Hirschbach, Sydney Or Western Express
Topic 30042 | Page 1
Hello William.
Where are you working now? Why are you jumping ship with only four months experience?
Hirschbach is out. This is on their website:
Driving Requirements Class A CDL Minimum 7 months of professional driving experience
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.
I worked 4 months 5 years ago I'm getting back in
Hello William.
Where are you working now? Why are you jumping ship with only four months experience?
You will need to start over from scratch for any medium to mega carrier.
Only four months experience, plus five years ago is two big strikes.
You need to start looking for carriers that offer CDL training.
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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.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
I worked 4 months 5 years ago I'm getting back in
Okay. That gives me more questions.
Is your CDL still current? Have you actually checked into that?
Many states will downgrade your license if they don't have a current medical examiners report on you.
As I guess you already know, you are going to be very limited in places that will take you with a stale CDL. I don't know anything about Sydney. I can't really see Hirschbach taking you on. Western Express may be your only option. Do you understand how their program works for drivers like yourself? You will be hooked up with another driver with extremely limited experience like yourself and dispatched in a team situation. You and another driver who doesn't really know what he is doing will be a team together until the company decides that you guys can make it on your own. It's not an ideal learning environment, but it may be your only option. Do you think you can handle that type situation?
Having no recent experience is a real problem when trying to get back into this business. I wish you the best. I started my trucking career at Western Express and built a really solid foundation for my future career. It can be done. Ignore the idiots writing all those crazy reviews on the company. It will turn out to be as good or bad as you make it. They are just like any other trucking company. They are simply trying to move as much freight as they can. The drivers are the ones that help or hinder that happening. Unfortunately they give a lot of folks a chance to prove themselves who just can't rise to the challenge.
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Thanks for your comments. Yes I checked into it and got my DOT medical card last week and also renewed my license which runs out in a few days. I lost my TWIC card so had to apply for a new one. Lost my tanker and Hazardous endorsements.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
I would think since you are starting over any company that trains would accept you. Your previous experience won't count for much since it was so long ago so you'd be just like a new CDL holder.
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.
I would think since you are starting over any company that trains would accept you. Your previous experience won't count for much since it was so long ago so you'd be just like a new CDL holder.
This is one of the funny things about this business. People with an old CDL are kind of shunned by the industry. Most companies don't want to give them a shot. That old CDL seems to indicate that this person is not worth spending the time and resources on. Most companies believe it is an indicator that this person didn't make it their first time around, and now they have a black cloud following them around. It's certainly not true in every case, but there are a lot of good reasons for them to prefer new folks who are just now showing an interest over folks who have tried this before but didn't stick with it.
This same scenario unfolds itself when a person goes to a private school, then decides they want to quit and go to a Paid CDL Training Program. Many times they are denied that privilege just because they didn't finish what they started at the private school. I'm not taking sides here on whether this is right or wrong. I'm just explaining it for those who maybe going through something like this. Once you make a start at trucking, it is better to see it through and stick with your commitment if possible. Persistence and Tenacity are highly valued in this career.
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
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Which one of these should I go with? I am a newbie about 4 months under my belt.