Starting Roehl CDL School On 2/11

Right on point- no more, no less. volunteering info that I had taken a drug that 1-would have shown up on a drug screen and 2- that hadn't been in my system for over 6 months...led them to request the script log that showed the last refill on November 3. When I squeezed in my last appointment before i my insurance ended on Nov 30. I'm NOT hiding behind HIPAA- I'm saying that if it was a drug I was still taking it would absolutely show up in any drug screening- the 1 I took for a local job on Nov 6, the DOT one on Jan 3, the company one on Jan 14, or the hair and urine one I just took last week. I stopped taking it when I considered changing employment. But I filled it on my old insurance because I don't 600$ out of pocket. So that being said- if I'm NOT taking it, and NOT testing positive for it, there is no reason they would find it without me 1- opening my damn mouth2- for no good reason, and signing a HIPAA release. They asked if I had any open scrips, so I thought I was being honest. Having 56 out of the last 2 bottles sitting in my medicine cabinet and not ingesting any since last summer doesn't mean anything, I need to wait 6 months since my first provable clean date, the drug test on Nov 6. I'm not hiding anything, not here now, or in general as a principle in my life. And although I have no way of proving it to you, there is no-one here or in your circle of friends and coworkers that takes the responsibility of other peoples health and safety more seriously than I do.

Lee _/\_

Lee the physicsl ability test at Roehl is not anything to stress over. IF you go flatbed there are a few extra things but still no biggie. With all your physical activity you should be fine.

Welcome aboard Lee. I too just last week was about to go up there to Roehl. I have my permit and was on the way to do their drug test and all when I was contacted from another carrier based 3 hours away from my home. Made me a little bit better offer once I got my CDL. So my situation was/is that I am self employed and if i were in Wisconsin at least they were paying me to school so being away from home I was still making money to pay the bills. So what I did was went to this school an hour from me and explained my situation about needing a cdl and work as well. They offered to work around my schedule so I can work 2 or 3 days and school 2 or 3 days. 10 hours on Saturday. So God was looking out for me and showed me the way. But I really like Roehl and their ways. I may wind up there one day. I also feel like this helped me out as I have a 11 year old daughter soon to be 12 and moving houses at the moment. So this gave me the extra time to get it together this month. Sure wish you the very best.

Lee replied...

I'm not hiding anything, not here now, or in general as a principle in my life.

I don’t recall suggesting you were hiding anything from anyone. I just did not agree with interjecting HIPAA compliance into this discussion. HIPAA compliance was not violated at all.

And although I have no way of proving it to you, there is no-one here or in your circle of friends and coworkers that takes the responsibility of other peoples health and safety more seriously than I do.

Safety is the essence of what we do, it’s in our behavior, our thoughts and our actions. We live “it”. All of the experienced drivers on those forum are of like-mind when it comes to that.

If you truly take safety seriously, then you would try to understand their decision. Under the best of circumstances this is an incredibly dangerous job. Add in a controlled substance (with a script) or any distraction for that matter...the risk increases many times over.

Honesty on a federal medical form is the only way to go...the only way. And the medical long form is DOT , not an individual carrier’s form. Each company may take a different action based on the information recorded on the form. It’s their right, and a condition of hire. You absolutely did the right thing, no need to beat yourself up or curse the process.

The company you tried to hire on with had applicants that presented a lower risk than you. It’s competitive. You were on a medication (legally), that somehow compromises safety, others weren’t. They (the company) want to see distance between the last time you ingested it, to the time you start school. Proof that you can live and function without it for a prolonged period of time. Trucking companies are all risk averse, some more so than others. It’s unfortunate...but reality.

You are new...deep breath. Good luck with Roehl.

PJ- no, I wish I was 10 years younger, I would do flatbed in a heartbeat..unfortunately I think I'd probably get hurt even if I could manage to get in!!

