Profile For Errol V.

So you have had "issues" with your current company - as a rookie. In reality, the company has settled procedures and ways to operate that differ from your rookie ideas. Get with the program and do more than grin and bare it. Continue your learning and understand how your trucking career will work. Please let on as to which company has hired you. There may be some active and experienced members here who can fill you in on that companies "culture" and ways.

"Safety and legality"? Trucking regulations are designed for safety of the general public, the driver and the rig. So as a newbie, what are the issues? Please be specific, and we can pass on the tough love without making you feel more embarrassed than you are.

You mention "two mistakes" in "minor" hits in the yard (are there others that aren't "recorded"?). Well, any "minor hit" is an indication that you aren't careful in driving in close quarters. Too many even minor bumps can get you your walking papers. If your company offers Close Quarter training, ask to take it.

Here's a secret about "training" or "starter" companies: like the Easter Bunny, it's true: they do not exist. Every truck driving company out there is out to make money, not create drivers for other companies. If you still have your job, stick with them for more than a year. The actual differences from Trucking Company A and Company B are small and are rarely worth losing your calendar seniority over.

Finally, what is your "constant fight about running when I am not fit for duty"? By regulation you have ten hours off between shifts, and you can't drive or be on duty more than 70 hours in eight days. What do you do on your time off? I hope you are mainly catching up on sleep.

Give us more detail, RoadKat and we can give you more detailed advice.

It's that old saw about "You'll always remember your first time." I still remember my first trailer pick up. I stood there looking at that beast for a minute - no trainer around.

If Roehl is trusting you with their truck on these solos, and you're set to get your own, that's what it's all about.

Welcome to Trucking Truth and to your new trucking career, Danny.

It's awesome that you passed your CDL road test on your first go-round.

But it seems you a bit judgemental about your training. Did you know stuff before you took the class?

some (instructors) withheld valuable information (not on purpose, mind you) that we had to discover on our own throughout the course.

I'm a CDL instructor and, yes, my goal is to get information into your head as quickly as possible. But an important part of learning is self-discovery. I'll guide my students through the backing skills, and when they see how it all works on their own, they own it

Getting "clues" and "marks" on the first day is impossible. You need to understand how steering a tractor-trailer works before you can figure out how to back the trailer between cones.

Most of the truckers I've interviewed stated that the best training is actually getting on the road and getting that actual experience

This is true. Getting a freshly printed CDL in your hands does not make you a trucker. That hands-on experience comes after CR E hires you and puts you with an experienced driver who will polish you up to get your own truck.

I appreciate the detailed and pretty honest review of your training experience. Don't stop posting. Add a topic in our Training Diaries section.

One of Zomer's interests:

But I am more interested in W2, where you can get benefits.

Good move. If anyone offers you, a truck driver, a job paying cash or 1099, turn around and leave without even saying "Goodbye". That setup is actually illegal.

Your other thought about half-and-half work won't fly. No company will talk to a driver who has gone off to Margaritaville for six months then wants back in.

Yes, your POC is your recruiter until you are released to your dispatcher. However, depending on your company, your trainer might get a bonus after you work for the company for 90 days or something. So keep their phone number on your phone for a while longer.

Zomer asks:

Is this something companies let you do as a rookie or do you need to prove yourself first for a few months? And is this only possible if they assign you your own truck? If you don't have private property to park the tractor at, where would you stay on off days?

Yes, indeedy. Once you get your CDL and some company hires you, the first several weeks or more you will be riding with an experienced trainer. That will polish you a bit better to drive your own truck (that you're company issues you). Your trainer gives your company a thumbs and you're good to go.

Then you pretty much live in the truck. If you plan to really go home, just find a truck stop nearby. You didn't need your own property to park at.

You might be interested in:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

All right then! Congratulations!

The High Road program is the manual.

You read a bite-sized piece from the manual then you get questions. You check your test score on the High Road tests then as you work though the sections you will see your percent grade.

BTW the manual for every state is the same. There is no "federal" manual. And there is no shortcut. The questions are very much quotations from the state manual.

Your DOT Medical issue is a common misunderstanding on the driver's part. I don't know this when I went and got my second medical in my own and presented it to Swift. No good, I need to see their Dr.

Once you're an employee, you need to see the physician they select. The old phrase is "your paper isn't worth the powder to blow it up with." It's a way to avoid doctor shopping on the driver's part.

And if they are willing to get you re-examined, go for it. Protein in your urine (I just looked it up) can indicate some serious problems through to minor issues. Since you had one "hot" ("traces") and one not, check with your GP as you could be on the borderline for something. I believe it's in your best interest to double check just so you can stay healthy and drive trucks for a living.

Drew says:

However, their compliance department is giving me all sorts of grief with my DOT medical card which is an entirely different topic.

What seems to be the problem with your medical card? Usually your medical is ok or it isn't. Can you put more light in this?