Profile For Nick

I have a lot of complaints about them, so here is the short version.

Way too often the truck picks up a phantom objects in your path including shadows, bridges, road signs, vehicles on ramps that are not infront of me. The truck especially Internationals will hit the brakes with no warning.

The lane departure warning will buzz for, concrete sealer, water, old lane markings, warning concrete or for fun as I'm centered in my lane and it just buzzes.

For all the above reasons I do not trust them. I can not think of a time they helped me avoid an accident. But I know of several especially in internationals were I felt like it almost caused one.

This is everything I would have added. The lane departure warning is pretty bad. And then half the time doesn’t tell you when you actually are leaving the lane. But will buzz at you for concrete sealer. The forward collision warning that never works? I lost count of how many times it randomly throws on the brakes for a shadow or something that’s not even there.

All of these safety systems I have found to be a much bigger distraction for us drivers than they are worth.

Well, first you made a choice, not a mistake, to take a substance which caused you to test positive on a drug test. And that was before you even had your license. Now, that is going to stay with you on your Clearinghouse for every prospective employer to see, especially the part that shows this happened prior to you even having a CDL.

You unfortunately may have ended your career before you even started it. Especially with how the opportunities are right now. Companies are being way more picky with who they hire because they are far from desperate now. Not long ago, a company closed its doors and now an additional 2,500 drivers are looking for jobs, all of whom I would assume would be considered first before someone with a failed drug test on their Clearinghouse. You unfortunately put yourself into the position you’re in. I know this may not be what you want to hear and I certainly do not mean this in any kind of rude way. I’m just trying to be honest.

I’ve been on this site long enough now to know my response will likely be echoed by those who have been on here a lot longer and have way more experience than I do. All you can do is keep applying literally everywhere. Don’t know what kind of restrictions you have placed now on your license, if any. Wish you all the best and good luck cause you’re gonna need it.

Nick I got a big issue with your statement it’s the little guys pulled in why the big ones are passed through.

I’m as small as it gets. 1 truck, 1,driver. I get bypassed or spoken to briefly and 99.9 percent of the time sent on my way. It’s all about how you appear and carry yourself. If you look and act proffessional you get treated as a proffessional.

I have rolled through plenty of scale houses and Prime, Crete, Convent, or other large carriers were being throughly inspected.

I keep my equipment well maintained and looking good all the time. It tells DOT I care and they probably are wasting their time on me if they really want to find violations. I’ve seen more big company trucks that look crappy, even though they are much newer than my old relic get pulled in. I can find something wrong on a brand new truck if I look hard enough.

Always look and act proffessional!!!!

I think my words were misunderstood… I meant it more in the way of the small, fly by night carriers who don’t care… clearly you DO care and this is not you and my comment was not referring to someone like you. I think we can both agree there are plenty of drivers on the road right now who make a joke of the license and the profession. Safety and doing things right is about the last thing on their mind. It’s all about keeping the wheels turning 24/7. “1800 miles a night.” - this is who I was referring to, without pointing any specific fingers. Not someone like you. Why do I say that? Because I see it on a chronic daily basis.

I worked very hard to get my license and get to where I’m at and take my job extremely seriously. I keep it professional 100% of the time even to the point of keeping a portable pressure washer with me to clean the truck once a week. It’s no secret there are those out there who are making a joke of the industry and making all of us good, hard working guys doing it the right way with the upmost professionalism look bad… the whole point of this thread was to highlight an accident where the driver killed 5 people for driving under the influence. This is all I meant by my comment and certainly didn’t mean it as any kind of personal attack against small operators like you who are obviously doing everything the right way. I’m sorry if my words came across anything other than that but that’s certainly not how I meant it.

I would gladly park in a lot there if it was available. I’ve had trouble several times finding parking anywhere near the Bay Area. I wouldn’t pay any more than $25 a night though. No paid to park lots I’ve stayed at have ever cost me more than $25 and they’ve all offered the same amenities and services you are considering.

To add - the difference is everyone on this site knows what those terms and phrases mean and knows where and how to check them and where those parts are located. These “drivers” working for these fly by night operations don’t even know how to complete a pretrip or even a basic brake test. I know this because I’ve witness it many times at truck stops, even to the point where they have asked me “oh you do this every morning?” Yes - just like the DOT law says you’re supposed to do. I’d go further to say that they don’t know how to properly fill out a log, even on an ELD where 90% of it is done for you.

Most of them leave their truck idling all night, wake up, and are driving within 10 min. Safety takes a back seat at these operations because they get low pay, by the load. So they have to turn and burn to make as much money as possible, likely the only income in a multi person family.

There’s a reason why it’s always these small, fly by night type operators that you see shut down at scales and DOT checkpoints and why the several large and mega carriers aren’t and get bypassed often.

