Profile For James H.

I reckon they are pretty smart. I don’t take much to cold weather either!!!

There are wild parrots near my old neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. Apparently they escaped from their shipping containers at JFK airport years ago. They survive in the northern climate by building their nests around electrical transformer boxes, which give off heat. Their acidic guano causes damage to the electric equipment, so Con Ed doesn't love them, although they're otherwise quite popular.

I’d really wanna get on with XPO or Fedex Freight as they’re both hiring in my area but yk you can’t contact their recruiters, do any of you know if they’d hire me with say the year or so of experience with the accident?

It looks like FedEx Freight requires one year of experience, but I know XPO hires drivers with no experience at all, because I was one of those drivers. You'll need doubles-triples, hazmat, and tanker endorsements. In the picture below I had some Class 3 flammable liquids in my lead trailer.

I don't disagree that having a year's experience opens a lot of doors, but there's no harm in putting in applications now if the job doesn't have an experience requirement. Worst that happens is they say 'no.' Although being a chronic job-hopper will mean you're always starting at the bottom when it comes to things like bidding on the best runs, and might look like a flake to prospective employers.

Told myself i’d never work ina warehouse again and started researching how to obtain a CDL.

Well, this might be a problem at XPO, since their drivers typically spend some time each shift loading or unloading the trailers.

Fast forward to April 2023, Was working a decent paying warehouse gig bringing in about $800 after taxes weekly as a 21 y/o and got caught up in some workplace mess that got me fired

Training finishes and the company lets me go because of the remarks from my last trainer.

Companies have different hiring criteria, but if the recent crash is your only crash or moving violation in the last three years, that won't be a barrier most places. These two firings, including one from a driving job, are more likely to be a problem. Companies will usually check your work experience, asking your old company two things: to verify the dates of employment, and are you eligible to be rehired. If your former employer says no to the second, it's not good. As I said, no harm in putting applications out, but you might have to stay where you are a while longer to rebuild your record.

If you're currently unemployed, you should be able to qualify to have the cost of your CDL training covered under the Workplace Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Speak with the office that's handling your unemployment benefits. Plenty of drivers have done this.

🤣Some of the things you see written on those signs are amusing.

Delaware's digital signs are clever, including:

CAMP IN THE WOODS, NOT THE LEFT LANE

NICE CAR. DOES IT HAVE A TURN SIGNAL?

95 IS THE ROUTE NUMBER, NOT THE SPEED LIMIT

and my personal favorite,

GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR APP. PUT DOWN THE PHONE AND JUST DRIVE

I also drove on the Fort Hamilton Pkwy, today, and saw other trucks there. There are a couple of other Parkways that the other drivers also use. It seems that there is no substitute for experience. No GPS is going to take anyone on my exact route, today, and yet everything turned out fine.

Glad it worked out and yes, you learned that some roads called Parkway aren't actually parkways at all. I'd agree there's no substitute for experience, but for future reference you can consult NYC DOT's parkway truck restrictions page

I should have said I-278. I'd like to head back to I-278 after the first stop and then go on up to the Bronx. Are trucks ok to stay on I-278 all the way?

Yes, you can take I-278, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, all the way to its eastern end. Don't worry about those signs saying all trucks must exit at Atlantic Avenue. However, to reach the Triborough Bridge you're supposed to take the Astoria Boulevard exit, since trucks with more than three axles aren't allowed on the Grand Central Parkway. Astoria Boulevard is the frontage road next to the Grand Central, and after a few blocks you'll reenter the highway to get on the bridge. The signs are clear, so you shouldn't have much trouble.

Do you have stops in all those states, or just passing through? I do a trip that has me bumping six docks in four states, in about ten hours. Starting and finishing at our Newark yard, I visit Jersey City NJ, Stamford CT, Springfield MA, back to Stamford, White Plains NY, and Jersey City again.

Yes, part-time Class A CDL jobs exist. Contractors for Amazon, FedEx Ground, and USPS use part-time drivers. However, to my knowledge they all require at least six months' experience, and some want more.

Yes I did go to Trans Am. My lack of driving skills didn't work out with them.

Were you let go by them, or did you walk away by choice? Often the only things a company knows about your previous job are the dates you worked for them, reason for separation, and are you eligible for rehire. If your first employer fired you for cause, that could be a bigger obstacle than if you had no experience at all.

Yea, the recruiters call you, tell you the great world it is going with them, never hear from them again after all your info's in, and leave you hanging.

Well, did they hear from you? I hope you followed up as many times as necessary, to ask about the status of your application, and if they need anything else from you.

I think it would be better to drive down to the company and ask right out, ARE YOU HIRING NOW ?

I agree that's a good idea. You can find out whether that location is going to be adding or replacing drivers, before it even makes it onto the internet. And showing some initiative is never a bad thing. It helps to stand out as more than just an application that came to their website.