New Trucking Career Not Looking Good For Me

A few of you already know but I am an above the knee amputee. I have been trying to get a doctor to sign off on my Skills Performance Evaluation. I have called and or visited about 10 doctors last week and this week with no luck. I’ll be making some calls to Atlanta tomorrow. I’m still hoping that possibly I’ll find one to help me out. But it’s not looking too good.

A few of them even say I’m crazy for thinking about a trucking career again.

I’m not giving up though

Good for you! Don't ever, ever give up. "If you can imagine it, you can achieve it." That is a quote from the great Ronnie Lott.

A few of them even say I’m crazy for thinking about a trucking career again.

Do you think you're crazy? I mean, you already have experience. You must know if you can do this or not. If you can, then there has to be a way to demonstrate to others that you can.

Have you tried contacting any of the major carriers directly to see if they're interested in getting involved? They all have "their own doctors" they use for physicals. Is it possible one of the major carriers might decide to work with you?

It says in your bio, "involved in an head on collision with an 18 wheeler in 2008" - it would make one hell of an amazing story if you were to make a comeback from that to drive again.

I wouldn't mind finding out a little more about you and your circumstances.

Are you able to get in and out of the truck easily enough?

What about climbing up into the back of the trailer and sweeping out a trailer at a customer?

Do you have a prosthetic or are you relying on crutches?

There's more I'm interested in finding out, but those are an example of some of the questions I have.

If you're not comfortable talking about it publicly then email me at brett@truckingtruth.com.

The bottom line is pretty simple. If you're capable of doing this safely and proficiently then you should be given that opportunity. The demand for drivers is very high. It might just be a matter of getting the word out there in front of as many people as possible hoping the right one sees it and helps you get a shot.

I need to chime in on this because I've been through it. Since he has to have the SPE certificate, he has to have the paperwork signed off by an orthopedic surgeon, the pamphlet specifies which type of doctor must be used. The entire process is lengthy and a bit of a pain to be honest and has to be renewed every two years.

In regards to the major carriers, there might be a couple who are familiar with the process but most likely not since there are only about 4,000 drivers nationwide who have the certificate. Knight told me they knew all about it only to find out that they had never processed one, at least not from the company standpoint. I had to do all the legwork, find the correct doctor and schedule all appointments. I don't really understand why he can't find a doctor to perform their portion of the exam though and sign off on the paperwork. There was a thread a while back dealing with the process and I outlined how it all works.

Good luck and stick with it.

It seems to me that some doctors won’t sign because of fear of being sued for approving me to drive. Others turned me down cause I’m not a patient of theirs.

I don’t understand why I’m having trouble. 4 places in Atlanta including the Shepherd Center no today.

My issues at first were that my surgeon is a plastic surgeon / hand specialist and not orthopedic so they wouldn't take his exam even with all the surgical notes, PT reports etc. I found an orthopedic surgeon though who knows who he is and was able to get the exam done. They can't be sued over the review, it's merely a check for a certain level of mobility and a statement saying that in your case, yes you can walk etc even if it requires a prosthesis which will be listed on the certificate. I know it's possible in your case because I've met drivers with leg prosthesis who were able to meet the criteria. Once you get the packet filled out and sent back in, it will have to get the approval of their own medical reviewer before a training certificate is issued.

Schneider and a few more companies said they would hire me. I’m getting frustrated but at the same time I’m not giving up. I’m going back at it Monday.

Have you tried contacting any of the major carriers directly to see if they're interested in getting involved? They all have "their own doctors" they use for physicals. Is it possible one of the major carriers might decide to work with you?

No I have not but that is a good idea. I’m going to make calls to a few carriers and see what I can find out about that.

A few of them even say I’m crazy for thinking about a trucking career again.

Do you think you're crazy? I mean, you already have experience. You must know if you can do this or not. If you can, then there has to be a way to demonstrate to others that you can.

Have you tried contacting any of the major carriers directly to see if they're interested in getting involved? They all have "their own doctors" they use for physicals. Is it possible one of the major carriers might decide to work with you?

It says in your bio, "involved in an head on collision with an 18 wheeler in 2008" - it would make one hell of an amazing story if you were to make a comeback from that to drive again.

I wouldn't mind finding out a little more about you and your circumstances.

Are you able to get in and out of the truck easily enough?

What about climbing up into the back of the trailer and sweeping out a trailer at a customer?

Do you have a prosthetic or are you relying on crutches?

There's more I'm interested in finding out, but those are an example of some of the questions I have.

If you're not comfortable talking about it publicly then email me at brett@truckingtruth.com.

The bottom line is pretty simple. If you're capable of doing this safely and proficiently then you should be given that opportunity. The demand for drivers is very high. It might just be a matter of getting the word out there in front of as many people as possible hoping the right one sees it and helps you get a shot.

Getting in and out of the truck is fairly easy for me. I ride with my brother often in his truck. His truck is an International. Haven’t tried any other truck yet. I’m sure the steps are about the same.

I do have a prosthetic and can walk but only for about 30 minutes at a time. Climbing into the back of a trailer isn’t easy or pretty but I can do it. I’m not sure exactly how truck companies or DOT want me to do it or is their a certain way that doesn’t look so dangerous 😂😂 I need to ask that. I walk or hop around on crutches more than my prosthesis.

Schneider’s head of safety says if I can climb in and out of the cab and trailer safely then they will for sure hire me. I met with him in Atlanta a few months ago.

You may want to ask Schneider 1) Do they have any current drivers with a similar situation; 2) If they do, can they put them in contact with you; 3) Do they have a doctor or specialist they can recommend for you to contact? Your persistence is an inspiration!