Comments By Cynthia L.

No, to answers. Yes, Drivers Solution took me on but I had to give up my FL license but did not pass the physical so I'm back home for now but I'm not giving up.

I was told I'd go home for a week or so after school. I took a cooler to keep food in so I didn't have to eat out all the time. We did not have a refrigerator in our room until the third day. I took my coffee pot because I hate hotel in room coffee. I took tea bags to make hot tea or iced tea. I took my ready-set-go to cook stuff, a handy little device. I took cereal, milk, a bowl, and plastic spoons/forks just in case the breakfast that the hotel provided was not available. I took a cooler with drinks and ice for at school breaks, also snacks. It will save you money if you buy whatever at a grocery store instead of at a convience store or fastfood place. I took a power strip so I'd have enough outlets for my use. I took 4 pr of jeans and twice that many blouses, socks and underwear because wasn't sure where I'd have to go to do laundry. Two pr of boots, tennis shoes, flip flops for the room because I'm not walking around barefoot on that carpet. I hope this helps.

What's the point of having ten extra dollars if you can't spend it on you, right? Nail salon here I come! LOL Have a wonderful day! As one driver said in an earlier post "Be Smart Out There". Document everything and cover your own "A".

I hear you. School bus driving was great but just did not pay enough. I could not find a summer job to hold me over during the summer months. Good luck in your new adventure.

I personally don't care if my trainer is male or female as long as they know their job and train me to do the job right. I promiss to keep my hands and eyes to myself, I'd appreciate the same courtesy. : )

Ok, so it's time for me to get into trucking. Been driving taxi for last 7 years, getting tired of bouncing around town with a bunch of drunks. Need some open road time. Based on the descriptions of free CDL schools, think I will go with Prime. Although I would have preferred to not have to deal with refrigerated, they seem to have a fair deal, and the location is something I can work with. However, here's one problem. Pretty much my only family is my dog, he goes everywhere with me, and I have no one to leave him with. Prime seems to allow pets once I start driving, and I can even afford a dog-friendly motel 6 instead of whatever free motel they provide for the duration of the classroom training. But what about on-the-road training? It's probably going to go on for longer than I could leave the dog alone at the motel? Do you think they will let me take him? (He's a really calm dog, he's been driving taxi with me for 2 years). Let me know...

Do you have a recruiter? Best bet would be to ask him/her or the school or company you're going to work for. Anything else would just be a persons guess unless it's happened to them.

I think you misunderstood his situation, Brett. He took a full 10, got plenty of rest, and was then instructed by his company to drive 20 miles, drop his empty, and immediately go on another 10. And from the sounds of it, the company didn't exactly afford him the opportunity to try and sleep during that period, since he says his dispatcher called him several times throughout the day. He wasn't being lazy, unreasonable, or irresponsible. It wasn't his choice to only work for 20 minutes, and just because you've been off duty for 10 hours doesn't mean you've been asleep for any or all of that time. And unless you're part housecat, I don't know anybody who can sleep for 10 hours, be awake for 20 minutes, and go back to sleep for another 10 hours.

I agree. I remember my Dad driving so tired that I would sit up and talk to him to keep him awake. He was a solo driver and I was riding along as a child during school breaks. He bought a truck and started his business hauling produce when he retired out of the military back in the 70's. I got my CDL Class A when I turned 21 to drive with him. He no longer drives a semi, he's in his late 80's.

Hi everyone. I have thoroughly been enjoying reading these posts. I am prior military and after being recently laid off from the college I worked at for the last five years, I decided I wanted to drive a truck like other members of my family have in the past. My husband stated I couldn't do it and that only fueled the fire. I am signing up with Swift here in Phoenix and am taking advantage of the Veteran scholarship they have for the schooling. I am very nervous about not having family time but others seem to make it work so we can sacrifice a year so I get the experience I need. Any advice?

Good for you. My husband told me the same thing but I've been learning new things since birth and my journey's not over yet. My Dad has told me you can't teach old dogs new tricks but my reply to him is "Dad if your hands and feet still work then you can and will learn to take care of yourself" I had to give him a reason to get up in the mornings, keep active, and not give up on life. I'm a military brat, Dad was in for 22 years. Thank you for your service.

Good day all! Trucking is not new to me but it's been a very long time. My children are grown, I'm divorced, and unemployed. I've drove a school bus since 1991, resigned this year, and I'm wanting to go back on the road. I don't have the money to go to a truck driving school near here in Florida nor do I want to give up my FL licence to go to a school out of state. So my question is: who will let me keep my FL license/permit and train me to drive OTR. I drove with my Dad in the 70's, he was my trainer. The trucking industry regulations have changed and I want to do this right.

I was talking to a friend of mine that just finished school in TX, he said he ended up shelling out some $1200 just for the machine, then tack on another $600 for the sleep study. Ouch! I found this place where you can get your basic CPAP for as little as $260. They are set up to comply with the monitoring guidelines. CPAP for Truckers

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2012, the machine is small, two part, comes with a carrying case, and quit. I drove a school bus for many years and as long as I used the CPAP 70% of the time I'd passed the DOT physical.

The CPAP machine also comes with a SMART card that can give information on usage.