Comments By Jamal S.

I'm heading to Richmond for orientation with Western Express in a little over a week and I'm excited, but also a bit anxious. I know there will be others with me who might not even go on to training- I hope I'm not among them.

I just received my Class A CDL and have my DOT medical card. When I did the physical for the DOT card they said everything looked good.

Now I'm reading they'll do a long physical at orientation. I'm not exactly sure what this will involve or if it's just for flatbed. I decided to start with van and then maybe try flatbed or refer after learning the ropes. For 49 years I'm in pretty good shape. I have elevated cholesterol- apparently something fairly common in my age group. I don't take medication for it. Instead I try to keep it under control with a high fiber vegetarian diet.

I also have mild arthritis in my neck. The doctor who examined me a few years back told me that this too is normal for my age.

What concerns me most, is a scapular injury I got from surfing about 7 years ago. My scapula now "snaps" when I move it certain ways. There's scar tissue built up around the area which at times causes nerve pain. I also have some lower back problems- nothing major but they did show up on an x-ray.

None of these things keep me from leading a normal active lifestyle. However, there are certain activities I can't do anymore, like surfing, without experiencing some pain.

I do manage to hold down a part time job at a sawmill where I'm lifting heavy pieces of lumber with no problem. I know how to lift heavy objects without causing injury. None of my health concerns interfere with my ability to drive. I don't have diabetes or high blood pressure. I never had a heart attack, stroke, or seizure.

Should I be worried I'll fail a physical? And, since I already have my DOT card will I still need to do another physical? I opted out of doing flatbed for now, so I won't be doing any tarping it strapping. Otherwise I think I'm in fit enough to work in trucking.

So I've been doing a good bit of research on the web and at some point this week I'm going to head down to the Love's in Clifton Forge to try to talk to some drivers face to face.

Hopefully I might be able to get some good pointers and insights into what I can expect while I'm training and when I go solo. I know there's a lot of negativity about the company circulating around the internet and I might encounter the same attitudes in person. But I'm also expecting to find people with entirely different attitudes about the company than all the incoherent rants I've seen.

Western Express is the company that will give me a chance and I'm grateful to have it. I'm not going to find the ideal company. Instead I'm going to have make this one work and give it all I've got. It's not going to be easy. I'm going to make a lot of mistakes. Hopefully I'll get through my first year with my dog at my side.

If I can't get back to my house in PR as soon as I'd like, or I'm stuck in the Northeast for the first three months, I'm just going to have to make make the most of what I'm given. I'm optimistic that with a lot of hard work, dedication, and patience, it will pay off.

G-Town,

I did check out those links! They're very informative.

Old School's posts are some of the most interesting reads on here. I didn't even realize he drove for Western Express until I did some research on Prime.

Honestly, it was Old School's comment mentioning his experience with Western Express that made me even consider the company.

I've heard mostly negative things about Western Express but honestly I think it has a lot to do with the fact that they are willing to hire just about anyone which means a higher percentage of new recruits don't make the cut and go on to bash the company.

The instructiors at my school.. all of whom had long careers in the industry, never had anything negative to say about a single company. I thought that was odd at first but I realized the consensus among them was that it all comes down to the driver.

Just out of curiosity, what will your starting pay be according to the recruiter?

According to the Recruiter:

$650 a week after orientation which is supposed to cover three meals and lodging.

Once I'm solo, $.40 per mile. After three months, $.47 per mile.

If I decided to do flatbed it would be higher but I decided to start with van to get a feel for it.

I take everything a recruiter says with a grain of salt.

Yes, the hair follicle test was another reason I considered the company. You suggested in the last thread I should consider companies that only do UA. Western Express and Prime were two such companies I found. They also allow pets. Prime would have been my first choice. Unfortunately they aren't an option.

I'm pretty confident I could pass a follicle test but I don't want to take a chance so I'm going to wait. Plus I'm getting my own test done.

I've said a lot in these forums and in doing so opened myself up for criticism. I'm fine with that. I could do a better job streamlining my posts. But, it would be nice if someone who knows the company could answer some of the questions I have regarding Western Express..

I understand completely. I'm definitely not one who believes in shortcuts or cutting corners. Unfortunately in this case, I don't have a lot of options.

For this very reason, I wanted to go with Prime, who would have me team with a trainer for 3 months. My folks said there was no way they'd look after my dog for that long. As luck would have it, the recruiter I talked to at Prime told me they weren't hiring new drivers at this time..

As I stated earlier, my house is on an island 1000 miles from the closest truck terminal even though officially I'm a Virginia resident. This is just one of many logistical challenges I'm going to have in this job that don't involve driving a truck.

I'm just in a very unusual and urgent situation with not much leeway, so I have no choice but to make do with whatever options I have. However, In the last decade I've had to do a lot of improvising and rise to the occasion in a crisis.

