Dealing With The DMV

Chuck quips:

So I guess from now on I will just not post any issues on here and keep them to myself since getting any helpful comments is too much for some.

Considering where you are in this process, that's an incredibly idiotic, knuckle-headed conclusion. No clue what you are saying here;..."just taking your underinflated basketball elsewhere in hopes the kids will let you play, even though you haven't learned to dribble yet".

First of all I have gotten a new permit already but that was after I wrote this comment because no one had told me that I needed to do so.

You stated in your second comment on this thread that PA DMV told you that you needed a new permit. So who didnt tell you?

you have me confused because you say you tested more than 3 times on each segment, but MO state law has a 3 test limit. then you have to wait a whole year to re test.

When i transfered my CDL from MO to NJ, i was required to fill out a piece of paper for the permit, pay the fee then fill out the paper for the CDL transfer. i didnt need the paper scores cause the scores are in the computer system. Yes it took me 7 hours in the DMV cause it is NJ, but i got the permit and the the CDL. however, i already had a MO CDL and transferred it. You werent doing that, so things could be different.

So what is PA saying now? If the problem is the number of times you tested, are they making you test again but in PA this time?

Do hou have to wait a certain time period?

So I guess from now on I will just not post any issues on here and keep them to myself since getting any helpful comments is too much for some.

OK. Good luck, Chuck. No advice is helpful unless it's what you wanted to hear?

I have nothing else to say, I think I am done with this site. No one is understanding what I am trying to say and Old school I am not thin skinned you do not even know me. So I will no longer be posting any concerns on this site.

I have nothing else to say, I think I am done with this site. No one is understanding what I am trying to say and Old school I am not thin skinned you do not even know me. So I will no longer be posting any concerns on this site.

That's really a shame Chuck. I think you are making a very hasty and short sighted decision.

Good luck.

I know that I don't even have my CDL , but it just sounds like the OP wants validation for how horrible he is being treated. Since he isn't getting that he throws the "Help! I'm being attacked by your words" defense.

All the people who have posted have tried to help, but due to unclear information it is hard to do so. The OP never answered any of the questions folks had.

To everyone who tried to help I want to thank you all for always trying, even if the poster truly doesn't want the help.

I want to try and address the bigger picture here. I am bad about always trying to address the bigger picture, and it is not that unusual for someone to get upset with me when I don't answer their specific question. Chuck is a great example of that, and I am here to apologize if I was too hard on him.

For those of you who may be new in here and read this thread with dismay at how it took a turn, lets look at it in a little more depth.

We, as experienced drivers, often will see an underlying problem that is concealed within a person's statements or questions that are put into our forum. Sometimes we will just bypass the actual inquiry and make an attempt at really helping the person by trying to get them to address what we perceive as the motivation for their concerns. Sometimes this approach is successful, and other times it is rebuffed with arrogance and antagonism at our attempts. Chuck was clearly not pleased with our approach, and he tired to point out the fallacy of it with this statement...

you do not even know me.

That is a fair statement, and true enough at it's core. Here's the problem though. We actually do know what you have shown us about yourself, and trust me, we pay very close attention to what you say in here.

My first response to Chuck was filled with understanding of his frustration, but not with a clear cut answer to his question. I have no knowledge of Pennsylvania's DMV rules and procedures, and it is highly doubtful that any of us could know how he needed to take care of his issue. It was clearly something he needed to get through by being persistent in his pursuit of it with the folks at the DMV. Take a look at some of my statements to Chuck. They were sandwiched in between these two comments where I expressed my empathy and some encouragement.

Chuck, I feel ya Brutha!

Hang in there - you can handle this.

In my initial comments I decided to pursue what I perceived as the bigger issue. Could I have been mistaken? Oh yes I could - I have been wrong before!

I focused on Chuck's frustration, which was highly evident by his remarks, and tried to point out (for his edification) that he needed to find a better way to deal with frustration. Seriously folks, if you have never even been on the road yet, you have no concept of how frustrating it can be out here. That one problem with this job ranks right up there at the very top of all the many reasons people give up on this career so quickly.

Here are those initial remarks...

One of the things you're going to be dealing with constantly out here on the road is frustration. There are going to be times when it seems like your dispatcher doesn't know what they're doing. At times you're going to be thinking your company is screwing you over. You're going to have thoughts that you should quit, or that you never should have started this career. There will be times when you're convinced you made the wrong choice of companies to start with. This whole industry is filled with frustrated people. Just do a search on YouTube for Trucking, and you will find them by the hundreds of thousands.

You have got to start now to be in control of your emotions, your thoughts, and your reactions. Probably you're not familiar with my foray into trucking. It was brutal. Brett himself thought I was going to give up and become one of the moaners and groaners. I survived a five month long ordeal of going to orientations and being rejected and sent home for various reasons. Today, I can write my own ticket to any company I'd like to work for.

