Profile For Annee

You are not alone. Just this morning was trying to 45 back on an incline and it took me forever because of the constant back and forth. At first I wasn't happy about switching to an automatic but was pleasantly surprised by it's power and ease especially in traffic and now I love it - all except for the backing. I believe my issues are mostly driver error though, sometimes I'm smooth, other times not so much.

I feel your pain, I've had my CDL about 2 years and just in the last few months has it started to click. (Didn't help that I teamed with my boyfriend for the 1st year and he did most of the backing.) Like everyone said it WILL come to you. I did what Susan suggested, practicing with serpentines and backing at truck stops (during the day) to get the feel of how the trailer moves, this is so important. Once I got that, everything else just started falling into place. Understood you can't go to truck stops right now but you can practice.

I've been told the one mistake most newbies make is turning too hard making the trailer move too far. This was one of my issues so when backing I practiced by turning the wheel a quarter way watching where the trailer tires hit, turn another quarter way again watching the trailer tires. When the trailer tires hit the point in the lane I needed to be I turned the wheel the other way following the same slow and easy process always watching the trailer tires. Slow and easy.......you will start to see how much turn you need to get the trailer where you want it.

Please don't stress out, it will click. I promise!

I was tested in IL at my school in Shorewood, DMV came to the school every Wednesday. The pretrip was as stated above, in the truck and questions but I thought that's because it was raining. I know others had to point out stuff on the truck with explanations because I saw this. I studied my butt off with flash cards and the officer said my pretrip was one of the best he's seen. I knew my stuff! The skills test is straight back, offset (can be either driver or blind side) and driver side parallel with 2 pull-ups allowed for all. I failed this the 1st time because the left corner of my trailer was on the line. If you're taking your driving test at DMV you can go there and ask them the test route and try to be prepared. Last few weeks of school all I did was drive the test route over and over again so I knew every bend and bump. Easy.....

I went through the Smith Course at Werner, found it very helpful.

Flashcards worked great for me. I put pre-trip questions on one side and the answer on the back. I'm proud to say when I tested out the examiner said I did the best pre-trip he has ever seen. There's a lot of info that needs to be learned and sometimes repetition is the best way to cram it all in. :)

I'm training for my CDL permit and for some reason my brain can't remember the correct PSI for single vs combination, with vs without service breaks applied, etc. etc.

I understand the cut-in / cut-out numbers, etc. (anything that is different enough from each other) But the ones that are close in number are throwing me off. I'll think I have it memorized, then I fail the online practice tests questions.

Now I'm thinking of making flash cards at this point so I can hammer the information in. BUT... I also thought I might ask you all if you have any memory tips or anything that helped you remember them for testing.

Any clever things like "I before E" sayings out there for this topic?

Thanks!

Of course, it's legal. If you're not happy there are many other trucking companies to work for.

Thanks Old School, appreciate our reply. I'm excited about moving over to WE, don't want anything to mess this up! Annie

Hi all, I've been offered a job at Western Express which I plan to accept but I'm a little worried about their agility test. There's no mention on their website what to expect. I'm worried because I've been through this before, I was hired at Roehl but sent home the 1st day because I couldn't lift 45 lbs over my head without using your legs or back. If I had been warned this was expected I could have saved everyone's time and told them up front I couldn't do this.

So this time I want to be prepared. Anyone been through this? Thanks, Annee

Non DOT (private) drug test results are just that - private. In my previous life of employee rep in staffing firms I ran, administered, and monitored all drug/background testing and I can assure you the company would NEVER give results out to anyone or they would find themselves in a lot of trouble.

If an employee applying for a temp position at one of our customers sites failed a drug/background, the customer was never told details of why the employee could not start the position, they were told the candidate did not pass the pre-employment criteria - NOTHING else. This is considered private and included in the HIPAA medical information regulations.

But if the trucking company should ask him to sign a release and submits this release to Leows, the info will be shared. But why would the trucking company bother with non-trucking related past employment?

For lumpers, my company pays for them in full with EFS checks so I personally never had to use my own money, but IMO, as long as you get reimbursed in full and it's not taxed at the end of the pay week, I wouldn't worry about it. As for the per diem, I personally enjoying having the extra money now and don't mind getting less back with the tax refund, but that's just how I see it. As for the CPA, if you were an IC and had a lot more out of pocket business expenses other than buying the tools you need for every day use, I don't see it being worth it. Just keep the receipts you use and, when filing taxes when asked about business expenses (I don't believe food/drink is seen as a business expense, but a living expense), add the amounts up. I don't see a CPA being worth it to a company driver. But what I say with a grain of salt, I'm only 6mo experienced so far.

Per diem can make a significant difference in the amount you get to keep but another advantage is it's not considered taxable income so at the end of the year your yearly income is much lower putting you in a lower tax bracket. I am paid per diem, $59/day, which is about $300 a week difference in per diem/non-per diem net pay. I will say I have not filed taxes yet with per diem so this may be wishful thinking on my part :)