Truck Driving Classes In Spanish?

Good afternoon I am looking for a company that gives me truck driving classes I live in Wisconsin but I am from Puerto Rico so I speak Spanish but I am an American citizen. I have the desire and the need for my family and I know that by becoming a trucker I will be able to help my family. All those who have contacted tell me that only the classes are in English, but if there was one with someone who is bilingual, I would like to have that great opportunity, I know a little if they talked to me slowly but I don't speak much. I hope you can help me. Thank you

Good afternoon I am looking for a company that gives me truck driving classes I live in Wisconsin but I am from Puerto Rico so I speak Spanish but I am an American citizen. I have the desire and the need for my family and I know that by becoming a trucker I will be able to help my family. All those who have contacted tell me that only the classes are in English, but if there was one with someone who is bilingual, I would like to have that great opportunity, I know a little if they talked to me slowly but I don't speak much. I hope you can help me. Thank you

Welcome to the Trucking Truth forum, Luis ~!

Glad you found us; the moderators and the owner of the site, and of course the members are here to help! If you click the link below, it will take you to a 'general' application that you can fill out, and state that your first language is Spanish. VariousTrucking Truth Jobs companies will then call you or email you accordingly.

There are also links within the above link, to our 'starter kit.' Hope this helps; holler back with any and all questions you may have !

Luis, I'm sorry but using English is actually a requirement:

Section §391.11 General qualifications of drivers.

(b) Except as provided in subpart G of this part, a person is qualified to drive a motor vehicle if he/she—

      (2) Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;

I do not know of any measure or test that will tell if your English ability is good enough, but I suggest that you learn to read these things without too much help:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

The practice tests are at a level of English you'll need to read.

As you spend more time on our society, try to avoid using Spanish as much as you can - then when you find yourself thinking in English, you will be close to the required fluency. Luis, I am giving you this special advice as I speak from experience. I was born in California, (so I already know English) but in college I studied the Chinese language, I even traveled to Taiwan and stayed there eight months. By living there and speaking only Chinese, I was mostly fluent in about 6 months. Do the best you can, Luis!

One idea is to apply to the UPS or an LTL company (Like Old Dominion, Estes, or ABF). Most often these companies hire you to work on the loading dock (no license required), then you will be able to transfer to the trucks after some time on the dock.

Luis, I'm sorry but using English is actually a requirement:

Section §391.11 General qualifications of drivers.

(b) Except as provided in subpart G of this part, a person is qualified to drive a motor vehicle if he/she—

      (2) Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;

I do not know of any measure or test that will tell if your English ability is good enough, but I suggest that you learn to read these things without too much help:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

The practice tests are at a level of English you'll need to read.

As you spend more time on our society, try to avoid using Spanish as much as you can - then when you find yourself thinking in English, you will be close to the required fluency. Luis, I am giving you this special advice as I speak from experience. I was born in California, (so I already know English) but in college I studied the Chinese language, I even traveled to Taiwan and stayed there eight months. By living there and speaking only Chinese, I was mostly fluent in about 6 months. Do the best you can, Luis!

One idea is to apply to the UPS or an LTL company (Like Old Dominion, Estes, or ABF). Most often these companies hire you to work on the loading dock (no license required), then you will be able to transfer to the trucks after some time on the dock.

Yeah, I don't think the English requirement is enforced to any great extent.

A buddy of mine sent me a pic of a crushed trailer at the Costco DC in Monrovia, MD. If you do NOT follow the signage to the DC the road will veer towards a low bridge. There are multiple signs, a flashing light if your rig is too high AND CHAINS THAT HIT YOUR TRUCK IF YOU'RE TOO TALL!!!

And yet, truckers try to go under this bridge everytime.

Not to equate the two but it's either stupidity or lack of English skills.

Auggie thinks:

Yeah, I don't think the English requirement is enforced to any great extent.

I think it actually is...

Unless the DOT CDL examiner speaks fluent Spanish, how will they know if the person they are testing thoroughly knows the PTI? How will they verbally communicate instructions issued during the skills and road test?

Sorry Auggie, finding it difficult to completely agree with your thought process here.

G-Town asks:

Unless the DOT CDL examiner speaks fluent Spanish, how will they know if the person they are testing thoroughly knows the PTI? How will they verbally communicate instructions issued during the skills and road test?

This is true. But take a closer look at the DOT reg:

Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;

These underlined things are the same ol' same ol'. They are the same words all the time. "Slack adjuster securely fastened, not bent or broken". How much vocabulary do you need to get through a guard gate or know which door to back into? This isn't a conversation about your favorite Transformers movie. Someone who barely knows English can probably still do a good job taking orders at a burger counter because the words are all the same.

In my time instructing new driver students at Swift's Academy, I had plenty of foreign students who sometimes could hardly understand what I said, and vice versa. But they made it through the class, got a CDL and started making OTR money.

I may have been a bit harsh on Louis, come to think about it. But you are correct, G-Town, On the other hand in six months Luis could hold his own at any Iron Skillet counter, for sure!

Auggie thinks:

Yeah, I don't think the English requirement is enforced to any great extent.

I think it actually is...

Unless the DOT CDL examiner speaks fluent Spanish, how will they know if the person they are testing thoroughly knows the PTI? How will they verbally communicate instructions issued during the skills and road test?

Sorry Auggie, finding it difficult to completely agree with your thought process here.

Not unexpected.

Sorry, but nobody is that stupid. Lack of English language skills is the only explanation.

Auggie thinks:

Yeah, I don't think the English requirement is enforced to any great extent.

I think it actually is...

Unless the DOT CDL examiner speaks fluent Spanish, how will they know if the person they are testing thoroughly knows the PTI? How will they verbally communicate instructions issued during the skills and road test?

Sorry Auggie, finding it difficult to completely agree with your thought process here.

Not unexpected.

Sorry, but nobody is that stupid. Lack of English language skills is the only explanation.

I was not completely agreeing with your enforcement point.

That said...I think stupidity is a common cause of accidents like you described.

Auggie thinks:

Yeah, I don't think the English requirement is enforced to any great extent.

I think it actually is...

Unless the DOT CDL examiner speaks fluent Spanish, how will they know if the person they are testing thoroughly knows the PTI? How will they verbally communicate instructions issued during the skills and road test?

Sorry Auggie, finding it difficult to completely agree with your thought process here.

Not unexpected.

Sorry, but nobody is that stupid. Lack of English language skills is the only explanation.

I was not completely agreeing with your enforcement point.

That said...I think stupidity is a common cause of accidents like you described.

Could be. In this case it's definitely NOT rocket science.

Youz guyz dont go to Tx, CA or Az much. lol many dont speak engl9sh at all and i wondered how this could be.

i do know 2 spanish trainers.... but the OP.is probably better off asking the company itself.

Communicating on an exam may be one thing, you read more slowly... the examiners speak slowly... but daily conversations trying to get direction in a one on one training situation may be harder for him.