Profile For Jim M.

Hey Jim, I did start my career at Western Express and they gave me a great foundation to build upon. I was employed there for sixteen months, and was very successful there. The pay scale at Western was a little low compared to many others, but they are willing to give some folks a shot that others are rejecting. This seems to be a business model for them, and if you go there you will realize that because of that approach they get a lot of folks in there who aren't the greatest employees. They will give you a chance, and then they expect you to prove yourself if you want to be running in such a way that you can make a decent living.

I had no problems with them keeping me busy, in fact they will run you ragged if you are the type who understands how to get things done. I had a great driver manager who eventually quit, and then the one that replaced him ran me just as hard, only I wasn't as fond of him as I was the first one. A person can make a great start at Western, and I may have very well stayed longer than I did, but I got such a nice offer from Knight for a dedicated flat-bed account that I felt I had to take it.

I knew a driver who went to work at KEIM TS and he thought they were great. He was a bit of an outlaw, and one of the things he preferred about them was that they were still using paper logs. I don't know if that is still the case or not. They seem like pretty decent outfit to me though, I'd definitely look further into it if I were you.

Old School, Thank you for the words of encouragement. I am waiting to hear back from them. I hope Keim TS comes thru.

Well, Thanks to the HIGH ROAD TRAINING PROGRAM, studying a little on the Oklahoma CDL manual, and a couple of practice tests from school, I was able to obtain my permit yesterday. Mostly the HRTP was what helped me the most. I told my classmates about it as well.

General Knowledge missed 2 of 50 Air Brake missed 0 of 25 Combination Vehicle missed 1of 25

What a great program that is. I plan to use it to aid in getting the rest of the endorsements as I need them

Thank You to Trucking Truth for the best program out there!!

Jim

Well, all is not completely lost. Western Express said they will hire me. Are there any Western drivers here on the forum? Any information you guys can give me about them. I am really wanting to drive flatbed.

Old School is the man to talk to. He started with Western Express and he drives flatbed so he can definitely give you the skinny. Good luck!

Thanks Jolie!! I will look for Old School.

Another company that is considering me is Keim TS. They are a small flatbed company out of Sabetha, Kansas. They have been very nice and supplied alot of information so far. They have nice equipment. I talked to a driver a while back and he was happy. Been there several years.

Well, all is not completely lost. Western Express said they will hire me. Are there any Western drivers here on the forum? Any information you guys can give me about them. I am really wanting to drive flatbed.

Jim, the problem is that both those tickets are fifteen or more over. That is a huge hurdle for you to get over. Those things are considered as reckless driving tickets by the trucking companies. Some of them do not allow any of those type of tickets.

Hang in there and apply everywhere you can. If you land a job, jump in with both feet and do a bang up job of proving yourself to them. That is the one thing that will help you get past this problem. Do not give up and quit, thinking you can find something better, it will only hurt your chances. You need some time at a company, at least a good solid year of proving yourself before you star looking for greener pastures. If you can get on somewhere and stay for a while that will increase your chances of overcoming those speeding tickets tremendously.

Keep at it, and lighten up on that accelerator!

Thank You for the words of encouragement. The 21 over was at night and on a country road in the middle of nowhere and there just happened to be a county sherriff coming by. My bad luck. But, I accept rresponsibility for my actions and will keep my nose clean and see what happens.

I have definetely lightened up on the accelerator!!

I've got a 57/35 (motorcycle - dumba$$ me) over 3 years ago. It was "adjudication withheld" (not a CONVICTION), so I'm not sure how that one is going to affect me.

Applications ask for CONVICTIONS. Jim - were your citations CONVICTIONS?

Rick

Im not sure about convictions, it is on my MVR as Citations.

Thank You Scott! Appreciate the answer. It has been 2 years since that ticket. I hope that helps me a little bit.

Hello everyone, Been a lurker on here for a while. I am currently attending Roadmaster in Tulsa, OK. Just started Saturday. I have been turned down by Melton and Maverick and have not heard back from several others on pre hires. TMC, Keim TS, and Paul

The problem is I have 2 speeding tickets. One in February of 2013 for 21 over and one in August 2013 for 15 over. No accidents, no criminal, only 2 employers in last 15 years.

AM I wasting my time getting my CDL since I have the speeding on my record? Any suggestions on company's that will hire me? Obviously want to flatbed from my choices above.

The High Road Training Program is AWESOME!! Helped me tremendously in passing my permit tests the first time.

Thank you, Jim M.