Is there any legal way to actually transport alcohol for your consumption on a commercial truck?

[Injun]

Empty beer cans also qualify as open containers.

 

[8978]

Empty beer cans also qualify as open containers.

Yes they do!

 

[Blood]

The only way your going to get caught with alcohol in your truck is if it's searched and that's not going to happen unless your in an accident and there's an investigation or a search warrant issued.

OR...
You might get pulled over in Alabama (like my brother did).
And a prick cop might ask if he can search your vehicle (like one did my brother).
And you might tell him to get to get stuffed (like my brother did).
Then he might call a K9 unit and have the handler trigger a false alert (like they did to my brother).
Then, after a 3 hour delay, you'll get to leave (like my brother did).
Unless, of course they find something (like alcohol) in the course of the search.



Not that I like it a damn bit.
I'm just sayin'...
if you embark on this path you had damn well better be prepared for a long, hard journey.
Just in case.

Risk v reward...
I'll pass.

 

[8978]

I'm guessing your brother looks pretty bad in a way that the cops wanted to search his truck?

 

[Blood]

I'm guessing your brother looks pretty bad in a way that the cops wanted to search his truck?

Not at all.

He's the handsome one.



And I dunno WHAT his deal is...
but every G/F he's ever had has contacted him time and again over the years.
We went into a C-store once and some chick asked him to come back after closing.
He said, "I'm married now."
She said, "Me too, but I still like to have fun."

He ran like his ass was on fire and his head was catchin'.
The 'Bama cop was probably jealous.

Butt I digress...
Apparently,
you've led a sheltered life.
AND, the meaning of 'prick cop' eludes you.

But I wish you well...
and come to think of it....
super-size that!!
It's a long way to the water hole.

 

[Duck]

@ariqs You can still have a few beers after a stressful day. You just can't be stupid about it.

Here's what you do:

You park at a truck stop, go in, buy no more beer than you intend to drink. Return to the truck.

If it's after dark, pull the curtains or keep the interior light off so no nosy nitwits who think they're God's gift to law & order call the cops & make trouble for you.

Don't get totally trashed, .. just a few beers, maybe a 6 pack,.. whatever your body can process & get rid of in 8 hours of sleep.

In the morning when you get up, get rid of the empty cans/bottles in a trash can, as well as any beer that you didn't drink, carrying them from the truck to the trash can inside a shopping bag or something. This is why you don't buy any more beer than you intend to drink. You'll be tossing any extra beer in the trash can in the morning. Drink some coffee or water & take a leak. Eat breakfast, etc.

Your BAC level has to be ZERO when you're driving a tractor-trailer. If you drink enough to get a hangover you'll still have some in your blood after 8 hours.

 

[ariqs]

@Duck Yeah, thanks. I understood you the first time. You didn't need to elaborate. I pretty much just have to face palm about how context is ignored in the responses I get around here, and then others, reading those responses, get the wrong idea. Here is my version:

Chronological order:
1. Injun suggests putting it on the outside of the vehicle.
2. Black Knight suggests not drinking any alcohol because of the "risks" of being fired and what not.
3. I reply to this with how little I give a rats ass for being fired and what not for stupid reasons. I have both middle fingers up to stupidity. I hate sheeple/cudlips/pussies that allow bullshit to happen because they don't fight it. "It's easier just to go along." Is half the reason the world sucks. Herd animals and lemmings, go jump off a cliff.
4. Others get the idea that I'm planning to keep the stuff in my sleeper or even drink and drive or something.
5. *Face palm*

If I get a citation for something ridiculous, and an employer is unable to appreciate the idiocy, I have very little desire to work for them anyway. If that pigeon holes me into being a criminal because all of them are that silly, so be it. 0% BAC is just another show of how terrible some people are at discriminating details. We naturally have a BAC that averages (EDIT .03%? verifying this) without drinking or eating anything alcoholic at all. I will not be above natural levels while driving, ever. Drinking and driving is complete idiocy. Equally as retarded is not allowing someone alcoholic beverages in their sleeper for off duty. They have a tool to make sure you're not intoxicated while you're driving that you have no legal right to refuse. They don't need anything else to make sure you're not drinking and driving.

