Frazz by Jef Mallett for April 16, 2022

Big pickup drives like a small pickup, but larger trucks do require a different license. These strips seem to be making less sense by the day.

You need a special endorsement for a motorcycle in this state. And a whole different license if you drive for hire (maybe only if it’s big things like buses and semis??). I drove a rentable monster RV around the lot before I decided I didn’t want to do that. The agent told me there was no need to have a special license.

Street signs nod to Wolfgang Pauli…but not sure how a Nobel Prize winner ties in?

Was gonna say, there is this piece of paper called a Commercial Driver’s License. For school buses and trucks over 26’

When one is that young, big thoughts don’t add a lot of weight to one’s philosophy, as they often vanish when another comes along. As one matures, the big thoughts often are modified by experience until they fit one’s ability to take the weight. Reality is the great leveler.

That thought is common sense. You need a license because of the dangers that driving a machine poses. A license that rated you fit to control a Beetle is no proof you are fit for an F650.

Runners use the public right-of-way. They should be licensed, too!

Go look at the cockpit gauges of a Cessna; then go look at the cockpit gauges of a 747. Look at the dashboard of a small pickup truck, then the dashboard of an extended cab Ram pickup with dual rear wheels and an extended bed. There is your answer.

No comment on the street signs? What, are you excluding Pauli?

Not yet. Usually.

I thought you did. At least you used to. If you don’t you should.

The street signs honor a truly Nobel scientist (1945).

Think of this, many/most jobs that involve lots of responsibility require lots of training and or certifications, yet any fool can become a parent.

Big pickups aren’t big enough. The truck has to have a gross vehicle weight rating over 28,000 lbs to require a commercial license.

In some states there are non-commercial CDLs for large RVs and Motorhomes. It is judged by weight.

Wolfgang Pauli street signs. Fantastic.

Generally the different ratings needed to operate an airplane are related to the complexity and difficulty of flying the airplane in question. A high performance single rating is needed because high performance single engined aircraft tend to be sleeker and pick up speed fastern when the nose is dropped, this requires more discipline on the pilot’s part to control the plane’s airspeed. Twin engined aircraft require a special Multi Engine rating because there are special skills required to fly a twin when one engine dies. Things get continually more difficult as the planes become larger and more complex.

There are some difficulties moving from driving a compact car to a large pickup or a high performance car but those differences are not in the same order of magnitude as moving from a Cessna 172 to a Beech Bonanza.

cdl

“Big” pickup trucks aren’t really very big, and are mechanically identical to smaller trucks – and hell, mostly identical to passenger cars. You do need a special licence to drive trucks that are actually different: air brakes, articulation, etc.

What I don’t get, is that you need a special license to drive a semi truck, or even a bus. But any loon with No training, can get behind the wheel of a similar sized ( about 30 + feet) vehicle WITH a tow behind car or large boat.

Because vehicles for private use require different licenses to operate than vehicles for public or commercial use.

The giant pickup idiots around here need a special license to park, they usually take up at least two spots. And if it’s below 50f, the diesels are kept idling. Tough guys indeed.

There are plenty of people driving big pickup trucks that are definitely not capable enough to drive it.

You need a special license to drive a Tractor Trailer Rig.

Heck – in Ohio – you don’t need a license to conceal-carry a gun

CDL? They’re not handing those out in boxes of Cracker Jack, you know.