While you wait for responses feel free to check out Funny rookie mistakes. One common mistake people make in this career, especially in the beginning, is listening to terminal rats. Old school unfortunately doesnt have enough egg rolls to exterminate em all.
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
When I got into trucking I applied at Central Refrigerated (no longer exists, bought out by Swift) and I applied at Prime. If I had to go back I would have gone to Prime instead.
Not really a mistake, it all worked out in the end though.
I would have gone to Prime a lot sooner.
i also would have NOT gone to the Sapp Bros in Council Bluff IA. Their fuel isle barrier jumped out and assaulted my tandems , knocking off an axle
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.
I would have bought a good trucking GPS first, before buying a CB. I would have jumped into this career about 30 years ago.
I wouldn't have attempted a tight back into a customer location when I worked for Old Dominion. It resulted in an accident which cost me my job since I was on my probation period. That job was so perfect for me. Pay, schedule, bennies. It was fantastic.
That's a tough one. I'm having a hard time coming up with a mistake that I would avoid. That's not to say I haven't made mistakes. Believe me I have. But the ones I've made have taught me valuable first-hand lessons, and have molded me into a better driver as a result.
I guess I've been fortunate enough to have avoided the big mistakes I should have avoided. Hope I didn't just jinx myself...
"We don't make mistakes, we have happy accidents."
^^ extra credit to who can name the author
That's a tough one. I'm having a hard time coming up with a mistake that I would avoid. That's not to say I haven't made mistakes. Believe me I have. But the ones I've made have taught me valuable first-hand lessons, and have molded me into a better driver as a result.
I guess I've been fortunate enough to have avoided the big mistakes I should have avoided. Hope I didn't just jinx myself...
"We don't make mistakes, we have happy accidents."
^^ extra credit to who can name the author
Bob Ross
Lol yeah I've been watching some of his old stuff on YouTube lately.
I wouldn't have attempted a tight back into a customer location when I worked for Old Dominion. It resulted in an accident which cost me my job since I was on my probation period. That job was so perfect for me. Pay, schedule, bennies. It was fantastic.
Why not go to Estes, Saia or any other large LTL company. Same thing, just a little less awesome than OD.
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:
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I am a green pea, in the process of getting my CDL. Just want to avoid common mistakes new drivers are tend to make in the beginning.
For example, many people mentioned to stay away from Dollar Tree accounts, because of locations, congested traffic, etc., where is high possibility for a newbie to get into accident, and get points on driving record.
Please tell your story, what happened to you when you just started, and what should I watch out for..
Thank you.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: