Starting Company Sponsored School With Cr England Tomorrow At The Cedar Hill Texas Campus

I'm starting company sponsored school with CR England tomorrow at the Cedar Hill, TX campus. I am a little nervous. I have never driven a big truck before and right now have no income coming in and a lot is riding on me to pass. I have been putting in a lot of studying time and doing test preps for the exam. So I am pretty sure about passing the written portions, but concerned about passing the driving exams. Any advice would be appreciated.

Cedar Hill has some good instructors. Just listen and pay attention. Studying for the permit ahead of time is the best thing you can do. A lot of folks fail one or more tests and have to return the next day.

If you pass it the first try then you will be able to spend a lot of extra time behind the wheel on the driving range while everyone else have to keep studying the parts they missed and keep retaking the test over and over.

As long as you really want it, and are willing ot do whatever it takes then you will get your cdl.

Even if you master all the practice tests on this site, keep studying from the material they give you in Cedar Hill. A lot of the questions and answers they give you at the school will be on the test itself.

Matt, don't sweat it a bit. Justin has a key point - show them you want it really bad. Show them you're serious about learning all you can, you're easy to get along with, and you're intent on becoming a safe, productive driver for the company. That's what they're looking for. They can teach pretty much anyone to drive a truck. The biggest problem they run into is poor attitudes, the wrong expectations about a career as a driver, or the inability to listen and learn properly. If you'll show them you're there because you mean business they'll work with you a lot more and they'll show you more patience.

Also, it's critically important to remain calm, keep a clear mind, and try to relax under pressure. That's another key thing they're looking for - someone who can handle the pressures of driving a big rig. They're going to purposely try to rattle you a bit sometimes. They might yell at you for a simple mistake, they might keep changing your schedule on you - all sorts of things. They're looking for people who can remain calm and focused, roll with the punches, and not get all bent out of shape every time something unexpected happens.

Lastly, you're going to find a fairly sizeable group of students with really poor attitudes. Avoid them at all costs. Seek out the few who have great attitudes and friendly personalities that are there taking it seriously. Work with them. Stay positive and keep working hard. The instructors knew before your class even arrived that 25% of you will be on a bus home after two days. Some will fail physicals, some will lie on their applications, and some will just have the poorest attitudes imaginable. By the end of the training there will likely be less than 25% of the class left. If you want to be one of them, prove it to the instructors with a great attitude and work ethic. Avoid the skeptical crowd that has been reading negative things about the trucking industry online before arriving. They aren't going to make it through. They'll think everything is a lie, every glitch means the company doesn't know what it's doing, etc, etc. You'll recognize those people almost instantly. The instructors will too. They'll be on a bus back home and you'll be driving a big rig for a living if you play your cards right.

Thanks Justin, and Brett You guys were right on the money. Justin they do have some outstanding instructors. I'm going to start day 11 tomorrow and I'm taking my driving test at the dps tomorrow. Everything goes real fast and I feel confident that I will pass tomorrow.

Thanks for your advice Matt

Ok took my driving test today and passed. It felt amazing to pass. Can hardly wait to start phase 1. Hope my mentor is a good one. Still need to work on some shifting but overall going pretty good. See you guys on the road. BE SAFE OUT THERE!!!

Nice job, when I graduated there were only 17 of us out of the original 60 that started.

Hope you get a good trainer. My phase 1 guy liked to yell a lot and freak out. He was truly not ready for being an instructor simply because he had no patience. For example I would pull up to a red light and stop. Then when it turned green I would start going, he would then start screaming at me telling me to stop. Then when I am stopped in the middle of the intersection he would notice that the light had turned green and would be like"Oh my bad, do not pay attention to me". He did that on two other similar occasions.

My phase two instructor was awesome. As annoying as my first instructor was, he still managed to teach me enough to be comfortable driving so that me and the phase two guy were able to relax and enjoy a couple weeks going back and forth cross country.

Just remember to pay attention to the signs on the road. Follow the route that CRE sends you over the qualcom. If you have a gps, use it but do not follow it blindly, I did that once with a load going to Buffalo New York and was heading into Canada before I realized it because of that thing. Always pay attention to the road signs.

See if you can find a team driver after your training. It helps a lot in the beginning to have another rookie to help out in tight spots, and you get payed more. Do your 6 to 9 month commitment, after that you can find a whole lot of high paying jobs that will snatch you up in an instant.

By the way, was your motel room like?

As grateful as I am to CRE for getting me started, I can never forgive them for putting me up in the "Dallas Inn and Suites".

There were mice running around in the planter out front. I had a ****roach running around in the bathroom late at night when I got up to ****. My neighbors had an 18 inch hole where the doorknob was supposed to be on their bathroom door. Someone left a used condom in my room when my roommate and I were at class(I am not kidding). Several places in the carpet were stained and puffy. I could go on and on, but I just laugh at it now.

Hopefully you had a luck room.

Thanks Justin for the words of wisdom. I was a local student so I drove home everyday, but they are still using Dallas inn as the motel. I heard it was because no other motel will take us do the fact we have been kicked out of several motels in that area. Heard one group burned down the top floor one. By the way how long is phase 2 of the program and does it pay the same as phase 1 ?

Phase two time varies but is usually shorter than phase one, All depends on how many miles you get in phase one.

Mine phase two only lasted two weeks.

Officially hired by CR England today. My driver trainer called me and said he will pick me up tomorrow. I so exited to start driving and earning a living again. It's been a month since I've had any income coming in and with a family of 6 I don't have to tell you that i'm broke. Will leave some updates while I'm out with my trainer.