A Big Thanks For The High Road Training Program !!!
Topic 13129 | Page 1
Well another newbie here, though I've been on here often gaining much insight and information. Thanks to Brett for the program, I passed all 3 tests today for my CDL permit, have my 2yr DOT card and school is paid for and I start in March at the local college. From what I've researched, its supposed to be the best and one of the oldest schools in Florida. Its always been a dream of mine to drive,
and like others here have posted, life happened and then 20 years went by, and next thing you know your in the perfect situation to fulfill your dream. As I've been preparing for almost a year now to start on this new chapter in my life, it is bittersweet, as I'm self employed and have wonderful customers, I've had to let them all know that I'll be leaving to start a new career. They have all been keeping me so busy, it has taken awhile for me to wind things down, and set a date to start. So with that, as I've enjoyed other posts, and have gained a lot of info, maybe someone will enjoy reading my journey and I can help document some valuable info, and help others in their journey. Thanks again Brett for this website, it has been and continues to be Awesome!!
it happens QUICK! good luck out there!
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.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Well, week one is in the books, started with 7 in the class, on the 2nd day we lost 1 and gained 2 on the third day. So we have 8 now, and 3 instructors, pretty good ratio. Watched fmcsa vids and logging vids etc first couple of days , then pretrip vids Wed morning and hands on pretrip walkaround from the teacher , then after lunch we all just worked together ,helping each other learn. By Thursday afternoon, quite a few of us were pretty good with pretripping and our in cab brake testing. We have to have prettip test down by week 5, but i think next week many of us are going to try testing out. That just gives us more driving time. We have a 2 mile course we can practice driving and a seperate backing pad area, and are allowed to drive as much as we want, so pretty cool. We will also have 1000 miles otr driving we will be doing. So far, pretty exciting and am glad i chose this school. Its a local vo tech college. Ill update as progress is made.
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.
CSA:
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)
The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle
FMCSA:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.
What Does The FMCSA Do?
- Commercial Drivers' Licenses
- Data and Analysis
- Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
- Research and Technology
- Safety Assistance
- Support and Information Sharing
Fm:
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.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Well just a quick update, Week 4 has come to an end. Its going by very quickly, and having a great time. Passed my pretrip exam last week, only missed a couple of thing (fire extinguisher (DUH!!), checking my ABS light on trailer, and windshield wipers for dry rot or torn blades) but overall pretty happy with it. Got lots of backing practice in, and took my backing exam and aced it. 0 points!! Was very happy with that and was gonna treat myself to some Chinese dinner, but was too tired to go get it , and just wanted to relax and enjoy being done with it. LOL Only have a road test still, and I scheduled that for next week. 4 weeks left in school, and I will use that time to continue backing, coupling, and finish logging my 1000 miles driving. This school is awesome, the instructors are great on how they teach. Reading tons of these forums on TT prior to starting school has made a huge difference for me, and wish more people would use it as well. Ive told several classmates how awesome this site is, so hopefully they'll use it too. I cant tell you what an advantage it gives you, well maybe I just did :) Thanks TT!!!
Which school? Where at?
Rick
Bradford Union Tech College Starke,Fl
Which school? Where at?
Rick
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Well another newbie here, though I've been on here often gaining much insight and information. Thanks to Brett for the program, I passed all 3 tests today for my CDL permit, have my 2yr DOT card and school is paid for and I start in March at the local college. From what I've researched, its supposed to be the best and one of the oldest schools in Florida. Its always been a dream of mine to drive, and like others here have posted, life happened and then 20 years went by, and next thing you know your in the perfect situation to fulfill your dream. As I've been preparing for almost a year now to start on this new chapter in my life, it is bittersweet, as I'm self employed and have wonderful customers, I've had to let them all know that I'll be leaving to start a new career. They have all been keeping me so busy, it has taken awhile for me to wind things down, and set a date to start. So with that, as I've enjoyed other posts, and have gained a lot of info, maybe someone will enjoy reading my journey and I can help document some valuable info, and help others in their journey. Thanks again Brett for this website, it has been and continues to be Awesome!!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.