Seven Years Ago The Adventure Began
Topic 25667 | Page 1
Congratulations on a nice milestone
From one curmudgeon to another, congratulations. You are a role model for me and thank you for relating part of your story. Safe travels on the road!
Fantastic story Mr. C. You have made it 6 years and 9 months longer than most people that go to school and get their CDL! It shouldn't be all that long before you hit the magical 1,000,000 mile mark. Congrats.
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.
Congratulations! You’ve got wisdom! That’s knowledge AND experience.
Congrats!
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Seven years ago today I started the process of getting my CDL. It took me a year from the time I started the CDL process to actually start driving, so I actually have about 6 years of driving under my belt. Looking back, I have no regrets.
I did OTR company paid by the mile driving for over a year, learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. I did not have this as a resource, but did have a brother who had been driving for a decade at the time.
After switching to an hourly local four-day-a-week position, doing utility driving ( intermodal , van, spotter ) I ran that for about two years before getting an opportunity to start doing an OTR type of run. I have been doing OTR Regional , hauling furniture for Wayfair, doing Intermodal, and now hauling dedicated between Elwood Illinois and Fridley Minnesota for Target.
I have made it through 5 absolutely brutal Winters without ending up in the ditch, upside down, or wrapped around somebody else. I have driven all night long, seeing the sunset and the sunrise while still trucking on the same interstate highway.
This career choice has given me opportunity for self-reflection, introspection, and the opportunity to share my former career knowledge with drivers that I work with an effort to increase the overall quality of our profession.
I know I have nowhere near as much experience as many on this group, and I enjoy reading the posts even as a moderately experienced driver. Sitting in Cold Spring Minnesota, waiting for my opportunity to get into the dock, and the Facebook memory from seven years floated to the top. Just thought I'd share that with you all.
I know this is kind of sappy, but every once in awhile I have to be that way. I can't always be a Curmudgeon...
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
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.
Interstate:
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.