INDIANA SKILLS TEST IS A MONEY PITT
Topic 13509 | Page 1
Pappa Hoss, welcome to the new reality!
I know it seems crazy, but that is just how it is these days. I sometimes think about taking a year off from driving and doing some work around my place, but I'm afraid I will have to start all over again if I do. I heard of one person who took a leave of absence from his driving job, returned in three months and the insurance carrier for the company required him to take a refresher course before they would insure him as a driver!
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
It's indeed the new reality and in Indiana you have to pay the testing fee every time you retest. In Kentucky at least people get 4 attempts for the initial fee. In my class there were 2 former driver's with many years of experience because they'd let their cdl go for a while.. Not due to a accidents, tickets, etc. But they needed that 160 hr certificate to get a job. I've heard that 160 hours requirement will be increased.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Supposedly - at least in Florida - you can downgrade your CDL to a non-CDL if you don't want to keep your Med Card current, then simply show up with a current Med Card and upgrade it back without additional testing.
This is a note for EVERYONE. I worked HARD to get my CDL, and even though I'm not using it, I still make sure to keep all my endorsements and Med Card up to date and on file. Much of a PITA as it is, to go get my physical done every two years, it's still easier than running into the potential hassles that PoppaHoss has.
Poppa - condolences on your loss, and sorry for your hassles. Thanks for sharing them here, as it serves to make new folks aware of how important it is to keep everything current on your CDL.
The 160 hour thing is more an insurance requirement, than FMCSA reg - but FMSCA is going to make it rule soon (if they haven't already).
Rick
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
CSA:
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)
The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle
FMCSA:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.
What Does The FMCSA Do?
- Commercial Drivers' Licenses
- Data and Analysis
- Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
- Research and Technology
- Safety Assistance
- Support and Information Sharing
Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I wonder if the TT website has updated the CDL training program to include these new rules yet? Phil
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
In Colorado (where I went to my CDL school), you had to pay each time you took a test, or did the re-test at the DMV. I'm thankful I passed all three the first time.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
It's indeed the new reality and in Indiana you have to pay the testing fee every time you retest.
No offense, but I don't believe this is at all true. The test itself technically doesn't cost you a dime (if you have a truck). Indiana only charges you for the license itself....but if you don't have a Truck you have to pay a 3rd party for truck rental fees, insurance etc. with each test & subsequint test.
http://www.in.gov/bmv/files/Fee_Chart.pdf
http://www.in.gov/bmv/files/CDL_Third_Party_Test_Sites.pdf
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Bmv:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
Sorry I didn't add the links correctly. (These are PDF documents).
In.gov Third Party CDL Testing Sites & Fees
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Bmv:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
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Let me start by letting you know I drove for 37 years, had a clean record and was able to get work most who ever i wanted to drive for, then my 87 year old mother got sick and ended up passing on to Heaven , well needless to say it knocked me for a loop, so i took some time away from the road to clear my head, and get some things done I needed to do, in the meantime my physical came due about a week after losing my Mother, i was feeling pretty low at the time and didn't want nor feel like messing with that at the time, wasn't long after that I got a second notice from Indiana BMV telling me I would be suspended if I didn't get it done, so I went down and turned in my cdl and got me a operators so i wouldn't get suspended , well after a while life has gotten tough and you gotta do what you gotta do to survive , so I go down to the license branch and I am told you have to start all over, i asked the lady what does that mean ? she says you have to go to truck driving school , i said i drove for 37 yrs and have close to 4 million miles in a truck, she said that doesn't matter now, so I have studied all the new laws and went and got me a permit first time for anything ...lol then took all the written test, passed them all OK, then scrapped up 175.00 took the skills test and the young guy tells me I failed, confused i asked why, he says well you done all the steps right in the Inspection, you done the four point brake check correct, but you failed to say step 1 then do that step, then step 2 then do that step and then the same for 3 and 4 , my jaw hit the ground, you mean to tell me your gonna fail me because i didn't say step 1 step2 step3 step 4 , he said yes sir, i have to, , now drivers they easily could look at my driving record and see I've drove all these years, and the fact i didn't get my cdl taken due to a Accident , DWI , OR DRUGS, but simply turned them in due to a hardship , am I alone to think its all about money, and instead of getting a cdl due to experience, or skill, its all about memorizing all the parts and the four point brake check, and being able to squat ...instead of being good at getting a load across country on time, and being able to back the trailer in once you get there. well thanks for letting me vent a bit. you all stay safe, happy motoring, see ya at matts..
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Bmv:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
DWI:
Driving While Intoxicated