Comments By BK

Mr. Sandman, you have obviously NOT been sleeping on the job. Congratulations on getting the “great driver” treatment. Enjoy your new truck.

James, I’m not trying to be cold hearted here, but you will fare better by being single as a driver.

The three rings of marriage:

1) The Engagement ring

2) The Wedding ring

3) The Suffering

What are your physical capabilities?

Tanker is out of the question for a new driver. Flatbed can be hard physically. Most new drivers start out with dry van or reefer. Not too much to choose from and a lot depends on what company you work for and what you are capable of.

Skyler, there is little to worry about with the automatic restriction. In very few cases is it a factor anymore for new drivers.

Also, double check the hair follicle information. I think the advice is to be clean for 1 year before a follicle test. Don’t confuse a urine test with a follicle test.

James, if you want the current hiring info from Schneider, you are going to have to track down the number for recruiting and talk to a recruiter. Shouldn’t be too hard. Things change at Schneider, so what their website says may not be either accurate or current.

I went into their training with a valid CDL. They started the complete training to obtain a CDL shortly after I finished the program. But I got paid from day one of training and lodging plus food provided.

But things change which is why you need to actually talk to a recruiter.

I think I already posted this. My training was with Schneider in Green Bay, WI. But they have training at a number of other operating centers.

They paid for almost everything for 3 weeks of training. Transportation, lodging, breakfast and lunch provided. We were on our own for dinner.

Hopefully you will apply to Schneider if you haven’t already.

I’ve been thinking about this question and it’s really stressing me out. lol.

My stress reliever is music. I subscribe to Pandora and have my various playlists. Instrumental music is the most effective for me. Vocal music helps me stay alert when I drive.

I do also have one great phone contact with another driver who is a good listener and he lets me vent when I need to, so that is very helpful.

Whew! You are very fortunate for the way that worked out. I’ll bet you’ll never make that mistake again due to the traumatic nature of those types of incidents.

And thanks for being open and honest in sharing your experience. Very helpful reminder to us all.

When I first started, I wrote up a number of checklists to consult for each specific task. I kept the collection of checklists within reach so I could double check myself for each task. The checklists saved me on several occasions. With time, the written lists have become mental lists that still are essential. Recently, I got back in the seat and went over my mental list and realized I had not raised the landing gear. So that could have been a bad day.

Keep up the good work Brian.

Totally agree with OS. I might add that sometimes my opinion of a company is influenced not so much by what I see or hear but by what I don’t see or hear. And I have never seen or heard anything negative about either of those companies. So, it might be somewhat of a coin flip decision.

However, Halvor is out of Superior Wisconsin so they can rightly claim to be the Superior company.

Congratulations Dave, good luck with Knight and training.

One thing I tell students going into these training programs is to be very aware that there is usually a “no tolerance “ alcohol policy. This usually means no alcohol in the motel room, in your luggage or at any place you go out to eat while in school. If a student is caught consuming even a beer while at school, it can mean instant dismissal.

I remember a story I heard that some students went to a restaurant to celebrate their graduation from the program and thought it was okay to have beer. They got bounced.

Also, try to get some other students together and form a study group. Extra effort always pays off.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience.