18-year-old Female... Is There Hope?
Topic 10021 | Page 2
Jessica says,
It does take longer than 2-3 weeks to learn to drive one of these things. That's why the better larger companies have a longer training and orientation period for drivers coming from other schools.
No one in their tight mind would hand the keys of a $300,000 truck to someone fresh out of school with a fresh CDL license. Like Jessica said, you're not quite "there" yet. It does take several months of full time driving to get it right. I agree with you: if you did have the opportunity to drive right after graduating truck school, you would not make it to your first stop before you turned too tight and took out a signpost, or worse, someone's hood. Driving school does not prepare you to drive a semi-truck on the road. Driving school makes sure you know how to operate the controls, which way to point the thing, and know how to back the trailer between a set of cones or barrels.
Allison, if you are set on driving a big rig, you would actually do better to talk with a large company that does hire inexperienced drivers. They know what it takes to get you ready for your solo driving career. And they will hardly give you the time of day until you are 21 years old.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
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It does take longer than 2-3 weeks to learn to drive one of these things. That's why the better larger companies have a longer training and orientation period for drivers coming from other schools. Generally requiring at least a team driving environment for a certain number of hours or miles. The school I'm headed to through Prime is going to take me 3 weeks with my permit and then 2-3 months (40k) miles with my license before I can get to upgrade to solo.
At 17 it seems like you've made up your mind about what you really believe this industry is about and that the big companies are bad (down with the man!) based on driver reviews. We've got drivers from a lot of the big companies here that absolutely make it just fine because they carry themselves like professionals, they treat the people they deal with with respect, and most importantly, they keep a fantastic attitude and keep on trucking. They are the ones making the miles and the money while the disgruntled drivers sit on their backsides at truck stops because the man is keeping them down. Really, it's them keeping themselves down. So, they have so much free time that they can go online and complain about their horrible terrible no good very bad mega trucking company that treats them like a slave. What they don't write is how they made demands to their DM about their miles, got into a fight with their DM, kept turning down short loads because short loads weren't good enough for them (in actuality they were probably getting closer to longer loads.), mistreated someone in shipping or receiving, pulled in late one too many times.
People are more likely to leave a bad review when they feel like they've been wronged than to leave a good review. Usually because they don't think about reviewing because they have nothing to complain about.
Beyond all that. I'll address the female part. Grow a thick skin. People will make comments, no matter the profession. And, don't let yourself be the type that "gets taken advantage of." Be confident. I've been a graveyard security guard for 4 years and you best believe no idiot in their right mind messes with me. Firm voice, firm stance, and people know I mean business but that doesn't mean I'm a you know what. It just means I put myself on the same level as someone I'm speaking with.
You can't go OTR when you can only drive in one state. I'm not sure how LTL is run, it sounds like LTL is interstate too. Here is another thread regarding a young driver to take a look at. Some good advice even it's an older thread.
All I can say is good luck, you'll need it.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Interstate:
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.