Profile For Sheila M.

I will be getting my CDL soon, and am trying to decide which company to go with. I just found out that Covenant, and Werner both require double clutching. Is this true? And what other major companies do also?

Sheila, believe it or not the curriculum for truck driving schools is almost completely unregulated. There are a few accrediting agencies out there for the trucking industry but quite honestly they're pretty much worthless. They're a money-maker for the organization so the schools pay up to belong to it and charge their students a little bit extra for the "perceived value" they're getting at an accredited school.

So there may be no minimum time requirements for behind the wheel. It depends on the state or accrediting agency being used.

The one number that does matter very much to all major trucking companies is total time of training. That is what everyone is referring to above. Most major companies require a minimum of 160 hours of training, others will settle for less. But that's the number they're looking at, not time behind the wheel.

The main thing you really have to be concerned with is whether or not major companies will hire from a particular school. Ask the schools you're considering for a list of major companies that hire their students and then call a few from home yourself to verify this. If major companies will hire from a particular school then at least you know the school is worthy of consideration.

In the end, that's what accreditation is supposed to be for. It's supposed to let employers know that you've received a standardized education that covers all of the required subject matter. That's a really big deal in the University system because it also allows credits to be transferred from one University to another. But in the trucking industry accreditation means next to nothing. You can pretty much ignore it.

thanks for the info. i wish i had asked before i enrolled. i still have 3 weeks left of school. i will keep you posted of how it goes.

i am having a hard time finding any min. standards regarding # of hours behind the wheel training for accredited schools. the fact that they accredited, SHOULD mean the school has to meet specific critieria, which is what sets them apart from unaccredited schools. does anyone out there have any info on this?

im looking at schools in ca.

i am having a hard time finding any min. standards regarding # of hours behind the wheel training for accredited schools. the fact that they accredited, SHOULD mean the school has to meet specific critieria, which is what sets them apart from unaccredited schools. does anyone out there have any info on this?