FMCSA and DOT are both very clear on it. In order to hold a CDL, the applicant must be able to read and understand English. They also must have had a valid class C license for a period of one year. They also must have and legal immigration status.

If they are unable to understand English instructions, signage and communication, they are not eligible.

There's a substantial difference between hard workers and skilled workers.

And I'm 100% in favor of those standards. I was just commenting on how I noticed that, for good reason, even if someone is skilled at the driving portion of the training, if you can't communicate in basic standard English, too bad. You don't get the license. I was in class with a guy from Syria whose English was pretty fluent, but he still had to learn expressions like "properly mounted and secure," as well as terms like "fifth wheel skid plate," etc. He put the work in and got it done!

Words and phrases you will never say again once you graduate and get your CDL. Lol. 😂

My experience was my recruiter was my direct point of contact until my first day of orientation in which my trainers were my direct point of contact. Then, once released “to the line” and solo, you’re assigned a driver leader who is your direct manager and point of contact for virtually everything.

In your situation right now though, you should still have open communication with your recruiter who extended the employment offer. They are still your direct contact and should be able to answer any questions. I know personally for me, mine was available for both emails and phone calls and we talked several times between the time I was offered and accepted my employment offer and my first day of training/orientation - which was about 1 month. Hired mid June, started mid July.

I’m just going to be straight up blunt and honest with you. Listen to all of these replies, especially from these two wonderful ladies who have loads of experience to share. I am still very green, having only been working OTR for 6 months now but I will say, I am beyond grateful for the experience I have already gained just by doing so. I would have never felt as comfortable as I am now if I would have taken some local, home everyday type job right out of school. You just don’t get the same kind of experience. And once you have a year of verified OTR experience on your resume, it really opens the doors for you. I don’t plan on doing OTR forever and where I’m at now (one of the 3 mega carriers hauling bright orange trailers 😉), I’m grateful we have opportunities for me to switch to other contracts that will allow me to be home much more. I’m not even considering it until I at least have 100K+ miles of OTR under my belt. And that’s a minimum. I’d like more than that.

As someone who’s still very fresh in this industry, I’m beyond grateful to already have a job. Had I waited an extra few months to get my CDL, it would likely be very different. There’s 2,500 extra drivers with tons of experience looking for a job now. Who are these companies going to take? One of them who just wants to drive or someone who has a list of things they’d like before they consider employment?

So with that, I feel like I can offer some pretty decent advice as a newbie to another newbie. A vast majority of your requests/wants/desires are just not realistic. I’m a newbie who was in a similar situation just last year. It took me 3 months to find my job and it was a “here’s how it’s going to be; take it or leave it” situation. And that was going straight into OTR and coming to terms with the fact that I would likely be doing that for a year plus. You can’t be saying “I don’t want to be going to this state.” “I don’t want to go to that customer.” You’re new. You just kind of need to put your time in with no difficulties for the company and do whatever is expected of you. Your dispatchers learn VERY FAST who they’re “difficult to work with” drivers are. Trust me. That means going anywhere, at anytime, no matter the distance. You and your husband sort of need to get realistic of what’s actually going on. That’s just the honest truth. I am in no way trying to be mean or act like I have all this experience. I’m the first to admit that I don’t. But my reply here echos those who have tons of experience and they are all exactly right.

This is an extremely hard industry to get into right now. Having all these requests and demands and this sort of naive attitude towards the industry is going to be a major hurdle to overcome for you both.

I originally came on this site and asked all of my questions, too and got similar answers. No one is going to hand hold you and sugar coat it because how does that really help you in the end? It may not be what you were hoping to hear but this is “Trucker Truth” after all. So do you want the truth or do you want a watered down answer that makes you feel better.

I understand you’re helping your husband out here with making this post and trying to help with the job search and that’s great but he really needs to be putting in the work. Whose CDL is it in the end? I think once you both realize things aren’t going to be as you had hoped, it will be a little bit easier for him (and you) to get rolling.

From one newbie to another, this can be a very rewarding career and I still love it! Yes, there are certain days where I’d rather be doing just about anything else but that comes with any job. I’m on a permanent paid road trip vacation. I drive through the mountains of Colorado and say to myself “I can’t believe they’re paying me to do this right now.” I wish your husband all the best in finding something that works for the both of you but PLEASE, again as one newbie to another, listen to all of these replies, including mine, because they are right on the mark. Hope to see you out there!

Schneider was basically the same way. Report it on your physical but if it was over 3 years ago and they’re not in your system now or required for you to function, it’ll be fine. As long as you can pass a urine test and hair follicle test. I believe a vast majority of companies do the hair test now.

I hate to be the one to say it but 2,500 drivers looking for a job in this market right now is going to be quite an uphill battle. Makes me grateful for my job that is keeping me more than busy.