Profile For Maria W.

So I had to drop out of driving school yesterday after a day and a half. Not because I wanted to, I was doing awesome. (Discovered that I'm quite good at this stuff!) In the drivers seat on day one, and aced the double shifting the 10 speed, etc. However, I got a call from the company that was going to hire my husband and I as a team and they wanted to go over a few things, like my driving record. I had an accident 1 1/2 years ago (rear-ended someone but the cause was from another driver who wasn't even aware and kept going). I got the ticket and it was an instant disqualification for employment with this major carrier. Worst news possible because I had just left my job at the post office and paid for school in full. After lunch I stayed back at the school to start calling other companies but was at a dead end. Found out the school would refund me the tuition since I hadn't completed day 3 of training yet, and I was able to get my job back at the PO since I was still 'technically' on vacation. Anyway, I know have a copy of the accident report and it does not say what speed I was going (apparently if I was going 25 or less it would be ok). Not sure what to do next. This is the only thing I've got on my record and I thought I was going to be fine.

Marie, Take a deep breath, breath slowly and you'll be fine. Think of this as the beginning of your wonderful dream of teaming with your hubby. You are feeling like everyone else has but don't beat yourself up over it. You are excited like a little kid at the morning of Christmas waiting to see what Santa brought him or her. Keep us posted as to your progress. You will ace this and be on your way to a great new chapter in you life.

Thank you for your comment. I'm looking forward to joining the ranks of Women Truckers. I've set up a YouTube channel (Truckin Twosome) to kind of have a permanent record for memories for myself as well as keeping my friends and family up to date, but it's becoming more than that with getting views from people I don't know. Guess I've got a lot of support out there so I'll continue the videos. Would love to have you follow me there!

Hello, Just wondering if anyone has any womanly advice for me as I start my training in a few days. I'm getting a little nervous (ok, I'm a WRECK!). I've never been a mechanically inclined person and I'm worried about being able to pass the Pre-Trip in a few weeks (not to mention the backing and driving). Maybe I'm letting myself think too much. I HAVE to pass everything the first try because a job is waiting for my husband and I as a team as soon as I'm done with school. Any advice, or just words of encouragement would be appreciated!

Hi guys... Maria, what you are asking for is highly unlikely for several reasons.

I'll start with getting your own truck... the percentage rates for a loan and the insurance is astronomical for first time buyers. If you already have an LLC and can establish credit with it, then it would be easier... but insuring an inexperienced driver is extremely extremely expensive, which is why many of the smaller local companies want the experience. Most of the larger training/mega carriers are self insured, which is why they can afford to train.

The only company I know of that could do the 7 out 7 home is Roehl. Whether they would allow that for teams, I do not know. The logistics of doing this is improbable. Most teams are run coast to coast, not regional or local. Yes, you can run a team 3,000 in less than 3 days, but due to customer delays and other obstacles, I cannot imagine too many companies being willing to do this.

Another issue is that even after CDL School, you need to get trained by the company for several weeks to months depending on the company. If you want your husband to be your trainer, he will probably have to work at the new company for a certain period of time before he is eligible to train, regardless of his 10 years of experience.

Good luck, and keep us updated on your situation. If you find anything, i would love to know.

Yeah, I'm finding all this out now. I think the best thing for me to do is wait until spring and my daughter and I will go to school at the same time and we'll all start together. Schneider has been great trying to accommodate us with my goofy schedule but in the spring we can drive as a team with one full-time and two part-time drivers and Schneider will let us finish our driver training with my husband after orientation and possibly some training with someone else. I know anything else would be a logistics nightmare.

Hi Maria,

My wife is going to be going to school in NOV to drive with me as well so she will be brand new also. We ran into a similar situation with the experience. The only company I found so far willing to allow her to come on and me train her is Carolina Logistics. We are owner ops, but they may work with yall.

We have found companies that will take us as a team, (Schneider is our best bet and willing to work with us), the problem is my goofy scheduling thing. Think I'll be waiting until Spring and take the driving school with my daughter and everything should work out ok. They've got a dedicated team route we can do with one full-time driver (my husband) and two part-time drivers alternating. Best of luck to you and your wife :)

Brand new to this forum but I have a dilemma. My husband has been doing regional routes for 10 years. He would really like me to hit the road with him as a team. I am 52 and just got my CDL learners permit in the mail but have not yet enrolled in a driving course because we just can't find a company to work for that will accommodate my goofy scheduling needs. So here it is. I have joint custody of my 15 year old and get him every other week for an entire week. Because he is only 15 and I still want to spend as much time with him (and we are homeschooling), I want to work only part-time. So, out with hubby on the road for a week (give or take) and then home for me and he can do solo for a week or so. Starting next Spring, my 22 year old daughter also wants to get her CDL and pick up opposite weeks of me. Basically, in the Spring my husband would be full-time teaming with myself and my daughter alternating. Once my son is done with school in 3 years we plan on going full OTR. I know this is a CRAZY situation but just wondering if anyone thinks this is possible. Most companies I've contacted think it's a great idea, but could be tricky. I realize that the week is approximate and I'm not always going to make it back when I would like which is fine because my son's dad is flexible if we can't make it back on time. The biggest issue I have is all of our more local companies require 6-12 months experience. This is not really a career I wanted to do by myself, even for only 6 months and whole point of me doing CDL training would be to drive with my husband. At this point we've looked into either leasing a truck or going full owner operator but a lot of companies that we could sign on with also need at least 6 months experience. So for now I'm discouraged and have put enrolling in driving school on hold. So hard because I want to do this right now and not wait another 3 years. We also live in Northern Wisconsin. Any advice?