Comments By Pacific Pearl

Roadcheck 2023 will focus on anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and cargo securement.

Freight demand is tracking about where it was in 2018. That was actually a good year for the industry. The problem is that in the last five years the number of tractors available for hire has increased by 29% (1,450,000 to 1,870,000). This means you could park 420,000 trucks for the year and still be able to haul all the freight! The other problem is that demand is falling so there will be a lot more idle trucks.

1) Insurance.

2) The ads are designed to accentuate the positive and get you to call the recruiter. If they just listed all the reasons not to work there why spend money on an ad? They hope their salesperson will be able to overcome your objections or at least re-think them so you'll consider working there.

All ads in this industry are employer focused. This has a lot to do with the employers paying for the ads. Even if a job board has screening options they are limited and don't focus on the things important to drivers.

I'd be glad to pay for a driver-focused job board, but there wouldn't be enough drivers willing to pay and I would only need one once or twice in a decade.

So many topics in one thread.

1) The driver shortage is a total scam by the ATA to create a crisis in the minds of the public. They do this so they get support for their, "solutions" that all involve paying drivers LESS - CDL training in high schools, H2-B visas, allowing drivers from Mexico to run in the US, lowering the age for interstate driving, etc. If there were an actual shortage wages would be going up to attract more people to the industry.

What we have is churn - thousands of people earning their CDLs then giving up driving in their first year. Out of my CDL class of 30 only 2 were still driving 8 months later.

2) Truck driving is a, "big tent" - there are A LOT of driving jobs that are rarely, if ever discussed here. Waste Management (garbage trucks), the city bus company and others will train people to get their CDLs.

3) It's up to YOU to find the driving job that's right for YOU. The problem is there isn't a simple way to research all the types of driving jobs. It takes time and it it isn't easy. The good jobs that pay well and have low turnover rarely advertise. There are a lot of companies that just accept 100%+ annual driver turnover rather than make changes. In most industries that would be unacceptable.

4) Your mileage may vary. Just because one driver had a positive experience doesn't mean a different driver working for a different company will have the same experience. Not all companies are equal-pay, working conditions, home time and equipment condition can vary greatly just by changing the name on the side of the truck. There are definitely some companies that treat drivers much worse than others. Three drivers on a truck? Yeah, they've got that.

4) The company where I earned my CDL no longer offers training for new drivers. I was happy with my experience but the courts said many of their practices were predatory and unlawful. They settled out of court and shut down their training program.

...I do wonder if he'll have a lot of companies tell him off because of that failed drug test.

He'll have fewer choices - but he will still have plenty of options. It's less serious than a DWI/DUI or an at-fault accident in his car. The FMCSA has repeatedly refused to allow hair tests. Obviously, we don't want anyone driving a CMV while impaired, but the hair tests don't tell you if someone is impaired, just that they used marijuana at some point in the last few months. There may have been valid concerns when marijuana was 100% illegal but it's legal in many states now. With 43% of young adults using marijuana (and rising) policies will have to adapt or we'll all starve waiting for the trucks to drive themselves.

I've never used a drug that wasn't prescribed by a physician but I'd be angry if my employer went me in for a non-DOT drug screen that found I had consumed 3 beers at my cousin's wedding 6 months earlier then claimed that I had failed my drug test.

There are several, but be warned - most of them are low-traffic, all of them are employer-focused and at least 80% of the ads are the same ones you'll see on Indeed or Craigslist (transport):

Alltruckjobs.com

CDLJobs.com

JobsInTrucks.com

HiringDriversNow.com

TruckerClassifieds.com

ClassADrivers.com

Layover.com

EveryTruckJob.com

TruckDriverJobs411.com

BestDriverJobs.com

As far as a driver-focused job board - where you can just say, "I've got > 1M safe, legal miles under my belt without a ticket or an accident and I want a dedicated route for at least $30/hr with no touch freight, no camera in my face and no driving in Mexico's Gay District" - that's NOT available. You have to scan through 100's of ads then call a recruiter with your questions about pay, hometime and working conditions.

Now should I answer the drug test question honestly a year from now..

Answer questions on an employment application HONESTLY.

Will I be required to go through SAP ?

Not for that. A hair test is NOT a DOT test. Not reported to the Clearinghouse.

