Profile For Bryan O.

So I pulled my DAC. It shows that I worked for England for six months, but nothing else. Got it from hirerite.com. it has a disclaimer that reads since it has been more than 7 years, by law it cannot disclose drug test results or accident information. I had no accidents nor did I fail any drug tests anyway. It says nothing about abandoned equipment. Only thing I wonder about is if a company will get more details, or if, because it's been more than 7 years that is no longer accessible information.

I actually let my cdl lapse a couple years ago. I'm considering myself as starting from scratch. Yes, I have some knowledge, maybe a bit more than the average cdl student, but nowhere near what I would call experienced. My intention is to start fresh. Repeat cdl school, go through a real training program, relearn trip planning, logging, paperwork, and flat out how to drive, just like I'd never set foot in a truck before. Very much looking forward to doing it right this time.

Thanks for the confidence boost. I don't want to mention names, but the company I worked for was named after a country..... I didn't get my cdl through them however. I went to a 2 week school in Casper Wyoming. Two 5 day weeks, just enough instructions to pass the test, which was administered by the instructor lol. Hey it was free. After all the researching I've been doing, I think I want to go with prime. I like how their system sounds.

Can the truck's electrical system not handle anything bigger than 1500 watts? I've got a 5000 watt inverter sitting in my garage, still in the box.

About 8 years ago, I took a two week crash course to get my cdl, then went to work for a major refrigerated carrier out of Utah. I was completely untrained in otr driving. Held a steering wheel for my "trainer" for 3 weeks, on a dedicated route, of which he spent 9 days at home while I camped out in the dorm at the terminal. In the three weeks I was assigned to his truck, I backed up once. In the company's yard. Afterward, I was assigned to my own truck as a solo company driver.

My driver manager and I didn't click. He was just as new at his job as I was at mine, literally Sat in his chair two days before I was assigned to my truck, which was assigned to him. Because of my obvious lack of skill, I had a lot of issues starting out solo. A couple late loads, getting lost, that sort of thing. So we didn't get along very well. I gradually got better, mostly learning things like trip planning by trial and error.

Overall, I was miserable. Stressing out badly, I had zero creature comforts in the truck, no tv, no laptop, just an old flip phone for contact with my family.

I'm not getting into the drama revolving around finding my truck, or how filthy it was when I finally tracked it down.

For over six months straight, I didn't see my house. From when I started in mid December until I quit in mid june.

Finally, in june, after two months of being told "just run this load and I'll try to route you home" I got a load from Arkansas going to Denver. I lived in Casper, Wyoming. About four and a half hours north. Dm sends message saying after I deliver, I'm off for 5 days. Enjoy my home time.

Got to Denver 2 hours early, talked to the customer, their fine with me dropping the trailer early, pick up the empty, send my macros to the company, and tell my Dm I'll be back after home time. Then I start heading north.

Just as I cross the border into Wyoming, the Qualcomm beeps. I'm driving empty, it's windy as hell, I figure I'll check when I stop in Cheyenne.

Get to the loves in Cheyenne, check messages, it's a load assignment. Back to Arkansas. Pickup in 3 days.

Call my Dm, ask if he sent it by mistake, he doesn't even sound apologetic when he says "no, I need you to get down there" I reminded him I hadn't been home in over 6 months, he just says I'm a company driver and I cannot refuse the load. I hung up and continued north. Another Qualcomm message comes in demanding I acknowledge the load. I ignore it. Next the phone rings, I let it go to voice mail. Next message on Qualcomm informs me if I continue driving north, my Dm will call the Wyoming state police and report my truck stolen. I can either turn around and drive to Arkansas, or I can drive to salt lake and turn the truck in.

At this point I am so angry at the way I am being treated, I pulled into a truck park off the freeway, called a friend from Casper to come pick me up, sent my Dm a message telling him where to find the truck, locked the keys inside and went the hell home.

Now here we are. 8 years later. I want to try driving over the road again. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed the job. Yeah I was miserable in that particular truck. With that particular Dm. Working for that particular company. But let's face it, I was so naive, and so afraid of getting fired I didn't even think to ask for a different Dm. I could have done things a lot differently. Including not leaving my truck on the side of the road.

I've prepared a lot better this time. I've researched several different company training programs, been talking to drivers, and getting my personal life rearranged for driving over the road. I've saved about $7000 for living expenses during training and for outfitting my truck when I eventually get it. I do not have a girlfriend this time around demanding that I come home, no kids, I'll be moving out of my apartment and won't have any bills. All I want to do is drive. See the country, hammer miles, and if I need a couple days to decompress, wherever I happen to be, I can get a hotel, camp out and watch HBO, have a few drinks, whatever, then get back on the road to make more money.

I guess my question is (for anyone still reading) will having abandoned a truck, 8 years ago, prevent me from being hired by a decent company now? I know who I want to work for, but so far I haven't been able to get a response from their recruiting department.