Comments By Turtle

Even though I was a CDL instructor for a while there, I can't give an exact answer with confidence here. My gut tells me you'll just need a non-restricted driver in the passenger seat. But I'm not totally sure.

I agree that contacting your local DMV will probably be the easiest and most accurate way to find out.

Thanks B1. I have many more Walmart topics planned. Finding the time to do them is the hard part. Eventually however I will run out of material so yeah you'll start seeing me babble on about random things 😁

Remember we are trying to teach people to be accountable for all incidents big or small?

Where in my post did I advise or suggest anything otherwise? I've been around long enough to know what our goals are here and need no such reminder. I think my record reflects that.

In the interest of what we strive to teach here, I presented a possible scenario and simply asked the OP and readers alike a moral question.

Don't read into it something that isn't there.

Hey, accidents happen and we learn from them. Those kinds of tight scenarios are very common behind Walmart stores, necessitating the need for tight safety policies such as a required GOAL and 360° walk around before any back. People often criticize Walmart for these policies, but we remain one of the safest fleets in the nation because of them.

I could have took it myself to a shop since there was no property damage but did the right thing and called company and claims.

Walmart will forgive a lot of things, including this accident. But failure to report any accident or incident, however minor, will result in immediate termination, no questions asked. They treat it as an integrity issue. Always do the right thing, even when no one is watching.

Definitely a no-go from me, as well.

But this can be a rock and a hard place situation...

Did you curb the tire, causing that damage? If so, that can possibly come back on you as a preventable. What do you do now?

The pre-trip in my video, while fairly thorough, will differ somewhat from Roehl's requirements.

Each company, even each examiner, may require a specific process or verbiage from the student. So while pre-trip videos are helpful to begin building muscle memory, they are no substitute for what you will learn on site from your instructor.

However, if you want to check it out you can find it here:

My pretrip

For a new driver, I'd recommend going here for a more generic version of a standard CDL pre-trip exam. It's the very same video I studied wayyyy back in the day.

Apex CDL Pretrip

Big day, indeed! This is a moment in time that you will someday look back on with fondness.

But a word of caution:

Now is when the real learning begins. CDL school, company training, and supervised on road experience are no substitutes for what you'll learn in the coming weeks and months.

Now is when the buck stops with you. Now is when you and you alone make the necessary decisions to keep yourself, your cargo, and the public safe. Take extra time to make the right decisions in everything you do.

Good luck out there driver!

Perhaps I'm reading this wrong, but...

The DUI isn't the problem here. DUIs don't just randomly get upgraded to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without a reason. If you used the vehicle as the weapon in the commission of that crime, you are facing a lifetime ban on getting a CDL in many if not all states.

Specifics matter here.

I have a question. Is tearing off your bumper on a rock at a store. No property damage. Would that be considered an "accident" for WALMART?

If you're talking about tearing the bumper off your commercial vehicle, then yes that is absolutely a preventable accident, and must be reported on an application. Anything over $2000 is considered an accident. The property damage to the bumper is sure to be over that.

Walmart cares very much about such accidents since those are the most common behind Walmart stores.

Just make sure you have the best audio quality you can get at the time.

Unfortunately this is where I probably failed in my current videos to date. With only using my phone, the sound quality is less than ideal. In fact, you can often hear my a/c vents in the background.

I'm completely new at this sort of thing, and learning as I go. It's little more than a pastime when I have a few moments really.

A wireless noise-cancelling mic is a great idea.