Question 1: If my results were 2.6pg how long do I have to wait until its down past the 1pg ?

Too many variables to answer. Here's the breakdown:

Hair grows between .25" and .75 inches per month. Hair grows faster in the summer months and faster if you're blond. If there's THC in your body while the hair is growing there will be THC in your hair. If you got no haircuts since October your hair will still test positive. Even after you have metabolized all the THC out of your body, it will still be in your hair. Even if your magic number was 120 days to metabolize the THC out of your body the hair that was growing on the 119th day will still have THC in it.

Your magic number will vary depending on how much THC you used, how long you used it and how potent the THC was you consumed. The more THC in your body the longer it will take your body to metabolize it out. If you were smoking an eighth of Blackberry Octane #7 every day for five years it's going to take it a lot longer to work its way out of your body than if you smoked two joints a month for 3 months.

You've figured out the hair and the potency so you can wait a year and be good, right? NOT SO FAST. While you were consuming all that THC and hitting the Taco Bell drive-thru your body stored fat. Your body was also storing THC in your body fat. Even if you don't consume for 1, 3 or 5 YEARS once your body starts breaking down all that stored fat it will release THC into your body again. It won't be enough to give you a buzz but it will fail a drug screen.

The good news is your body stores fat LIFO - last in first out. You don't need to get rid of all your body fat, just the fat you stored while you were using and that should be the first to go.

If I were in your shoes:

1. Lose any weight you may have put on since you started using. Speed up your metabolism with regular cardio - this will speed up your body's ability to metabolize the THC away.

2. When you think you're clean go to a clinic and take a drug screen. DON'T trust a $.99 test you got online or at the Dollar Store take a REAL test at a CLINIC. Should be less than $20. Even if you, "fail" it's not reportable anywhere. Wait another month and try again. If you pass that means the THC has worked its way out of your body.

3. Shave EVERYTHING longer than 1/4". If you don't have any THC in your body or trapped in your body fat there won't be any to contaminate your NEW hair.

4. Wait for your hair to grow. Drug testing protocols require a minimum of 1.5 inches of hair to test. If you don't have 1.5 inches they will turn you away so I'd go make sure I had an honest 2 inches before testing just to avoid any debates about whose ruler was off. Depending on your ethnicity, hair color, season and other variables that will take from 3-4 months

Question 2: will this show up on a DAC report?

Probably. There are no hard and fast rules of what a company MUST put on DAC. The FMCSA won't put hair test results on the Clearinghouse. As others have pointed out it's the, "Have you EVER failed a pre-employment drug screen?" question you MUST answer honestly that will be the issue.

It may just be easier renting a space in a strip mall and counseling prospective CDL drivers about what they need to do to pass a pre-employment drug screen (for a small fee) judging by the number of questions we see from this market niche.

For the folks stopping by to learn more about the process - you can simply not show up for a pre-employment drug screen without an issue. If you appear for the pre-employment drug screen once you check in THEY OWN YOU! If you leave for any reason it's the same as a failed test. If you get sent to Concentra and it takes them 4 hours to call you after you check in - you wait. If you provide a sample and the tech fills one tube (a DOT test requires 2 tubes) then dumps out the rest of your sample - you wait until you can give another sample, even as the same tech offers you a 2 oz Dixie cup full of water every 15 minutes before asking you if you're ready to give another sample. Walking out, beating the tech to death or forcing them to drink your sample will all count as a FAILURE. You will have to complete the SAP process at your own expense and even if you do your employment options won't be good.

§ 40.191 What is a refusal to take a DOT drug test, and what are the consequences?

(a) As an employee, you have refused to take a drug test if you:

(1) Fail to appear for any test (except a pre-employment test) within a reasonable time, as determined by the employer, consistent with applicable DOT agency regulations, after being directed to do so by the employer. This includes the failure of an employee (including an owner-operator) to appear for a test when called by a C/TPA (see § 40.61(a));

For the OP - it's simple, type, "SAP friendly CDL" into your favorite job board. You can narrow down the results by typing in your actual zip code. Good luck!

Indeed

SimplyHired

There are temporary jobs in trucking just like there are in the non-trucking world. For a temporary driving job you go to a temporary agency that specializes in driving jobs:

Centerline Drivers

PeopleReady

TransForce (not affiliated with Dylan Mulvaney)