Posted: 10 months, 1 week ago
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Regional/Local Routes For New Drivers
Ok, typical doom and gloom about local work.
Indeed, the typical gloom and doom. I would look at LTL. Pick-up and Delivery (P&D, a/k/a City Driver) might take you to some challenging customer locations, but linehaul is very different. You'll be running between your company's terminals, which in my experience and what I've seen of other companies, tend to be easy to get to and not too difficult to maneuver in. And everyone there works for the same company you do, which can make a difference. When I was getting started, other drivers and dock workers were almost always generous with their time and knowledge helping out a rookie teammate who is trying to figure things out.
It took less than 90 seconds on indeed.com to find this entry level job in Columbus. I haven't worked for Pitt Ohio or spoken with anyone who has, so I have no first- or secondhand knowledge, but I see their trucks frequently, and their equipment looks reasonably new and well maintained. But that's just one example - you should do your own digging.
When I was doing linehaul it was 11 or 12 hours a night, 5x a week. There were usually weekend trips available for drivers who wanted some extra work. So it's a lot, but you're not a stranger at home. There's time to sit down together for a meal every day, and participate in all the work that goes into running a household. For me and my significant other, that was very important.
Posted: 11 months, 1 week ago
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Been in Vegas. Time to make a decision
If you work for a USPS contractor you can drive the same daily route, to the same postal facilities, with the same start time, four, five, or six days a week. I'm not aware of any who hire inexperienced drivers though.
I don't think it's my place to offer advice to someone I don't know. However:
If you decide to pursue this career, there's a real possibility that things don't work out and six or twelve months from now you're not driving a CMV. If you decide not to pursue it, there's a 100% possibility that six or twelve months from now you're not driving a CMV. You can ponder this forever, but there's only one way to find out if it's for you.
If it were me, I'd consider the opportunity cost - if I do pursue a driving career, what other job or life opportunities will I have to walk away from? And if things don't work out with driving, can I move back to those other things, or are those doors closed forever?
Posted: 11 months, 1 week ago
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●"This lane is wide open. I might as well ride it all the way to the merge point then move over." (while ignoring dirty looks from the drivers you are passing)
This is the right answer. Using all available road capacity reduces the average travel time for all roadway users. Why unnecessarily move the bottleneck further back? Nobody benefits from this. Although I make sure the speed differential as I pass is small enough that I can react in case someone decides to jump back into the lane I'm in.
I’m cruising at my max 62 mph on interstate. I come up behind a slower moving vehicle, eg towing a Uhaul trailer or a pickup towing a trailer hauling cars, doing 56-57 mph.
Do I try passing or just slow down to a safe distance behind them and “put up with it”?
You faster trucks will probably say to slow down and put up with it.
I might be one of those faster trucks, since we're governed at 67 or 68 and our mail loads are never very heavy. And my position is that as long as you're actively passing a vehicle, you have a right to occupy the passing lane even if you're going below the speed limit.
This is separate from the risk/reward question of whether you'll gain enough time to make the lane switching worthwhile. Trainers and safety division like it when you 'live in your lane,' since sideswipes while changing lanes are a common type of crash. If I'm exiting fairly soon I'd stay put, but if I think I'll be hung up for mile after mile, I will pass when there's nobody coming up in the passing lane at a much higher speed.
If you blow past the line and go to the merge point, passing everyone who is waiting, and then expect the people you just passed to let you in, you're crazy. They're going to be mad, and they'll keep you from getting over as long as possible.
This has never been my experience. There might be one, and very rarely a second motorist who will keep me from moving over, but the vast majority of drivers I encounter are courteous enough in this situation. Maybe it's a regional thing. However, whether I'm on two, four, or eighteen wheels, I always do my merging before the dashed line goes to solid. I get annoyed at people who cross over a solid line for example when I'm in a slow-moving exit lane, but not enough to get into a game of chicken and risk a collision. I let them in, say 'you're welcome' in a sarcastic tone under my breath, and continue on my way. Maybe I'll wave them in even though I'm not thrilled with them, and get a friendly wave back. Which feels better than getting all agitated over something as inconsequential as being one car further back in the queue.
Posted: 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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I'm just very desperate for almost anything.
Desperation isn't a good place to be emotionally for taking on major decisions, so I'd advise you to do your best to approach this as rationally and realistically as possible.
My soon to be ex husband is a truck driver and said anyone can do this job and says I should just do this.
I would agree that nearly anyone can do this job, in that it doesn't require exceptional intellectual ability or physical gifts. If you approach it with the right attitude and don't sabotage yourself, you should be fine. The fact that your driver husband, who presumably knows you pretty well, thinks you have what it takes is a good sign.
he said companies will train you and I could do local so I can be home every night? Is this true? and if so how do I find these companies?
