Comments By Michael C.

This is one of the major reasons why I refuse to drive flatbed. The idea of carrying Steel or suicide coils terrifies me. I rather carry a load of hazardous explosives then to be worried about if that suicide coil is going to roll onto my back. You guys that drive flatbed have my total respect.

Yesterday, someone was saying that they were requiring chains for Donner Pass (I-80 in California).

Where would I have to go to find that info? What resources do you use to get updated weather conditions?

I use Weather underground (https://www.wunderground.com/) and a NOAA radar app on my iphone.

So I just completed my first week at the Truck driving Institute in Sellersburg Indiana. I now have my CDL Clase A learner's permit. We start driving on Monday.

First 3 days was just studying to get the CDL permit. Not much to it. We took the test on Wednesday and I aced it. I did study using the High Road training program on this website which was awesome. Thursday and Friday was dedicated to route planning and using the driver's log. We also did a little bit basic Theory on turning and stuff. The instructors are pretty decent guys. They don't BS around and tell you how it is. We also are very good at explaining things to where you can understand.

Other than the schooling the school really pushes you to apply to as many jobs as possible. They demand that you have pre hires on file. I really already have a company that I want to go to. They bring in companies Representatives from driving companies to try to convince you to work for their company. It is almost like a salesperson trying to sell you something on an infomercial except they're trying to get you to work for them. Some of this stuff they tell you is a straight up lie. So make sure you do your research before signing on with somebody. Honestly I get the impression that the school gets paid if they push drivers into one of their list of companies. But I do not know that for certain but what I can say there is no lack of jobs hiring at school which is a very good thing. Companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, TMC, and other major companies hire from there. It is a really good school to go to if you're looking for local or Regional work in the Louisville area.

You could do some meditation and breathing techniques to help calm your self.

So I got a newbie question. Let's say you had a late delivery and now you can't find any parking at a truck stop what do you do?

So I just watched management tell a trucker that he could not Park in the Walmart parking lot and that he had to move. So my question is if for one reason or another and you're on your 10 hour shutdown and you're required to move your truck to another spot or lot what do you do? Does the law give you any leeway if you have to move for a good reason?

Most of the schools will let you get a loan through them even with bad credit Due to the fact that both of the companies reimburse you for your schooling. I don't know how close you are to Truck Driver Institute in Florida but I do know they allow you to take out a student loan through them with a cosigner. Your co-signer can be your wife. Try talking to a few of the schools and tell them about your financial situation and they will tell you what you can do.

An applicant intending to operate a vehicle requiring a commercial driver's license (CDL) must provide a total of 10 years of employment history for which he/she operated a commercial motor vehicle (383.35, 391.21(b)(11).

I have seen this stated in several places, but the wording is confusing. As I have no employment history at all in which I have operated a commercial motor vehicle, how could I provide 10 years of history? Not trying to argue with you, just trying to get clarity.

From what they told me you have to be very accurate with at least your first 3 years of employment history if you never drove for a company before. The other seven years you can do your best guess on your start and quit dates. Now if you held a CDL within those 10 years that's different. You'll need to get accurate work history from the point you got your CDL. Does that make sense? I'm trying not to confuse anybody LOL. Also this could change depending on the company. So it's best to talk to a recruiter at the company you're interested in.

I spoke to a few recruiters today and all of them Informed me that fmcsa does indeed required 10 years of work history but only the last 3 years must be verified by the carrier. I actually looked at the law to confirm this myself. This is what is stated under the regulation.

An applicant intending to operate a vehicle requiring a commercial driver's license (CDL) must provide a total of 10 years of employment history for which he/she operated a commercial motor vehicle (383.35, 391.21(b)(11). However, there is no regulation requiring the carrier to check back beyond the 3-year period mentioned above.

I know that one carrier i applied for called my current job. All calls to the building are routed to my phone first. All i had a chance to say was "good afternone this is" and then they hung up. 5 minutes later why application was approved lol.