Just Now Getting My DL

Topic 7456 | Page 1

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Savanna M.'s Comment
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Hi everyone! I'm looking into getting my CDL right now since i just turned 21. I've been wanting to for a couple of years now but now that i'm of age i have other concerns. I'm currently getting my drivers licence. I wasn't able to afford driving school as a teenager and i'm just now able to start. I've been looking into doing paid training or go to the community college but i wasn't sure if i could even go to classes for it if i haven't even been driving for a year. Will this be a problem? Is there a experience limit? Also i have little work history in that I've only worked one documented job (for six months and it is retail) and i was a nanny before then and unfortunately i no longer have contact with the family to verify that i worked at all during that time. Will this look bad when i apply to a company? Thanks in advance for any help.

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.
Old School's Comment
member avatar

Savanna, Welcome to the forum!

Hey, that one year of having a drivers license is pretty much the way it works. Some states handle it differently, I recommend you make a phone call to the drivers licensing office in your area and ask them if you can get your CDL before you've had your regular drivers license for a year. If they say no, then really it is not going to hurt for you to spend the next year practicing driving a regular vehicle and preparing yourself to be a driver of the big rigs. You could start working on the High Road Training Program, and looking into Company-Sponsored Training schools that you could attend when the time comes. If you attend one of those programs they will pay you while they train you, and guarantee you a job after you complete the training. It also gives you a chance to try and stick with a job for a year provided you can find one - I know it's tough these days, but if you can land a job try to stick it out no matter how tough. As far as verification of your past employment goes if you can just get a friend (not a relative) to write a not stating that they know you were working as a Nanny for such and such a time period, then find a public notary and get the note notarized, that should suffice in most situations as a legitimate verification for that time of employment.

Remember that if you go through one of the Company-Sponsored Training schools you will need to be prepared to stick it out with them for one year of safe driving. They will require you to sign a contract agreeing to work for them for one year as payment for the training. Each of them handles this a little bit differently, but if you will click on those links I provided, you will be able to research the different ones available and decide which works best for you.

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.

Company-sponsored Training:

A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.

The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.

If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.

Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
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