G-Town - thanks you for helping to clarify what I was trying to convey in the earlier post -the DOT physical is bare minimum requirements, black and white, for safety. The Company physical (what I called a 'different beast') is an employers screening for economic viability or as could be said- a companies CYA procedure. I have NO problem with that. At no point did I whine about 'those meanies who unfairly discriminated against me for silly irrelevant blah blah' --no, because I GET IT. I've hired, fired, sat unemployment hearings, priced group insurance policies. The Company procedures that I was caught in are NOBODIES fault. I don't think the policies are bad, wrong, or unfair. The point I was trying to make in the earlier posting was this- Don't confuse the policies and rationale of the DOT physical for the policies and rationale of the Company physical. When I got to the Company physical after delays for buses with no heat, no brakes, snow storms, multiple extended visits in bus terminals (13 hours in Chicago OMG) arriving a day late, bunking with a hyper-wound Puerto Rican girl who talked until midnight..... Yeah- I wasn't as clearly focused as I could have been. I would have benefited from remembering that this company is not my friend (as in a social setting) they are a business entity looking for potential red flags...DON'T GIVE THEM ANY. And that, my friend, was the tip I was alluding to. Not lying, not being unsafe or disregarding the safety imperative of this line of work. I'm very sorry the convo turned in that direction because I don't perceive either of us needing those reminders. But perhaps I misread your intent. Either way- no harm, no foul. I've got last minute details to wrap up here, so to all- be well, be safe. Lee _/\_

Lee..don’t sweat the Roehl physical test. It’s a resistance machine and also will test your range of motion on one of the portions. It used to be a test where you did exercises and then they checked heart rate....but no longer. Now your are tested on 1. Leg strength 2. Arm strength and range of motion 3. Back or “core strength” They have a predetermined number you need to reach in each event to pass. Just go in...get set in the machinery and have at it. You’ll be fine

Thanks Tim- good to know. The 99% of my brain that's usually pretty sane can use that to subdue the panicking 1% lol

Roehl is one of my top 4 choices (I still have 3 years to weigh all the pros and cons of the companies although I've ready any times here that it doesn't really matter as they're all generally the same). I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience w/ them! Good luck!

Hello Again!! I'm finally home for a minute. It's been absolutely amazing, I survived, and if I didn't think I was indestructible before, I sure do now!! 1- Roehl company physical (AKA The Rack) lol- it's mostly what it looks like in the video. I'm still not sure how it measures, I do know that in the 4 weeks I was there 2 people I heard didn't pass, 1 woman and 1 older man. The minimum for van/reefer is around 125 / flatbed is 150 IIRC. I racked up a 195---go Me!!! One young man out of the Armed Forces pushed out about 325 in my class and I heard rumor of a close to 400. So I think it's quite manageable if you are a basically physical person without being a gym rat. 2- Appleton Wi puts 6 of the people in each class in the local Fox Valley Technical College. This is where I went. Not sure how it is decided- they have the school people pre-selected from the group. We had 1 guy never show up, he had been on the list to go to Tech, when they looked in the master list for who would be the replacement, badda boom it was me. I can't stress enough how great the instructors are at FVTC. My guy- Rob, was very experienced as a trainer having been a Schneider OTR trainer for years before going to the school. He was very good as a trainer, professional, calm. I can't speak highly enough about him. As a matter of fact- Mr Rob from FVTC is SO GOOD..(how good is he??) He's SO GOOD that his students can get in an ACCIDENT...ON the test...and still pass. True Story. I got hit by a car in a round-a-bout pulling back in the college at the end of my test. YEP. They labeled it Contact, unavoidable. Talk about making a long day even longer. 3- I'm not sure how I could have improved my hotel-training arrangement..... but I was in the same room and same truck with a lady I would have probably been better off only seeing 1/2 as much of. We both survived but I think that might be less than optimal for most people, not just she and I.

thats' all for now.

p.s. this forum is very helpful. I was aware of stuff many of my classmates were not. Good job Brett. Thanks

lee_/\_