How Old Is Too Old ?
Topic 4510 | Page 1
How old is too old to become a truck driver? I'm 58, healthy with no medical issues to be concerned about.
When I went through school, our instructor said his oldest student was 72. So possibly 73 is too old.
I'm pleased to inform you that there's no age limit in trucking. In fact, companies often prefer older folks because they are generally more mature and responsible. Your age will not be a problem. As long as you can pass the DOT Physical then you're good to go! And no, 73 is not the maximum age. Just ask Old School, he surpassed that number a long time ago and somehow he's still trucking!
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.
Old School is older than dirt. Ha-ha.
I had an instructor at CDL school who was 82. Fit-as-a-fiddle and on the ball. He had 6 million miles of non-incident professional driving on his record and plenty of sound advice to give. He swore by Con-way, lives well in semi-retirement, and so I joined Con-way, too. If all goes well, I'll get hired on permanently.
Nothing wrong with 58. I say, GO for it!
-mountain girl
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.
Oh, I almost forgot: definitely get as many pre-hire letters as possible, before you go to school. You go to company websites, fill out their online application, let them know you're considering CDL school (so you apply anyway, even if they say CDL is required). They'll probably give you a call and ask you some phone interview questions, and if you're able to tell them that your driving and criminal records are clean, they'll send you this letter, usually via email that says, contingent on all things being in good standing, they'll hire you once you're done with school. It doesn't take a lot of time to get this done (2-5 days for most companies) and you should get as many of those completed as you can. Then once you finish school, you call them back and they start talking to you about orientation and new-driver training and when can you start? You'll be walking onto their training usually within a week or two, so you don't have to do a lot of job-hunting after school, if any. I had 2 pre-hires , which was considered good. One class-mate had 10, so he got to pick and choose, right away. And he did start working right away too - within a week or so.
Getting pre-hires is the best way to go into CDL school.
Good luck!
-mountain girl
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.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Oh, I almost forgot: definitely get as many pre-hire letters as possible, before you go to school. You go to company websites, fill out their online application, let them know you're considering CDL school (so you apply anyway, even if they say CDL is required). They'll probably give you a call and ask you some phone interview questions, and if you're able to tell them that your driving and criminal records are clean, they'll send you this letter, usually via email that says, contingent on all things being in good standing, they'll hire you once you're done with school. It doesn't take a lot of time to get this done (2-5 days for most companies) and you should get as many of those completed as you can. Then once you finish school, you call them back and they start talking to you about orientation and new-driver training and when can you start? You'll be walking onto their training usually within a week or two, so you don't have to do a lot of job-hunting after school, if any. I had 2 pre-hires , which was considered good. One class-mate had 10, so he got to pick and choose, right away. And he did start working right away too - within a week or so.
Getting pre-hires is the best way to go into CDL school.
Good luck!
-mountain girl
I agree MG! I talked with someone at Roehl today and they must really need drivers as I was told it would be possible to have a job waiting for me once I finished school, and I haven't even enrolled yet! Btw, Javier, I am 52 and my age seems to be a plus not a minus.
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.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Thanks for the insight guys!!... just started my research and glad I found this site.
How old is too old to become a truck driver? I'm 58, healthy with no medical issues to be concerned about.
Phew....was starting to think that at 53 I was the oldest one in here...thanks for the backup Javier! lol And you too Old School!
I agree MG! I talked with someone at Roehl today and they must really need drivers as I was told it would be possible to have a job waiting for me once I finished school, and I haven't even enrolled yet! Btw, Javier, I am 52 and my age seems to be a plus not a minus.
-Jolie
By the way, Jolie: get a pre-hire letter from Roehl. It's no big deal for them to write you one and send it and won't it be nice to have their "job waiting for you..." in writing?!
-mountain girl
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
I agree MG! I talked with someone at Roehl today and they must really need drivers as I was told it would be possible to have a job waiting for me once I finished school, and I haven't even enrolled yet! Btw, Javier, I am 52 and my age seems to be a plus not a minus.
-Jolie
By the way, Jolie: get a pre-hire letter from Roehl. It's no big deal for them to write you one and send it and won't it be nice to have their "job waiting for you..." in writing?!
I got it yesterday along with Swift and Werner! I need to call Schneider tomorrow because they have you fax over an application for a prehire which I sent yesterday, but haven't heard back.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Prehire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
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How old is too old to become a truck driver? I'm 58, healthy with no medical issues to be concerned about.