10-4 Magazine / August 2025 51 USA or under questionable programs? There is an argument for unified or at least minimum qualifications and I’m all for equal opportunities, but only within reason, and not at the cost of safety. I mention this because I needed to renew my CDL this year. After years of driving and tons of experience, I still got the drivers manual out and brushed up on the test questions. And it never fails – there are a few questions that can have more than one correct answer, but the test administrators are just looking for the “book” answer. It is amazing how much we think we know, but when the time comes, we can’t recall the correct answer. That’s when we should be relying on experience. The last time I had to renew my license, they offered the test in over 20 different languages. Really? Our road signs aren’t in 20 different languages, they are in English. Our DOT officers don’t speak 20 different languages, so let’s see if we can’t simplify the whole process. I for one completely agree with our president – the official language of the United States is English, and all of our road signs are in English, so every commercial driver must have a basic ability to understand those signs… for safety’s sake. They must also be able to interact with law enforcement, either by conveying concerns or relaying vital information, in the event of some kind of an emergency. This just makes common sense. Is that asking too much? When I went to renew my CDL, I was a little nervous about the test since I don’t use an electronic logging device. I was not sure if there would be questions about ELDs on a normal CDL driver’s test. That’s right, you read this correctly. I registered with my secretary of state, made an appointment to be tested, and then presented myself with a current CDL to the administrator at the time of testing. Like I said earlier, I was a little apprehensive about the test, as I am getting older and sometimes my memory doesn’t keep up with my ambitions. A sure sign of aging is when a person starts carrying a notebook for daily assignments. I like to refer to it as my personal mileage book – it tells me where I have been and how long it took me to get there. The reality is, when I got to the counter the administrator never even looked up. He asked for my license and told me to read the top line of the eye chart. I had difficulty the first time, since I wear glasses with corrective lenses, so he told me to put them back on. I read that top line and he looked up and asked, “Cash or check?” After paying my $85, he said, “Here you go. Your new license will arrive by mail in 10 to 15 days.” That was the whole ordeal. There was not one single question on anything to do with trucking. Now, to be fair, I have had a commercial license since before the introduction of the CDL. My first chauffeur’s license was issued in 1979, and I had a military license as early as 1976. Before that, I had a farm license, issued by the county, to operate farm equipment of all sizes. It may be hard to comprehend, but 14 year old kids were driving grain trucks and trailers to school during harvest season to deliver crops at the local elevators. There have been times during my tenure where the record of my driving exploits read out like the “Who’s Who” of motorsports, but that was a long time ago, and I have gotten over the “how fast those trucks will go” thing. At present, my driving record is clean, or at least it doesn’t show any adverse infractions. I have been reassured that the state did look at my previous records and credited me for safe operating, therefore no test was required. But I am still a bit perplexed about not testing drivers when a written test could point out deficiencies in training or experience level. Too many drivers have been licensed overseas and transfer here to advance their driving careers or for monetary gains. However, the difference between driving in Eastern
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