 

[Duck]

4. Others get the idea that I'm planning to keep the stuff in my sleeper or even drink and drive or something.

Well, if you look at the title of this thread, you were asking about transporting alcohol in the cab of the truck.

Black Knight's advice is good. It's best just not to have alcohol in the truck. At least it's not good to make a regular habit of it.

I've only had beer in the truck maybe 3 times in the entire 9 years I've been an OTR driver, not counting the two times I was drinking in somebody else's truck while they were parked at a truck stop 13 miles from my house & I was completely off duty & had a designated driver to bring me home.

The last time I had beer in a CMV was on New Years Day a couple years ago. I think it was the year before last, .. 1/1/12 I think. I had two of the tall 24 oz cans of Bud Lite w/Lime & wished I'd bought 3. On that particular night though, I'd already planned well ahead of time to get the truck off the road by 8 PM and keep it off the road til 10AM so I wouldn't be on the road with all the drunks. So I had 14 hours. The equivalent of 4 beers, plus at least 10 hours of sleep. And I got rid of the empty cans when I went inside the truck stop in the AM for coffee.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

You'd be surprised I'm brokedown here at Road Ranger and they seem to be selling a lot of beer

Whether this brisk suds buisness is locals or truckers well seems to be a mix of both several have taken 6 packs or forties back towards truck parking but if they OFF DUTY then its none of my buisness I guess

No worse than getting it at a gas station. Truck drivers don't buy enough alcohol to make it worth the space in their cooler. They sell it simply because they're also a convenience store & gas station for the locals.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

I used to team drive years ago with a Bourbon drinker he wasn't a drunk just liked to have a glass before bed says it help him sleep

I was uncomfortable with the bottle being in our truck for obvious reasons

In the end We took an empty Lipton Brisk bottle he poured the Whiskey in there and stuck it in the fridge that way it was concealed

I am no alcoholic. I haven't even had any for over 3 months, but after a stressful day, I like to relax with a beer or two. I did a search on this forum to see if it was legal to keep any in your sleeper when you're off duty, and it appears it isn't. (This is total bull****.)

Is there anyway to legally get around that? When the law is this dumb, it just makes people not give a crap about it at all.

 

[Tim]

If you consider a huge fine, potential jail time, forfeiture of your equipment and loss of your livelihood to be BS consequences, go ahead and take your chances.

I've weighed my options before and took the risks, many many times but I wasnt carry a case of booze with me either.

 

[Injun]

Some companies will fire you for drinking a beer with your dinner and then getting into their truck, regardless of whether you are intoxicated or take a can or two back to the truck with you.

I know of one company for sure that will fire you for taking alcohol of any kind (beer) to the motel they put drivers up in while they're waiting for their truck to be repaired, even if the alcohol is inside you already.

Tough business.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

My company clearly states a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY for any alcohol /drug use in Company Equipment or On Company Time even off including 24 hours before even going ON DUTY but I only ever seen one guy get canned but he failed a pee test so that was probably drugs

Some companies will fire you for drinking a beer with your dinner and then getting into their truck, regardless of whether you are intoxicated or take a can or two back to the truck with you.

I know of one company for sure that will fire you for taking alcohol of any kind (beer) to the motel they put drivers up in while they're waiting for their truck to be repaired, even if the alcohol is inside you already.

Tough business.

 

[Rigjockey]

@ariqs Just like everything Duck said. I have bought beer and and had it in my truck on occasion when I had lots of time to be off duty. I grab a few cans, Enjoy them and first thing. I put them in the trash can. ( wasn't me).

The only thing I ever worry about is if some one takes my hood off during the night. Then the cops come out and there I am. Park nose in if you can.

Just be sensible about it, Is all. In Quebec many truck stops have bars in them. The Flying J has two bars in one truck stop. But, That is a different country.

It may be wrong to have a beer or two in your bunk. IMO, being a long haul driver should not make one a second class citizen. If the same driver was a local driver they could go home at night and have a few beers no problem. If the same guy was not a trucker and worked a 9 to 5 same thing.

