Automatic Trans Restriction

Does anyone know the process to get an auto restriction removed from a CDL? I have looked at the Ohio BMV website as well as online and I can't find it spelled out anywhere.

I have decided to attend Millis Transfer's school and it sounds like they will be a 100% auto fleet by the time I am ready to go out with a trainer. I really have no plans to move once I go solo but it would be nice to not have that restriction.

I drove 10,13 18 etc speed dump trucks years ago, and as I recall I was pretty good, so not too concerned about it coming back. I have access to a relative's construction company fleet and they have several Sterling dumps and Freightliner day cabs all with manuals that I could use to test out.

Just wondering if you have to do the entire pretrip/backing/road all over again or if you just need to to a road test.

I can't speak for Millis, but at Prime we keep a few manual trucks for testing, so you don't get that restriction placed on your license. We too have gone to a 100% automatic fleet.

I'd call your recruiter and ask about that.

Me personally, I'd really think twice about going to a company that would put you at a disadvantage right out of the gate by putting a restriction on your license. (If they infact do not have manuals for testing)

Good luck

Test with a manual.

Not sure if a states DMV will make you take the entire skills test over - or just the driving portion to remove the restriction.

Rick

Best bet is gonna be to call them and ask. The Ohio BMV website offers LIVE CHAT during business hours

I can't speak for Millis, but at Prime we keep a few manual trucks for testing, so you don't get that restriction placed on your license. We too have gone to a 100% automatic fleet.

I'd call your recruiter and ask about that.

Me personally, I'd really think twice about going to a company that would put you at a disadvantage right out of the gate by putting a restriction on your license. (If they infact do not have manuals for testing)

Good luck

Prime will end testing in manuals supposedly in the fall. Although the fleet will eventually be almost 100% automatic (lease and owner ops have the option of paying extra for a manual), estimates for it to be 65% is projected to be September. At that time manual testing will end.

Most of our 2016 are manuals and will be phased out next year. This comes from the instructors at Prime East training facility.

The point of a company training you is to train you to work for them....not to work elsewhere. If the company only has automatic why would they train you in a manual?

The point of a company training you is to train you to work for them....not to work elsewhere. If the company only has automatic why would they train you in a manual?

Which starts the debate: since so many companies are going to have "all auto fleets" - will FMCSA (and/or the states) start waiving the "auto-only restriction" on licenses? Or continue to put them on for folks that don't "demonstrate proficiency" with a standard gearshift.

Some states I've heard, "kinda ignore or forget" to put the restriction on, even for folks that test in an auto-shift - and others are real sticklers about it. Many states, the DMV officers (the same ones that road test car drivers) don't even give CDL skills tests (Yard, Pre-Trip, Driving) - and all this is done by 3rd party testers. Here in FL - the "State Inspectors" (at the DMV) don't give CDL Tests - and most of the schools have "State Certified CDL Examiners" on staff. Whatever boxes they check on the Road Test Examination Form, are what goes on (or stays off) your license.

What's going to happen to the folks that end up training/licensing with an all-auto company, that end up with the restriction? What happens if they decide to go to another company that hasn't adopted the "auto's are better philosophy"? And can't LEGALLY DRIVE a truck with a manual shifter (driving without an endorsement or against a restriction is a SERIOUS OFFENSE if you get cited for it - some more serious than others).

To the best of my knowledge, the only way to avoid having the restriction - is to test on a stick shift - likewise, that's the only way to REMOVE IT: re-test on a stick shift.

Personally (issues with creep mode while backing and hooking trailers aside), I would much rather drive an auto-shift truck. It's less stressful and tiring (especially in heavy traffic or congested local roads), and the notion that "you're not really a truck driver, if you ain't grinding them gears", is antiquated "Super Trucker" BS.

This doesn't mean a thing to most of us here that are already CDL Holders - but what are we going to advise our new members in the future? In the past, we advised to avoid testing on an auto, so as to not limit future employment (and learning) opportunities by ending up with a restriction on their CDL.

The auto-shift technology has matured to the point where it has demonstrated itself as: reliable (in the way of reduced or comparable maintenance costs, compared to tearing up manual trans) - more fuel efficient (and fuel is still one of the overall largest overhead costs), safer to drive (in the way of reducing driver distraction, and less fatiguing).

In the end - the decision by the companies to move to auto-shifter are PURELY PROFIT BASIS. It takes way less time to train a driver who doesn't have to double-clutch in a road test also. It's more laborious to send a driver out for initial training in an auto-shift, and then give them a couple of days of sim/local driving in a stick and hope they pass the road test.

I reflect on my time in school - where I learned to float during the course and didn't sharpen my double-clutch skills - and failed my first road test on shifts alone (no negative points for anything else), because I "floated through school", instead of giving myself the practice in double-clutching (and yes - double-clutching is MANDATORY on DMV Road Tests).

This is a conversation that's going to end up occurring more and more - as companies do away with stick shift trucks, and replace fleets with all auto-shifts. Apparently, not something we can just ignore for much longer.

Rick