Trucking Today
Topic 34836 | Page 1
Also drives me crazy that your experience means nothing anymore unless it’s recent over the road. I have 8 years but for the past 2 and a half years I’ve been local And nobody is accepting that
That's the way it has always been. I've been in the industry since '93, and I agree that it doesn't make much sense. I never did get a straight answer from anyone as to why OTR companies don't count local experience. Maybe they figure the OTR lifestyle is an entirely different beast? That's all I can figure, because it isn't the driving part that's harder. Local driving tends to be more difficult than OTR much of the time because you spend more time in traffic, have to maneuver through tight parking lots more often, and you're doing difficult backing far more often as well.
Maybe they've found that local guys who go OTR don't last because they're used to being home. I don't know. It is a bit puzzling.
I drove for 15 years and loved it, but then I decided it was time to move on permanently, so I didn't renew my CDL back then either. It forced me to move on to something else.
Be real damn sure you're done with trucking before you let that CDL go, or you'll likely be facing an expensive and time-consuming process of getting it back, and who knows how that would affect your chances of getting hired.
Things will have to play out for a while yet, maybe a few months to a year, but if they continue to crack down on non-English speaking CDL holders and immigrants, things will swing back in the favor of drivers again.
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.
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.
Over The Road:
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.
Totally agree with everything said.
Trucking can drive you crazy! It often makes no sense. It seems the longer people are in it, they either become jaded, or manage to enjoy it immensely. I'm still in that second camp. I'm earning some very decent pay, and I'm still enjoying the lifestyle.
If your jaded, it's probably time to step away. Sometimes a whole new perspective can be refreshing. Good luck sir!
I think a part of it is HOS , trip planning, and changing technology. Local guys start, drive, park usually the same time every day. They also drive areas they learn fairly well. OTR causes you to constantly be in unfamiliar areas, deal with rotating schedules and managing those hours differently.
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Bottom line, if you're driving a big rig anywhere, it's experience and should be taken as that. Shouldn't matter if local or OTR. You still had to obtain your CDL A, with all that process involves. No company can read a drivers mind to know if he transitions from a local to OTR driver he can't or won't adapt / like it. You sure can jump the opposite direction and go local without the pre-judgement.
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.
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.
Things will have to play out for a while yet, maybe a few months to a year, but if they continue to crack down on non-English speaking CDL holders and immigrants, things will swing back in the favor of drivers again.
It'll be a while. The DOT announced that as of July 31st they had placed 1,500 drivers out of service for not being able to communicate in English. Since 2022, they issued 300,000 non-domiciled CDLs, so that's 1/2 of 1%. Just 298,500 to go!
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.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
DOT needs to get it into action like ICE, and "Git R Dun" faster hahaha Maybe the DMV offices across the country need to do the same right where it starts, with ALL licenses, CDL and automotive, trash the study books in all foreign languages as well, and have ONLY in English! Ya KNOW there's even more Non English understanding drivers in cars, who are menaces on the roads.
Funny, is thru life going to renew my licenses, I remember seeing mostly Asian study booklets. Korean, Cantonese, Malaysian, Chinese, and of course, Spanish. Don't remember ever seeing any in French, Polish, Russian, etc hmmmm
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.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
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The trucking industry has gone way down hill. Pay and requirements for experienced drivers is so stupid. Also drives me crazy that your experience means nothing anymore unless it’s recent over the road. I have 8 years but for the past 2 and a half years I’ve been local And nobody is accepting that. So with that said screw trucking I will not be renewing my dot physical to keep my cdl because this industry has gotten so bad.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Over The Road:
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.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.