Step back, take a deep breath and keep working on this. You hit a disappointing snag for sure, but you've got a lot bigger challenges ahead. Brace yourself. The road to the top is never easy. Challenges will come and go, but Winners and Victors never ease up. They face their troubles with a sly grin that says, "I'm about to kick your butt, and make you enjoy it while I'm at it."

There is nothing critical in those remarks. It is all just good straight forward advice that should help any newbie just trying to find his way into the trucking career. I gave him a personal example of my own monumental struggles at getting this career started, and encouraged him to "Step back, take a deep breath and keep on working on this." It was clear, concise, constructive advice. Unfortunately it was not what he wanted.

We give you what you need, even when you don't know what it is that you need. Chuck needed to keep on pressing on at the DMV and get it resolved. Which is why I told him to "keep on working on this."

Continued...

Look at Chucks ungracious response...

I seem to get the maybe you don't want to to do this in the first place because there are always going to be issues when trucking. Personally I know that but comments like that are not helpful. Some ideas on how this can be solved would be better than telling me something I already know and understand.

That is what I'm talking about when I say we know as much about you as you are willing to show us. Chuck wasn't bashful about letting us know who he is, and that is all we have to go on. He is a guy who let's his frustrations dictate his actions and words. Bingo, I knew more about him than he realized, all because he showed us that. I then attempted to point out more clearly how he was reacting to a minor bump in his road by pointing out his childish reaction. I also pointed out how he had gotten the proper information from the DMV , but it just wasn't what he wanted to hear. I guess he thought we might have some magic formula that could help him bypass his struggles.

Here is what I said to him...

Chuck, I'm sorry to put it this way. You are acting like a child who can't get his way. You're throwing a temper tantrum.

I read your posts carefully and the Pennsylvania DMV told you what you need to do. You just didn't like what they had to say, so you're wasting your time and energy blowing off steam when you ought to have your butt down there reapplying for another permit.

According to your home state's rules you took too many tries to pass. Put on your Big Boy pants and get this behind you. We all have to play by the rules. Some of us just have some screwball rules we have to deal with. You've wasted a lot of energy on trying to circumvent what they told you. It's not helping you, it's hurting you.

Once again he was certainly not impressed with my attempts at addressing the bigger issue. His response makes it all too clear that I am actually on the right track with my assessment of what's really giving him fits now, and probably will continue to plague him as he makes his way into this very challenging career...

I am not whining either, I thought that if someone else had the same issue then maybe they could give some tips to solve it. Not chastise me and tell me to suck it up as if I am whining. What's the point of having this site for questions and answers if I cannot get them without people telling me that I am whining and not doing anything to try and fix my problem when I have spent the past week on the phone with the employer, school and the DMV.

So I guess from now on I will just not post any issues on here and keep them to myself since getting any helpful comments is too much for some.

You see, I know Chuck better than he realizes.

Unfortunately some people don't appreciate it when we start showing that we really do know them by what they've shown us. That is when you start realizing how thin skinned they are. I never like running some one off from our site, but I always think it best to offer the kind of advice that will help them in their career. Sometimes it backfires on us, and other times we end up really helping someone find there way through the fog of information and lousy advice that is all over the internet when it comes to getting a trucking career started. Chuck made his decision...

I have nothing else to say, I think I am done with this site. No one is understanding what I am trying to say and Old school I am not thin skinned you do not even know me. So I will no longer be posting any concerns on this site.

It is unfortunate for Chuck. I hope he will reconsider.

We have this policy around here - it says we will give you what you need, and you can do with it what you want. I stand by everything I said to Chuck. Maybe I was a little harsh, but I hoped it would jolt him back into reality. I wish the best for him, but I pity him trying to find helpful and truthful information on his career without at least keeping us among the places he visits for information.

Bran009, you are spot on with your assessment. I was busy typing my response and had not seen your comment. You got it right.

It goes back.to attitude, listening and applying what you have learned. In Dons 8/2 split thread, Chuck who did not even have a CDL , was arguing with us experiemced drivers who not only know the rules, but use them on a daily basis.

he quoted and misinterpreted the HOS of service rules and vehemently argued we have no clue. That is not a quality i would want in a trainee. This allowed me to see that no matter what the DMV nor the MO school told him, he would only hear what he wanted to hear.

The truth in this matter is that MO (my owm experience) and PA state laws (from what chuck posted) only allow you to test each section 3 times. In MO where he tested it is 3 times and then you cannot test again for a year. Apparently the school allowed him to test 4 times, and this was not legal. It sounds like MO recognized the passing scores but PA did not. Therefore, PA was refusing to provide the CDL. I would love to know how he solved this and if PA made him test again or what he did,...but he just wanted his hand held.

the "no one is helping me" victim mentality is at play here. the school didnt help.him, the DMV didnt help.him, the forum didnt help him. "no one is understanding me" was stated. we understand him, we just couldnt walk him into the DMV and demand a supervisor for help.

It reminded me of an article.i wrote about personal responsibility and decision making. we need to be out here to solve problems, and we need to learn how to use resources to do that. there is no one to blame but ourselves.

Responsibilty & Decision Making

i wish him luck.