Start CDL School For Stevens Transport Mon. 6/6/16 (Whew, Glad That One Is In That Date!!)

7/6/16

Wow, where do I start?!?! The Stevens doctor told me that if my doctor would sign off on my tremor, then he would clear me medically and gave me a form to fax to my doctor. WOW!! Awesome! I'll call him right now! Called and got his nurse and she said to fax it to them and she would have him fill it out right away and fax it right back. Waited..........waited........still waiting.......Finally called her and she told me that it was worded in such a way, and asking for complete medical records and history and that he just couldn't do that. The V.A. never gives out complete medical records due to patient confidentiality, etc. I didn't realize that the Stevens doctor had asked for all of that. She did manage to get me an appointment with him (my doctor) for next Monday though.

So, supposedly, (according to Stevens anyway) as soon as I see my doctor IN DENVER and he clears me for this, then Stevens will as well. Just not sure if I believe what they say anymore!!!!!!! I have already sat completely through orientation twice now being strung along on promises, and I'm just not sure if the third time will be the charm. I asked if the classes I have already completed will count and they said no, you'll probably have to start over again with the next class when you get back. So that will make three to four weeks that I will have sat through a four day orientation numerous times!!

I had gotten a call from the owner of the CDL school about what is going on ('cause I'm sure he hasn't gotten his money from Stevens on me yet) and I explained it to him. He told me to go back to class and he would get them straightened out on this. Didn't work. Big surprise. So I called him back this evening to update him and he was just as ****ed about it as I am! He said that if they don't clear me this time then he will just get me in a different color truck. That is great and I fully appreciate it, but that means CRST and I really do not want to drive teams. I did that years ago for Motor Cargo and I absolutely hated it!!!!! Other than the training period on a trainer's truck, I refuse to do teams.

Now, bear in mind that I have already passed two different DOT physicals and gotten two different Medical cards! The first one was with the V.A. just to make sure that there weren't any surprises with me passing. Then, the one at CDL school which I knew I would have to take anyway, but knew at that point that I would pass it! Now this Stevens guy says no go?!?!?!?

I guess now that you can probably see why I was too LIVID last night to even be able to post. I would have already started shopping for other carriers that I would like to drive for if it weren't for the whole tuition financing agreement situation between the school and Stevens. The school was great, their people were great, they delivered more than they promised, and I just can't see causing them any problems with getting their payment as I can't afford to pay it in a lump sum. Oh yeah, wasn't that the whole idea behind a company sponsored training program?!?!?!?

Oh, and as to my "tremor", it's called a "benign familial tremor." Under normal conditions, you really have to be concentrating on my left hand (held out straight) to even see it. However, if I'm really stressed, very hungry, anxious, or really ****ed off, then it is obvious in both hands but still not pronounced. I'm sixty years old, it's just something I live with and it is a non-issue to anyone but this one doctor with his head so far up his butt that I'm amazed he can see anything!!!!!

I will be leaving for Denver tomorrow and looking forward to five nights in a motel (and nothing to do for five days) on my dime as I don't have a place to live anymore at home because of knowing that I would be on a training truck for at least two months and wouldn't be able to cut the grass and take care of the place, etc. I will now be approx. a month behind and an extra $1000 into the money I had for the transition to my new career and being to pay my bills until my paychecks went to actual mileage pay.

Still so ****ed off that I don't know what to do about it!!!!!!!!

And now I REALLY AM DSTURTBD!!!!!!

WOW. Good luck with your doctor. Looks like a drive in your car then one more Steven's repeat class and into a truck. You will have the Steven's orientation memorized. Maybe they will pay you to run the next one. lol.

WOW. Good luck with your doctor. Looks like a drive in your car then one more Steven's repeat class and into a truck. You will have the Steven's orientation memorized. Maybe they will pay you to run the next one. lol.

Thanks Scott! I appreciate the kind words. However, I do have to admit that if I was ever really close to murdering a person in a very prolonged and monumentally painful way, the Stevens doctor would definitely be the very top of the list!!!!!! "Oh, I noticed you screaming loudly and in sheer agony. Is that something you've always had, or is that something recent? I don't know, we may have to have that checked out by someone before I can clear you to go ahead and die and be relieved of all of that pain!!!!!!"

Please, can I?! Can I?!?!

DSTURBD

LOL. You crack me up. I am literally chuckling. Keep us posted. Someday we will meet and cause havoc together. LMFAO

7/8/16

Well, I'm back in Colorado now. Stopped by the post office and picked up my mail. Bonus!! My certification letter for my HazMat endorsement was there, but in actuality, I already knew that it had come through as when I got my CDL , the lady there told me that it had come in and she could go ahead and put my endorsement on my license. But now I have a document to verify it. Also, my new issue of Corvette Magazine was there....Woohoo!! My Corvettes are where my screen name/license plate came from so I get very excited when my new issue comes!! Always a lot of good reading within those covers!

Okay, so as I have posted, my appointment with my V.A. doctor is for Monday at 1:00pm. Believe me that I am going to badger this guy for relevant information as to why the Stevens doctor could have targeted me the way he did. I will make sure that I have documents verifying all diagnoses and relevant information. My doctor is just as ****ed off as I am about it so I'm sure he will help me out with relevant info. I am not looking to start a war with Stevens, but I will be taken seriously and not talked down to or around and will be fully aware of the actual situation. They have you sign all kinds of contractual documents when you finish CDL school and use that to lord everything over students through the rest of the process of going to work for them. Many people get screwed when things don't work out with an employer and they get saddled with the lump sum for training, etc. but I have been through the legal system (and my Master's in Business and Business Law) enough in my sixty years to know that a lot of that is major posturing and scare tactics that most people succumb to. If you actually stand up to them and have actual knowledge behind your arguments as well as evidence of questionable occurrences, you will be taken seriously in court.

