Comments By 000

Certain walmarts will allow you to park the truck & trailer while you go shopping. Just call ahead & ask. Most of them will let you, others can't cause of local ordinances.

I did, too, for about 4 months.

What changed?

Just out of curiosity, you said, "I'm pretty sure I've been in a few fender benders..." Call me crazy but I'm thinking being in an accident is definitely something I'd remember. You will need dates, times, location, description of how it occurred, acceptance of fault if indeed it was your fault. So my recommendation to you is to go to your local DMV & pay for an abstract of your driving record. Whatever company that will consider you for their training program will ask for it but some won't go as far back as 2014. Read their questionnaire carefully but only give your answer for the specific dates THEY REQUEST. Dont volunteer anything else.

Your driving record is only one factor they consider & yours isn't too bad. Your dismissive attitude about taking responsibility however is something you might want to address with yourself. It's a reality check about what you call an "adventure". This isn't a career anyone should take lightly. Many that have are sitting in jail for killing individuals & entire families with these 80,000 lbs of metal & whatever loads are being hauled.

When I was at Knight, they played the 911 call of the trucker himself talking to the operator in tears as the victim was trapped in their vehicle & was burned alive. Why? Because the trucker made a u-turn & caused that accident. Also, a rookie was going down Vail Pass & didnt know how to work his Jake brakes, overheated them which caused them to fail. He plowed into some vehicles at the bottom & killed a bunch of people. Again he went to jail.

Just trying to stress the gravity of one mistake behind the wheel of these rigs. Plus, I'll finish with this, while your driving record is a factor, many companies are very strict about work history. When. I first applied to Prime, they almost didn't hire me cause I was missing pay stubs for 2 months. It all got cleared up when I sent the copies to HR but just be very diligent now, use those links Big Scott posted, answer the questions honestly but dont volunteer information that isn't asked of you. Good luck.

I had the same scenario play out when I fell from a ladder & busted my head open. I too was given morphine & was tested a month later. According to lab, it didnt come back hot but I had given the security person at the company all related ER paperwork when they tested me.

PS, you should forward the thread on tanker revenue declines to your "trucker friend" if they haven't pulled the trigger on switching yet. This might not be the best time to switch.

The real crime here appears to be that guy’s choice of Ferrari; of all the Ferraris out there, he chose that one? What is that, a hatchback? That thing needed to be crushed.

Its their SUV which they call "Purosangue", which means thoroughbred. Starts around $350K

Considering the article says Chicago area, white Volvo and a Ferrari it appears to be that the boss was "Russian Mob" associated so it might have led to his frustration but what a stupid decision. Like Packrat said, his action could have also injured or killed someone. His final decision with this company was the worst choice he could have made. Now the real fun starts with his vacation in jail, his resume will also not be so pretty.

That's an excellent observation navypoppop. We cant imagine the limits that people have been pushed to by the greed, deception & outright lawless action of those mobsters. Not excusing or condoning his response but I'll give you an example.

Venezuelan father of 2 had to leave his beloved country due to economic situation there. Why is it bad there greed, deception & lawlessness. He struggles & gets his CDL in FL. Mind you he could barely speak a lick of English. How he passed his pretrip is mind boggling. He signs on as a lease OP with one of these Rusdian mobsters but they're only paying per mile. I think he said it was .58 cents per mile.

I told him they were fleecing him & explained how but I told him to learn the language then make his move. He had 3 trucks back in Venezuela. Things people have to endure to feed a family.

Again, I'm not saying this person decision to "payback" his boss was a well thought out, intelligent move. Just looking at it from their perspective.

Shoot, after driving a tractor trailer, driving a box truck would feel like a 4 wheeler. Lol. Congrats sir. All the best.

I believe theres no such thing as coincidence! Very relieved & happy for you, just as you were for me when I had my struggles getting my CDL. It's amazing how things figure themselves out when we put in the work & persevere. Believe me, I know how hard you worked to get this done. My brother struggles with his weight & diabetes. Again very happy for you! Congratulations!

What happens if you take the DOT drug test for yourself and fail?

Not for an employer. But marked as pre employment

I would highly suggest that you wait 6 months or so and stay clean so there's no chance of failing a drug test. If you fail a drug test your career is over as far as I can tell. I don't know of a single person that has failed a drug test and went on to find work anywhere. I'm assuming it has happened, but I haven't heard of it, and I've been doing this for a very long time. So consider a failed drug test a permanent end to your trucking career and make the safest possible decisions.

Amy, as was stated earlier, the last thing you want is any failed drug test. Only test you can try is those home kids. Once you take the DOT test & fail, its game over for your CDL career. Both Roehl & Knight do hair follicle. Prime only does urine but that can change at any moment. Those are the only companies I know from experience. Good luck!

I just started my serious hunt for CDL training. I would like to stay in state for family reasons. I guess my question is, do in state Jobs pay well?

It depends on what state you live in but a couple of options are yard hustler where you shuttle trailers from docks to parking spaces all day/night long. Or if you look at any distribution centers near you, you'll see that they have national companies that have dedicated drivers hauling their trailers. Pay varies from state to state tho.