Aside from having a Class A CDL, I have no experience in trucking. I don't expect learning to be easy, I don't expect to make a lot of money in my first year, and I understand I might not make it.

However, I've seen a good bit in my 49 years and if I didn't think trucking was a good fit, I wouldn't have entertained the idea to begin with. I've worked some pretty grim and dangerous jobs that demanded doing the impossible. I've worked in transportation and have done jobs that required driving all over a state or region. I drove a taxi in San Juan during the aftermath of one of the worst natural disaster the place had seen in a century. I honestly didn't think I'd survive it. I've done foreclosure property maintenance which was just as bad in certain ways. I did census work. All of these jobs required a lot of traveling, extreme attention to detail, meticulous record keeping, navigation skills, no shortage of hazards and hidden dangers, and they were all physically exhausting with long hours and little sleep aforded.

With that said, I will find out what I'm made of in due time I suppose. Like I said, I'd much rather be on a truck with a trainer for longer than 2 weeks but that isn't an option.. neither is going back to Puerto Rico.

I'm sure I'll be on here asking for a lot of advice in the coming months but for right now, I'd just like to know more about Western Express...

The main reason, and I know a lot of veterans will tell me is a bad reason, is this:

Western Express will have me out with a trainer, on my own truck, and back at my parents' house in considerably less time than pretty much any other company.

I know less training time = going solo without knowing the ropes = more opportunities to screw up and then have to figure it out without help.

I frankly don't like the idea, BUT, it comes down to the dog. My parents want me and my dog out ASAP, I have no place to keep her, no money to have her boarded, and nobody to take care of her except my folks who've agreed, begrudgingly, to a few weeks max. I've weighed my options extensively but it appears there's no easy solution.

Once I get the training taken care of and drive for Western Express for a while.. which might work out, switching to a company that could better accommodate my needs would be then on the table.. but for now that's not an option.

Greetings,

If all goes as planned, I'm set to head to Richmond, VA in 2 weeks for orientation and training.

I've decided to go with Western Express for a number of reasons but might change companies down the road if they don't meet certain basic criteria.

First, I have a dog. The recruiter informed me they no longer have a pet policy. My immediate reaction to this was that they don't allow pets. She reassured me the company's policy is they allow pets to travel with a driver after training but currently there is no longer a pet deposit required as well as no breed or weight restrictions. I thought this sounded too good to be true so I had her email me written text from the company's website clarifying the matter.

My second concern is regarding home time. I've read a number of driver reviews and threads that say this is not one of the company's strong points. The recruiter did say that I can expect to be out for about 10 days but can stay out as long as I want. Resets DO count towards home time. It's also advisable to request home time no less than one week in advance which seems pretty standard for the industry. I anticipate having to request home time multiple weeks in advance and for earlier that I plan to actually arrive at whatever destination I will take my days off.

I mentioned I have a house in Puerto Rico that I need to check up on every so often which would require a few days.. ideally a week if possible. She said if I arranged it with my fleet manager ahead of time, taking a few extra days if is often not a problem. This part I did not get in writing as I'm expecting it to come down to the luck of the draw. She also said Western Express does have a terminal in Jacksonville, FL where I'd be able to jump on a quick flight to PR.

The last concern involves where I'll be driving when I do solo OTR. I would like to drive more out west. My grandmother, who's in her 90s lives in Fort Worth, TX. I would like to see her at least once while she's still on this earth. I also have family in California I'd like to see. I'm considering relocating to that state or possibly Arizona.

However, since my official residence is in Virginia, the recruiter said I would be pretty much limited to running east of the Mississippi. I understand most freight runs on this side of the country.. especially in the Northeast so it doesn't surprise me, but consistent runs out west would make me a lot happier.

If there are any Western Express drivers out there who'd be willing to offer some input, that would be a great help....

Man, my heart goes out to you. I hope you can get this straightened out without having to wait a number of years before you can get hired.

Being in a similar pickle myself, I can totally relate. Fortunately for me, I may have caught the mistake early enough to not have it affect my DAC since I haven't yet done a follicle test.

In a perfect world what you did two years ago shouldn't necessarily have any bearing on how you act today.. since how you act today is what actually matters.

Unfortunately the world is far from perfect, or fair for that matter, and people sometimes fall through the cracks of a system, that ironically, has rules to serve the greater good.

I agree with Zen Joker in that honesty and transparency in this process is absolutely mandatory. I doubted that yesterday, but my honesty may have saved me. At this point in your situation it certainly WON'T hurt you.

It might be of benefit to have as much information in your arsenal as you can gather. I'm not exactly sure what your rights are. If you can get a written statement from the lab explaining the process that was used, and the age of the hair sample analyzed as evidence you're a responsible, intelligent, and honest person who simply made a mistake, the next time(s) you speak to a human recruiter you still might have a chance.

Perhaps things are in some ways tougher these days for people who are new to an industry like trucking. In our electronic age so much is transparent.. we have less privacy and things we do and say follow us around forever.

