General Music Chat

For those who dont know Ive been out of the country for a couple of weeks, left on Sept 23rd to be exact.

I have a CDL license. With Has Mat all the bells and whistles.

Back in august I was informed thru TSA that for the Homeland Security, I had to give them a copy of my Health Card(with a CDL you have to get a checkup every 2 years). So on August 27th I got my exam, then on Aug 28th mailed it in. Ussually when I mail anything like this I send it certified and ask for a signature. This time I didnt.

So last night Im going thru my mail and got a letter from them saying that since I didnt send them my Checkup information that as of Sept 21st my license is no longer valid and that I have to turn it in within 20 days.

I presented my license at Charllotte Airport along with my Passport before I flew out of the country on Sept 23rd, if my license was invalidated by TSA on Sept 21st, shouldnt that have raised some osrt of red flag in the system.

Of course Im glad they didnt catch it and stop me from my trip, but I just have to vent this morning, cause its just another little freedom being stripped from me, and I have to prove my own innocense in this.

Everyone have a great day!

Don't know what Homeland Security would have to do with your CDL - that's the DOT, and the health exam is part of those renewal requirements.
TSA has nothing to do with that at all, sounds like you were getting hosed, John. You don't need a CDL to travel outside the country, but you do need a passport!

WTF is going on down there, JW?

Mike the letter is from State Of TN Department Of Safety and Homeland Security.

TSA is in charge of issues with passenger and frieght moved around the country.

I would think that my passport or my license would send up a red flag in the system, being my CDL Status was cancelled prior to me leaving or reentering the country.

Yes I dont have to have a CDL to leave or come back, but you would think from the agencys involved there would be some relationship between the two.

I left a message for them to call back, this letter says I basically have 20 to surrender my license and will be required to pay a $75 reinstatement fee.

So far this year I retook the HAZ MAT portion of the license, had to go to another facility and be finger printed for a back ground check, and now every two years when I get my physical have to render it too the government or pay another fee.

What the f**k are we coming too.

Must be a 'south of the Mason-Dixon' thing! Looks like in Tennessee, the 'Dept of Safety (and Homeland Security)' handles CDLs. States wiht higher populations have separate departments for these things.

As long as you are not flying the plane TSA doesn't care if your CDL physical is expired (govt workers- not their job). Their only concern is that you are who you are supposed to be and you are not boarding the plane with ordinance. If you cross a border while hauling hazmat with an expired CDL you will probably get a much more serious response.

Yea I actually lost my temper on the phone.

That lady says you never mail something like this, in the past I have always certified things like this I guess since I mailed it a month in advance I just didnt think it thru. Now I have to prove I mailed something, that I didnt certify. Should be fun.

John... In NY they asked for my med cert. I've had to show it to renew all my hazmat qualifications.

Mind you I'm very unhappy with the letter I received from MY GOVERNMENT.

IF YOU DO NOT SEND US A COPY OF YOUR MED CERT, YOU WIL LOSE YOUR LICENSE, and BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES!!!!!

This is MY GOVERNMENT?

Threaten an honest taxpaying citizen?

OUT OF CONTROL!!!

I suppose you all have heard of the heroic TSA VIPER teams? They are doing random checks on some highways (pilot in TN IRRC) and hassling people on Greyhound busses.

This place, this joke of a country, has become a simmering pot close to boiling.

Just before 911 a slovenly sad sack sec guard at Hartsfield in Atlanta was giving me a blast of sh*t because the back brace I wear when I fly popped the metal detector. I took one look at him and told him: "You are a disgrace to that uniform and I will not talk to you. Get a supervisor. Now!"

If I had done that a couple months later I'd still be in a jail. So I rarely fly. That temper can be a liability. However, with VIPER, the risk level just went up. For them as well as me. This is the south and take to that sh*t.

Talbot

Glenny I know you drive and maybe have some other drivers, make sure when you send in the MedCert that you mail it certified and get a signature, seriously.

I had the honor of surrendering my license today, if I had waited one more day there would have been a $75 dollar charge. I explained to everyone on the phone and in person, that my card was current, in fact my MED CERT(health card to me) was dated 08-27-13, my cutoff date was 09-20-13, so its obvious from that that I wasnt out of compliance, but by sending it thru the mail without ceritification, Im sh*t out of luck.

So I have to go back thru our DMV and basically re-apply for the license Ive had since I was 21 yrs old, I have to go thru the HAZ MAT process again, take the test and get fingerprinted again, now mind you I did this just 8 monthes ago.

I was saying one of my eployees got the same letter yesterday, however he had waited til the last minute to get his test, so in the office we faxed it and still have a copy of the fax. When we called the office about this they said we didnt get his info, so we gave them the fax info and magically 2 minutes later he was cleared with no other issues.

I imagine based on how many people were waiting with me today, that there is gonna be a lot of CDL drivers running around in TN the next few monthes with cancelled license, just seems like a big money grab to me.

The HAZ deal is $86.50, Im not sure what re-applying for my license is I would imagine around $100, plus I could have had to pay $75 more if I hadnt dealt with it today, but the bad thing to me is the time involved to deal with it, I literally have to visit 3 different locations that are no where near each other to get this straightened out. So I figure a full 10-12 hours of dealing with this, plus just the general BS.

You can bet your sweet ass if I mail anything like this again, Im going ceritified with a signature card attached.

John, I feel your frustration, and it only adds fuel to the fire.

I can not tell you how many times I have had MY government come back at me with a "GOTCHA" only to force me to show a return receipt request, signed by some little government moron that misplaced required documents.

I really understand the frustration from the senseless crap our government just put you through.

Imagine that frustration from people that don't have your intelligence or common sense.

I've said it before... We are reaching an era of governmental disobedience...
We are reaching a point where our government is moving in a direction, that makes the government more important than the people it is SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING FOR.

Sorry you went through that crap John.

Glenny Im cool, honestly I dont really have to have the license anymore, but Ive always maintained in in case I need to drive something.

I just wanted to give anyone here with a CDL a headsup so they dont have to deal with this.

Ive had a CDL since I was 21 years old, I got it suspended way back in the day, because I like to drive too fast, but in the past 15 years I havent had any issues at all, always kept my health card current, so its just frustrating.

But from now on, I will make sure i have solid proof that i sent something like this in.

John, I'm not cool with that at all. It may just be the tip of the iceberg that only proves out GOVERNMENTAL DISOBEDIENCE. You did nothing wrong but still you are given a little slap on the hand. This is our government, NOT their government.

During this shut down and debt limit battle, OUR GOVERNMENT has shut down the WW2 outside memorial. You mean the very people that fought for and payed for with blood and courage and their tax dollars are being rebuked and shown how worthless they are in this era. How disrespectful.

I went down to a state beach that borders a "national beach" for a walk. When I crossed the "border" I was confronted by the national police that warned me I faced arrest if i did not return to the state side of the national seashore. Is this the land of freedom so many people have voted for????

When I got my pistol license it took over 9 months to verify the very same information from the very same agencies that control my hazmat.

So why is it that congress is protected if they buy stocks on insider information? I would be committing a crime. So why is it that Feinstein, Schumer, and Bloomberg have total access to firearms but are such vocal opponents to my personal access? Why is it that congress and staff are exempting themselves from all the law of this health care bill? Why are we spending $250 a month on emergency phones, when my phone only cost's $15 a month.

I'm disgusted with the stupidity of any one who has voted in all this government that feels so empowered to control and protect their own welfare above the people they are supposed to serve.

Welcome to the world of GOVERNMENTAL DISOBEDIENCE!