping curbs and taking out phone-poles.
This was especially true of our articulated (“bendable”) buses, on which the trailer steered.
Not pay attention, and your trailer bopped cars in the adjacent lane. —I saw it happen once; the bus driver was oblivious.
A stroke in October of 1993 ended my bus-driving with a bang, but I still had my CDL.
A while ago my Driver’s License came up for renewal, and I was concerned about whether it should be a CDL.
Slam-dunk! “No problem,” the Department of Motor Vehicles said. They renewed it as a CDL.
My license is up for renewal in a month, and again I don’t need a CDL.
This time New York State, in its infinite wisdom, had instituted multiple hoops.
Not that I care. I don’t need a CDL any more.
An envelope arrived with multiple forms, and a mountain of gibberish, for renewing a CDL; an eye-test, certification of health, etc.
I remember years ago I had opportunity to add a haz-mat endorsement to my CDL.
I never pursued it, since passengers weren’t hazardous material, at least not by state definition.
Now there’s a form for metal-coil endorsement — led me to question whether there’s a “mortal coil endorsement.”
What’s next? A “spaghetti endorsement,” for hauling spaghetti? (“Your license will be marked with an ‘S.’”)
• For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service, the transit-bus operator in Rochester, NY. My stroke October 26, 1993 ended that.
• An “articulated bus” was a two-section (“bendable”) bus powered by one motor. The second section was a trailer connected to the first section by drawbar/bellows. It had a single driver. —The motor was in the first section. (They were my favorite ride.)
posted by BobbaLew at 9:05 AM
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