In your case the company you applied to found out what you were doing two years ago. As invasive as that may be, they know and you didn't mention it.. so it's on you to right it one way or the other.

We didn't realize how difficult this process is to navigate. But this is also a job where one stupid move could cost lives.. so hopefully, THIS will be the worst mistake we make in our trucking careers.

I never considered HIPPA.. that's a really good point.

So a private test is not something a company would ever have access to without my consent, but what about a company ordered test that I DID give written consent to?

Monday is when I'm supposed to be present at the lab facility designated by the company to whom I gave my written consent to collect urine and hair samples to be tested.

The recruiter was supposed to have stopped the application process as this company will not be hiring me. It does appear, however, the recruiter may have failed to notify the lab that I'm no longer an applicant to the company.

This is where my point of concern lies; if I do not show up to test at this facility at the scheduled time will it count as a refusal?

If so, will other companies be able to access THAT information?

Am I now, or after the date of the company ordered screening I consented to, required to say on an application that I refused to take a company pre-employment drug test?

Given I have also decided for other reasons that better prospects lie elsewhere, and don't wish to continue applying to this company, I would now be obligated to not only travel over 100 miles round trip, but also pick up the tab on whatever the lab costs would be. My estimate is that it would be somewhere upwards of $400-$500 with no company reimbursement.

I've given this company consent to have samples of my hair and urine collected and analyzed by this lab and those results they have access to but I'm no longer an applicant.

I'm not exactly sure what my rights are, or if HIPPA still applies in this case. I gave written consent to have my body tested but the employment application is now (supposedly) voided.... And what about a no-show?

Neither the lab workers nor the workers at the company where I applied are law enforcement officers so I'm not sure if the same law applies where if I refuse to be tested for the presence of a substance in my system if I'm operating a vehicle, it's legally the equivalent of testing positive.

Really not sure how any of this works or how it will play out.

The only thing I've got going for me now is that I've already applied to another company that only does urine tests, and at the time of the application had not ever refused to take a drug test.

I hope I'm not making this more confusing than it needs to be.

Thanks,

That's very good advice, and I'm glad to know I'm on the right path by doing a private test. I will definitely keep those results to myself. I'm anticipating a negative test for all panels but I think it's better to play it safe.

A friend of mine who was a habitual cannabis user went clean for a year before applying to any companies. In his case passing a drug test was the most relevant aspect of the hiring process.

I wish I had given it the same attention. Now I'm paying the price. I'm hoping if I play my cards right, this will be a valuable learning experience at the most and not a death sentence for my trucking career.

At this point I'm doing some intensive damage control. I'm going to pay for a private test which will coincide within a day of the date of my pre-employment test.

I'm a bit worried that by not even taking the pre-employment drug test, it will be counted as a refusal- something I'm anticipating as being the equivalent of a failed test. I'm hoping this won't be the case.

I'm looking at my tenstreet portal and it looks like I'm still scheduled to appear for the test. I received an email this morning notifying me to appear at the scheduled time on Monday.

I'm hoping it's something I can just disregard since this all happened during the weekend and the lab is currently closed, as are the recruiting offices. The recruiter did say she was cancelling the application. When I click on that document on my tenstreet profile, it's blank. I hope this means it's deleted.

I called the lab and left a message explaining I decided to go with a different company after being scheduled for a pre-employment drug screening. Since my application is now cancelled, I will be doing a different test with another company at their chosen time and facility and therefore have to cancel the appointment.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do next. I will have an appointment with an MD on Tuesday for a private test done at a LabCorp in the same facility. After that I suppose it all comes down to whether or not anything shows up.

I've already applied to another company who only does urine tests. I'm more than confident it will be negative regardless of the number of substances they test for.

I should mention that I'm ignorant as to what sort of hair follicle test the pre-employment drug test scheduled by the former would have been. My personal one will be a 5 panel test as it covers the major substances. A 9-10 panel test would cover benzodiazapines, for which I have a doctor's prescription.

The next recruiter I talk to, I'll be sure NOT to omit this detail. Even though it was prescribed as-needed and I decided fairly quickly that I DON'T need it. I won't make the same mistake I made last week. The small amount I took months ago won't show up in a urine test anyway, so I shouldn't have anything to worry about.

I definitely won't take this lightly again. Just because someone isn't a habitual substance user, doesn't mean they shouldn't worry about pre-employment drug screening. If anything it's all the more reason to be vigilant about what you put in your body.

In my case it was a brief period of trying to find the right sleep aid. I didn't do anything illegal, and I certainly didn't drive a motor vehicle or operate any machinery within 8 hours of taking a legal substance. I wasn't a trucker at that time. Trucking wasn't even on my radar.

But it doesn't matter. I screwed up. Maybe it's something I can correct.. I'll know soon enough. I'm just hoping I don't have to pay too heavy a price for my mistakes.