 

[Rigjockey]

Here is a different side of it for me any way. If I was on my way home for the weekend and I was not going to make the beer store before it closed in my town, I would grab at the duty free. It is not legal to transport it in a commercial vehicle. Customs/Border agents do not enforce the highway traffic acts. ( not their jurisdiction) As long as I declare it I am golden with them.

Now, what about those that do enforce the highway laws. Well fuggem! It's Friday and it is under the bunk unopened and if they cannot accept that then they are just dicks. And very un Canadian.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

@ariqs Just like everything Duck said. I have bought beer and and had it in my truck on occasion when I had lots of time to be off duty. I grab a few cans, Enjoy them and first thing. I put them in the trash can. ( wasn't me).

The only thing I ever worry about is if some one takes my hood off during the night. Then the cops come out and there I am. Park nose in if you can.

Just be sensible about it, Is all. In Quebec many truck stops have bars in them. The Flying J has two bars in one truck stop. But, That is a different country.

It may be wrong to have a beer or two in your bunk. IMO, being a long haul driver should not make one a second class citizen. If the same driver was a local driver they could go home at night and have a few beers no problem. If the same guy was not a trucker and worked a 9 to 5 same thing.

Well thar strategy works only if you are content with a drink or two and that's it

For an alcoholic like myself a drink or two is a CRUEL TEASER when I drink my body just craves more alcohol and I end up on 2/3 day Benders till I get sick

Therefore I only DRINK at home and even then not very often because I cannot control my drinking

Knowing this about myself I completely ABSTAIN from alcohol while in this truck and Not A Drop even if I am laid over for a weekend I still dont buy any PERIOD

 

[Rigjockey]

Well thar strategy works only if you are content with a drink or two and that's it

For an alcoholic like myself a drink or two is a CRUEL TEASER when I drink my body just craves more alcohol and I end up on 2/3 day Benders till I get sick

Therefore I only DRINK at home and even then not very often because I cannot control my drinking

Knowing this about myself I completely ABSTAIN from alcohol while in this truck and Not A Drop even if I am laid over for a weekend I still dont buy any PERIOD

That is a good idea. You know yourself and you are honest with yourself and you abstain on the road. That is admirable.

 

[Blood]

In the end We took an empty Lipton Brisk bottle he poured the Whiskey in there and stuck it in the fridge that way it was concealed

Thanks for ratting me out, prink!!

I actually used to do that.
These days I just totally abstain if I'm on the truck, but that's easy for now since I do two 12 hour shifts and then I'm home.
I was abstaining before I started this deal though.

If I get jammed on the driving thing I'd have to work for a living.
I've tried tried that before...
I'm not a fan.

 

[Duck]

If I get jammed on the driving thing I'd have to work for a living.
I've tried tried that before...
I'm not a fan.

It's no big deal. Just install a bigger engine on the ole' tire re-groover.

 

[Injun]

We naturally have a BAC that averages (EDIT .03%? verifying this) without drinking or eating anything alcoholic at all.

If this is true, then there must be consideration for this built into the breathalyzer. I have been pulled for random alcohol tests by the companies I've worked for and with. I have never blown anything but 0.00.

You have a feisty nature and a strong will to do things your own way. There's nothing wrong with that. But you are considering entry into a profession that is one of the most highly regulated and closely scrutinized in existence. I didn't have such intrusion even 1/10th of the time when I was an EMT as I do truckin'. I was directly responsible for people's lives while responding to medical emergencies. All I do now is move stuff from one place to another. Yet, the guv'mint at all levels is so far up my ass there's red tape hanging out my left nostril.

If you are planning on giving the bird to and fighting every regulation, rule and guideline we are subject to, you'll be so busy for the next 20 years you'll never drive a mile.

Don't get mad at us for answering your questions. Some of us may make errors, like I did when I thought you could transport as long as you couldn't get to it from inside the cab. (Thank you, @Blood for the correction and reference.) I didn't know the exact answer because it's not a regulation that has or ever will affect me. I learned something.

Pretty much, if you have a question about a regulation, you can figure you won't like the answer. Please don't kill the messenger.