Now bear in mind that my original and present intention is to just go to work for a good company, be a good and productive employee that they consider to be a valuable asset and just do my job happily and productively. That was and still is the plan. Then this doctor started playing his game. Okay, you want to be stupid and play a game that you think that you cannot lose?!?!? Fine, let me do my best to show you that you can not only lose the game, but you can open yourself to the same DOT penalties that I as a driver am subject to. Who knows? Likely I will lose, but maybe this idiot will realize that he does not have absolute authority over the people who come through his clinic!!!!!!!!! My passion to be a model employee is exactly matched by my outrage when I truly feel that I am being unfairly targeted and being taken advantage of!!!! You be good to me and I will be good to you!!!!! Standard pro-quo!!! Life as it should be. When you start trying to get over and take advantage.......you just declared war in my opinion!! And as a Vietnam Era Veteran, I have a long and experienced history in fighting the fight that cannot be won!!! Do you really think that I am not going to take the fight seriously and step right into the line of fire?!?!?!?!?

We'll see how it goes. But ultimately, I just want to go to work, astound them in my OTR training, get my own truck and start making money for both me and the company!!!!! That was, and still is the ultimate plan! Why does it have to get stupid and **** students off and cost them extra money that they cannot afford?!?!?!?!? And they wonder why turnover of drivers is so monumentally high!!!!!!! At this point, I am an extra $1000 down in extra costs (and still counting with motel bills, gas, and meals, as I drive from Texas to Colorado and back to see my doctor to get this **** cleared and documented, etc.).

I know that TT doesn't like to hear the negative side of things (hello real world TT), but it is a real an ongoing part of the industry and it is not going to go away anytime soon until enough people bring it to the forefront and talk about it!!! People cannot demand solutions to problems they don't know about!!

DSTURBD

Well, first off, thank you for your service. Tonight we had a thunderstorm and while running from the car to the house, something gave out in my knee. Now, I am laying in a dark house with no power and I'm in such pain I can't sleep. Ok, whine is over. Got any cheese? lol. Good luck and keep us posted.

DSTURBD,

I just emailed a question to the FMCSA website asking them, what authority allows the trucking companies to ignore a current valid DOT physical, and/or requires you to see a specific doctor. I am soon to be in your shoes. I have tremors and a lot of times there is no doubt about it. I have a clearance letter from my neurologist for driving and for my medication. There is no doubt in my mind that my tremors will not affect my driving. I already have a class B and have been operating a large bucket truck for the last 10 years. Climbing up and into the bucket, walking the side rails, crawling underneath. I am not talking about a new rig this is a 1975 model, requiring floating or double clutching. I will be attending an 8 week tech college course starting the middle of August looking for jobs around October. I am already dreading meeting some **** ant, kneejerk company physician. My BP is good and I am healthy. So, I am following your story with great interest. I will also have no problem dipping into savings for a lawsuit depending on how stupid they may be. Some think you can't tug on Superman's cape, but if he hands you some kryptonite, all bets are off.

Best of luck to ya...

Forgot the Ask FMCSA link:ask.fmcsa.gov

DSTURBD,

I just emailed a question to the FMCSA website asking them, what authority allows the trucking companies to ignore a current valid DOT physical, and/or requires you to see a specific doctor. I am soon to be in your shoes. I have tremors and a lot of times there is no doubt about it. I have a clearance letter from my neurologist for driving and for my medication. There is no doubt in my mind that my tremors will not affect my driving. I already have a class B and have been operating a large bucket truck for the last 10 years. Climbing up and into the bucket, walking the side rails, crawling underneath. I am not talking about a new rig this is a 1975 model, requiring floating or double clutching. I will be attending an 8 week tech college course starting the middle of August looking for jobs around October. I am already dreading meeting some **** ant, kneejerk company physician. My BP is good and I am healthy. So, I am following your story with great interest. I will also have no problem dipping into savings for a lawsuit depending on how stupid they may be. Some think you can't tug on Superman's cape, but if he hands you some kryptonite, all bets are off.

Best of luck to ya...

Thanks so much for your support!! It really does mean a lot to me! I am just so very frustrated about this whole thing.

DSTURBD

I know that TT doesn't like to hear the negative side of things (hello real world TT)

I understand your frustration but it doesn't mean you can start going off on cursing tirades, slandering companies, and insulting us as if we don't know the "real world" of trucking the way you do. Let me remind you which of us has lived the real world of trucking for 25 years.

And for your information, Old School was sent home for medical reasons three different times and you don't see him insulting us, using our website as a pulpit for endless tirades, or slandering companies now do you? He got his issues taken care of and he's been out there for years now as one of the best drivers you'll ever find anywhere. So try to handle it with a little more grace if you can muster it.

I wish you the best in all of this but you need to reel it in a little bit. I deleted one paragraph of your tirade for obvious reasons. You know there are websites out there that will let you go on mindless rants, slanderous spiels, and conspiracy theories all you like but we're not one of em.