Can An Old Guy Still Drive Cdl
Topic 9267 | Page 1
Not delusional!
I got my permit on my 53rd birthday & have been driving for 6 months now.
If it's what you want, start with the training program here and go for it!
Hello James, and welcome to the forum!
Hey you are not delusional by any means. Trucking companies love us seasoned citizens - we tend to be more responsible and careful when using someone else's high dollar equipment and we have many more life experiences that will help us with the many difficult challenges that come along in the trucking career.
There are a lot of people who start their trucking careers at a similar age to yours. I myself began driving big rigs as a second career after thirty years in the custom electrical sign manufacturing business.
When I got hired for my first trucking job I was 53. The same week that I got hired the company hired another driver who was 73! Since then I have met three other drivers in their 80's!
You are the perfect candidate, and your experience with backing trailers will only help you.
Go through our Truck Driver's Career Guide, follow all the links you come across in there and you will get a good feel for what you are getting into. There is an inexpensive way to get started by going through a Company-Sponsored Training program, or if you just want to go the private school route, there are plenty of Truck Driving Schools available for your choosing.
We highly recommend that you go one of those two routes to get your CDL. All of the major carriers will require you to have a training certificate showing at least 160 hours of training - that certificate is just as important as the CDL itself when it comes to landing that first job. The way to get that certificate is to go through some professional training.
Again, welcome aboard, and feel free to ask as many questions as you come up with. There will almost always be someone in here who can help with some good advice.
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.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
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.
Heck, I'm 66 right now and going to get my CDL back as soon as I move and get the wife settled in the new house. I drove several years ago and loved it. Coming back I at least know what to expect and have some knowledge about the industry. It does take a special type of person and a great attitude to succeed, and that's the beauty of it. You make your own happiness or frustration and control your destiny to some extent. Can't wait to get started 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.
I'm 63 for another week or so. Did a shuttle run, an my swap driver is definitely older than I am!
Errol, you sure are a young looking 63 or 64.
Must be the hat!
Errol, you sure are a young looking 63 or 64.
Must be the hat!
Well, I've had that photo for 50 years or so.
Here I am at work these days:
Errol, you sure are a young looking 63 or 64.
Must be the hat!
Well, I've had that photo for 50 years or so.
Here I am at work these days:
You aren't wearing the hat though! Haha! Put the hat on and knocks off quite a few years
You aren't wearing the hat though! Haha! Put the hat on and knocks off quite a few years
I miss that hat. I think it's in a box in the garage.
You aren't wearing the hat though! Haha! Put the hat on and knocks off quite a few years
I miss that hat. I think it's in a box in the garage.
Sure thing Dr. Jones!
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im 56 and drove class d and e in fla 36ft flatbed 25550lbs for 11 yrs. am I delusional to think I can get my cdl and drive otr?
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.