Yes, there are companies that train and hire inexperienced drivers for local work. Whether there are companies that are local to you and are currently hiring is something you'd need to research. A metro area as big as Las Vegas should be a pretty good place to find these opportunities. I started by doing linehaul for an LTL company, and I just found the job on indeed. You could also go to each company's website and see if they're hiring in your area.
Is This Right For Me?
That's one you have to answer for yourself. I would say it depends on the specifics of your home situation. What other adult caregivers would your kids have? Is your oldest child responsible enough to take charge of getting younger siblings fed, or out the door and to school, for example, in your absence? Is there a friend or family member who can step up in an emergency when you're 250 miles away (local in the trucking world is anywhere you can get to and back in fewer than 11 hours of driving)
Expect to work long and possibly erratic hours, especially at first, and know that being delayed in finishing your route is a constant possibility. You might not always make it home when you expect. And you'll be physically and mentally drained when you do until you get in a groove, and will need your rest. Linehaul is, in my opinion, a great first driving job, but it's often on an overnight schedule.
Posted: 1 year ago
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Proper lane use and destination lane for turns
So why go into the right-hand lane during the turn, finish in the left, and then try to move to the right-hand lane again? You're already taking the right-hand lane to make the turn, so just finish the turn there.
The OP is preparing for his road test, and for his purposes, the answer is 'because that's what the CDL Manual says to do.' Rob showed the relevant section from California, and it's the same in New Jersey:
13.1.14(d) – Lane Usage
Do not put vehicle over curbs, sidewalks, or lane markings.
Stop behind stop lines, crosswalks, or stop signs. Complete a turn in the proper lane on a multiple lane road (vehicle should finish a left turn in the lane directly to the right of the center line).
Finish a right turn in the right-most (curb) lane.
Move to or remain in right-most lane unless lane is blocked.
Once he has his license, he can go back to relying on common sense and avoid unnecessary lane changes, which are inherently risky.
Posted: 1 year ago
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We do the same trips on the same schedule, regardless of how much or how little mail is on the trailers. I can't imagine a steadier or easier driving job than being a USPS contractor.
Posted: 1 year ago
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Did your school provide you with a list of companies where they place their graduates? Do you have your doubles/triples endorsement? I would think a city as big as Phoenix has a lot of LTL activity, and some of them do hire inexperienced drivers.
Regarding your question, I would apply everywhere. Get answers, in writing, about the things that are most important to you: salary, home time, training period, whatever you value. I would worry less about a company's overall reputation. Because first, the internet is full of bitter people eager to trash anything and everything. People like to poke fun at Swift and some of it can be amusing, but this is a very competitive industry, and Swift wouldn't be as big as they are if they weren't doing something right. And secondly, you could end up with a bad trainer at a company with an overall great program, or vice versa. And a great trainer for you might be one I'd struggle with, just because of teaching/learning styles, personality fit, etc.
Bottom line, get after it and focus on the things you control - your commitment, teachability, and effort, and you should do just fine.
Posted: 1 year ago
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At what point, if any, did you contact your DM to apprise them of the situation? Other than the first part before you got to the receiver, you weren't advancing a load or going where you'd been dispatched, so by my understanding, PC was appropriate per FMCSA. FMCSA doesn't establish a time limit, only "The time driving under personal conveyance must allow the driver adequate time to obtain the required rest in accordance with minimum off-duty periods under 49 CFR 395.3(a)(1) (property-carrying vehicles) or 395.5(a) (passenger-carrying vehicles) before returning to on-duty driving, and the resting location must be the first such location reasonably available."
If you had called and said, "I'm at the receiver, am out of hours, and can't park here. I'm going into PC to find somewhere to take my 10, but I don't know how long it will take to reach the 'first such location reasonably available," would that have helped?
Posted: 1 year, 1 month ago
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Local driver since day one. Based on what I've read on this forum, OTR seems far more complex and challenging than what I do. I may not qualify as a Real Driver, but for now I'm glad I chose the easier option. I'd much rather pull doubles and deal with heavy traffic than worry about finding somewhere to park every night before I run out of hours.
Posted: 9 months, 1 week ago
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General Knowledge
I'd encourage you to consider doing the hazardous materials, tanker, and doubles-triples tests as well, while you're in test taking mode. Even if you think you don't want to go into that type of trucking, the more versatile you are, the more employment options you'll have. And they're needed more than you might expect.
Regular household chemicals, in large enough quantities, can require hazmat placards, and a tanker endorsement is needed for large liquid totes loaded onto a dry van. When I was pulling doubles doing LTL linehaul, I had plenty of loads that required all of my endorsements on the same trip. Except for the motorcycle one. I didn't need that until I finished my shift, and rode home.