Comments By Charles M.

Where are you going to school?

And good luck to you, Ricky

I curious, I guess because I'm coming to trucking as a second career after doing something else for a million years, but what, if anything, did you do before you became a trucker?

I suppose what I actually want is a quality company that offers CDL training at no initial cost, transportation to and lodging at the school, but doesn't necessarily require new hires to team drive during the new hire/student contract

Nothing in my past, just running out of time. Applied to Swift, CR England, CRST, Prime, Knight, Celadon because they all provided CDL training. Knight was the only one that said no, and gave no reason. Celadon seemed to offer the best situation (training, company reputation, etc.) as a very close second to how I perceived Knight, just not crazy about team driving as part of my company obligation. Running out of time because I'm running out of money (have been unemployed since first of Sept) and have given up my apartment.

In a way, yes, but at this point the only other option is to go with Swift's training which is not appealing either. It all boils down to just getting through the six months of team driving

a little background, then on with the show:

I just got my acceptance letter from Celadon admitting me to the training program. I had narrowed my choices down to Celadon and Knight, based on the company's reputation and CDL training program. Knight was actually my first choice because I'm not crazy about the idea of team driving (unless it was with a wife or a girlfriend), but they informed me they weren't ready to hire and gave no reason (spotless record, both driving and criminal, so who knows ...), recruiter said off the record could be just not hiring out of my geographical area.

So, my very close second choice of Celadon starts training me Oct 13 and I'm excited about it. But, how do you drive like a normal driver when the truck is runner pretty much all the time? When do you stop to eat? How do you sleep in a moving truck and get decent rest? How do you plan? How do you eveen listen to the radio for entertainment or to stay awake while the other driver is trying to get some sleep? Is team driving even safe?

I know I must be missing something, but please help me out.

Re Run, I was looking at the same exact choices when I was deciding on who to go with. After hearing a lot of justified or not bad press about a couple of the other companies many start with, I narrowed it down to Celadon and Knight. My first choice between the two was Knight, for three reasons: I just got a CL permit and was a leg up, wasn't crazy about having to team, and I like the fact they pay you during your initial training. Celadon was such a close second, I guess I shoulda called them the "first and a half choice": training seems to be the best (IMHO) of any I've seen, mentor time is in two-week intervals, maybe a little better equipment. There are advantages and disadvantages of one over the other, but the final tally is that they're close and both good companies, better than a lot out there. The main thing is, go with someone you can feel good about, keep a good attitude, and get your first year's experience-- then you can do whatever you want.

Oh, yeah, if you're wondering who I chose, I went with Celadon-- gonna start class bright and early Monday morning, Oct. 13.

You make it sound like it was easy (which I'm sure it wasn't!). Looks like I'll be heading to SLC for training and I'm more than a little nervous-- any tips for a green student?