I'm Going Off To Roehl 'cause I Need To Train!

Cliffhanger.

Good job Ellie Mae, self doubt is the enemy in so many ways! Awesome news

Hopefully he’s out celebrating with the crickets we keep hearing.....?

Hello everyone, and welcome to today's episode. Sorry for the long wait, but I'm safely home in Louisiana again. What a long, strange trip it was.

I guess the important things first, eh? i'm sure you're all wondering how my test went. Well...

I failed it.

:(

i hit a curb. auto-fail. no third test. I started the drive home immediately after the test and drove straight through. I'm really upset about it, too. I just made DUMB mistakes. Something about that test got in my head and just festered and grew into panic. it's like I couldn't slow my brain down enough to think rationally.

Brain: "Hey, that's a yellow light, I should STOP." Body: "WTFE, I'm pushing the go juice and driving like I don't know what a trailer is." Brain: "That's a really bad plan." Body: "WHEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee.....!!!!!!"

Really.

I don't know where to go from here or what my options really ARE, but I can't look at my two driving tests and say confidently that I should keep trying. I've really let myself down.

This whole experience has been MUCH more difficult than I imagined. I'm happy to take any advice from y'all. I really hadn't planned on failure like this.

have a great monday.

Well that’s an unfortunate post to read, but truck driving isn’t for everyone. Don’t give up.

I am not sure what state you tested in, but have you considered looking at another paid cdl school and talk with a recruiter to see if they will bring you on for some more training? I am assuming you don't owe Roehl any money? I mean worse case, for example you call Jim Palmer or Wil-Trans and explain, see what they say and see if you can get a trainer for 30k miles, then go back and test again. I don't recall why you picked Roehl versus other companies, and maybe that does not matter, but I have read here that another company might possibly pick up a person in your situation. When does your Permit expire?

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.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

First post reads that Roehl paid for the training. They will send it to a collection agency immediately after a prospective student leaves. I’ve talked with several former students about this.

If you really want this dont give up. There are alot of options. Maybe check out Schneider. Another member, Robsteeler, failed his test numerous times and they instead of sending him home they paid another school to give him more training.

First post reads that Roehl paid for the training. They will send it to a collection agency immediately after a prospective student leaves. I’ve talked with several former students about this.

Would that be the case here? It would seem that Roehl decided to terminate the training. Since it was their decision maybe there would not be an obligation to repay? I guess that is something that Avvatar will need to check in to, or maybe already has. Regardless, I believe that calling other companies (Millis, CRST, Prime, etc) would be the logical next step.

That’s how they operated when I drove there.

It appears that if I somehow receive my CDL through other means, Roehl will reevaluate my job offer as "experienced" and send me out with an otr trainer. I have a month to figure this out.

However, I won't lie to you guys. I'm very disheartened. I made poor decisions during my tests that caused me to fail. I got nervous and made bad choices. Normally, I'd chalk it up to inexperience and a nervous disposition and carry on. But as we are talking about a 40 ton rolling death machine, I feel it necessary to rethink.

It appears as though I will owe Roehl the full cost of tuition if I don't get a CDL I the next few weeks. The issue is that Roehl operates in a loophole wherein they are considered on-the-job training, not as a school. This means that I have not attended the classes necessary to test for my CDL.