Profile For David M.

Hi Ben,

I too, have been having the same apprehensions about this driving career. As I mull over my own pro's and con's list, I sometimes get butterflies in my stomach about the con's. But I'm pressing on, as I have come too far to quit now. I'm just gonna suck it up and go for it. As my Dad used to tell me, "You can do anything, you just have to figure out how."

I have spent the past seven years as a retail manager and have begun to realize that I really don't like it! I finally burned out from all the angry/difficult people I dealt with constantly. So after a little research on driving schools-and with my wifes approval- I enrolled in CDL school and just up and quit my job. Truck driving can't be worse-right?

I was pretty excited through school and was positive I would land a GREAT local driving job. I'm smart (got a 96% overall grade from the driving school) and I've got some background with trucks as I was a warehouse manager in a previous life and backed trailers in and out of docks and signed loads in and out all day. So finding a local driving job where I'm home every night will be a breeze.

After applying to about 15 local companies and no phone calls, I started to call around and find that because I have no driving experience, local jobs are out of the question. So now I'm looking at regional, and the wife's not so happy now. After applying to some great southeastern companies that offer really good pay and home every weekend- still no job offers. A few phone calls later and I find an old accident on my driving record is disqualifying me. Now what? Back to school to talk to the placement office. These wonderful gals dove in and found some companies that would accept my driving record and I had some job offers.

So now my con's come to life as this Florida boy will now be driving all 48, learning to drive in the mountains and snow and will be out 3-4 weeks at a time from a now not-so-happy wife. That's not exactly what I signed up for. But, I look at it as a means to an end. I'll get some very valuable driving experience that will qualify me to come back and go local. So I'm gritting my teeth through the next year of con's to get to my pro's.

Take care.

David

Thanks, Daniel B. I do understand that driving a big rig is serious business and I certainly understand how the companies are wary at viewing the incident. I have been doing a little research on the accident report and remembered that I took a defensive driving class to have the points removed, which seems to ease the situation a bit. I did get a call this afternoon from a company and they did ask about the accident. They made a pre-hire offer and scheduled an interview for Monday, so things are looking up.

I recently graduated a truck driving school and have been applying to several companies with slow results. I did some calling around as to why no one is getting back with me, it seems an accident I had 18 months ago is giving some companies cold feet about me. I know that most companies have limits on what they can accept for tickets and accidents, but I easily fit their requirements. What is causing the problem is an at-fault rear-end accident where I bumped a guy with no tail lights/brake lights on his trailer. I know-my fault...but under bad circumstances. How can I get past this? One accident in three years shouldn't be a problem, but it seems to be. Any suggestions?

I will talk with CCC again next week and get some more info from them regarding dry, bulk,etc. I also am wanting to talk to Dillon. I have heard good things about them. Two more weeks of school so I want to have a position lined up before I get out.

Thanks for sharing all your info on CCC, Diver. Great info for me as I was contacted by them this week about starting with them in two weeks when I finish driving school. They were one of my first choices for a company to work with.