Profile For Aaron N

"Hey Aaron I'm actually a local driver for Old Dominion here in Sacramento. Mostly do local deliveries, pickups, and doubles. What school did you go to?"

Hey Daniel B, Above and Beyond. Enjoy that valley heat and if somebody wearing a hockey mask carrying an axe flags you down, do not stop. Take care

"Aaron. If you are going to the trouble to relocate for school why not just go with company paid training?..." Greg M: I did check into companies with their own CDL training but, with a CA CLP, I still couldn't have gotten my CDL w/out California DMV Commercial in truck testing. There's not even a hint of when that's going to start again. Thanks for the 411 re CDL here, terminal there...

UPDATE

The other school I began in Sacramento opened up again. It was a 120 hr/three week school which I completed except for the last day/8hrs. Because CA DMV commercial was still shut down when we finished, they wanted to save one day for us to practice before testing (once CA DMV commercial opened back up, which it hasn't as of this post).

During the week that followed, I waited for CA DMV commercial to open up or provide some word on an anticipated opening date, I contacted several trucking companies to see if they would take me on with the training I had to-date. First of all, I found out, the school I attended in Sac, for CDL training purposes, is not recognized by all trucking companies. There were none that wanted to take me on with what I had. In addition, because of my Cali CLP, even if the company had its own CDL training program, I successfully completed it, and they had third party testers/-ors which could test me and put my info in the database (if I passed), I still wouldn't be able to get my CA CDL unless CA DMV commercial was open for business. So...

After more research, I drove over to Cheyenne, applied and was accepted at a school there which is recognized by all trucking companies (or at least the ones I am interested in). I traded my CA DL for a WY DL, retested and obtained a WY CLP. This school has its own third party tester/-or and WY DMV commercial is open for business. My school instruction begins this Thursday. In the meantime, they are letting me use their facilities to study for and obtain the endorsements I didn't test for when going for my CLP. Which leads me to more questions for the old salts out there:

How is me having a WY CDL but the trucking company(ies) I'm interested in do not have terminals in WY going to affect me? With a WY CDL, may I still drive for a company with a terminal in, say, California, Idaho, or Washington but none in Wyoming? How does that work?

And, for now, (in the immortal words of Pork Pig) that's all folks. Keep on truckin'. I hope to join you soon.

AaronN Sacramento, CA (now Cheyenne, WY)

"What truck driving school were you going to attend in Idaho? Where is it located?"

Hey Laura, Sage in Coeur D'Alene. AaronN

I am new to trucking. I have my learner's permit and was scheduled to attend a trucking driving school in Idaho on March 30, 2020. Because of Covid-19, the school I was to attend shut down. I found another school to attend, attended for a week, then they shut down for two weeks (scheduled to re-open April 20, 2020 - fingers crossed).

It would be most helpful if Trucking Truth could keep us updated re where someone can obtain truck driver training and the cdl skills test during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Regards,

AaronN California

What is the significance of "my terminal" (quoting Old School)? I worked in agriculture, construction and related most of my life. We had to report to a job site each day. How does it work for a trucker? Do you have to report to "[your] terminal" at certain times or...? For instance, I live in the Sacramento, CA area. Knight has terminals in Sparks, NV and Tulare, CA, about two and four hours (respectively) from me (in fair weather). Swift has terminals in Lathrop, CA (about an hour away, no fog) and Sparks, NV. How would where I live and these terminal locations affect me being dispatched or otherwise working dry van OTR for one or other of these companies day to day, week to week, or however a trucker would analyze it?

I'm retired but am considering becoming a trucker. I have my permit and am looking into starting a paid cdl program in a couple of months. I'm particularly interested in Knight and Swift. This is my first post. Note: I mention Knight before Swift here only for consistency and because K comes before S in the alphabet.

I was wondering if drivers for Knight and Swift could comment on how, after about two years now, the Knight Swift merger has benefited them, and their customers. I'm particularly interested in:

1. Do Knight drivers have access to Swift terminals (e.g. to layover if drive hours are up and need to rest) and vice versa? 2. Do Knight drivers, at least sometimes, transport Swift loads and vice versa for whatever reason? 3. If a Knight driver lived in an area where a Swift terminal was much closer than a Knight terminal, would the Knight driver be allowed to work out of the Swift terminal, transport Swift loads, etc. and vice versa? 4. Is it a big deal for a Knight driver to drive for Swift or vice versa? 5. Has the merger improved driver training, as well as driver and public safety in any way?

Any other operational, or other changes you guys have noticed and want to comment on would be greatly appreciated.

AaronN Sacramento, CA