Week From Hell Ended Horribly!

Sorry to hear man.

No, you’re not blacklisted for life or anything nearly that drastic. Something you got to understand about the trucking industry is that it is ruled by insurance companies. And something you gotta understand about insurance companies is that they’re not all the same. What’s a disqualifier for one may not be at disqualifier for another and sometimes the differences can be weird. For example, I applied to EW Wiley, a flatbed company, and was rejected because I didn’t have enough recent OTR experience even though I had Flatbed experience. A friend of mine also went over to EW Wiley, who had zero flatbed experience, but they accepted him because he had years of OTR experience. Obviously, that’s a more mild example, but I ran into a lot of similar examples when I was applying for companies after incurring tickets several years ago. There is a reason we encourage you to apply absolutely everywhere, and the reason is that you never know whose hiring criteria you might meet. I have personally been rejected by companies that I had no desire to work for and accepted by other companies that I actually liked and wanted to work for. I say all this to hopefully encourage you that although we use the term “Second chance company” To describe certain companies, all that means is, there’s simply a higher likelihood that you would be hireable by them. It really just comes down to finding a company where you meet their specific insurance requirements, and the only way to do that is to apply everywhere.

I agree with NaeNae about looking at class B jobs. I also would encourage you to apply for other jobs like construction jobs because they may see that you have a class A cdl and want to use you for that. Not all companies have the same insurance requirements that OTR companies have. Most local class A jobs will require 2 years experience or at least 1 year but, again, there are nuances.

Good luck

Hi Pianoman. Thanks for your reply. I've got no qualms in trying out for "second chance" companies or whatever Class B jobs there are.

Does anyone have a list of second chance companies?

Stupid movie quote, "Goddammit, I'd **** on a sparkplug if I thought it would do any good." Well, that's what I feel like I'm down to. I'll do anything I can think of to get a job. I just need someone that will give me a chance. I've always taken pride in whatever job I've done. From delivering newspapers when I was 10 to bus/dishwasher when I was 16 to doing IT work for Forture 500 companies for 8 years before trying to get into trucking. And yes, I felt a ton of pride driving for 2 weeks for TMC Transportation as well.

Sorry to hear man.

No, you’re not blacklisted for life or anything nearly that drastic. Something you got to understand about the trucking industry is that it is ruled by insurance companies. And something you gotta understand about insurance companies is that they’re not all the same. What’s a disqualifier for one may not be at disqualifier for another and sometimes the differences can be weird. For example, I applied to EW Wiley, a flatbed company, and was rejected because I didn’t have enough recent OTR experience even though I had Flatbed experience. A friend of mine also went over to EW Wiley, who had zero flatbed experience, but they accepted him because he had years of OTR experience. Obviously, that’s a more mild example, but I ran into a lot of similar examples when I was applying for companies after incurring tickets several years ago. There is a reason we encourage you to apply absolutely everywhere, and the reason is that you never know whose hiring criteria you might meet. I have personally been rejected by companies that I had no desire to work for and accepted by other companies that I actually liked and wanted to work for. I say all this to hopefully encourage you that although we use the term “Second chance company” To describe certain companies, all that means is, there’s simply a higher likelihood that you would be hireable by them. It really just comes down to finding a company where you meet their specific insurance requirements, and the only way to do that is to apply everywhere.

I agree with NaeNae about looking at class B jobs. I also would encourage you to apply for other jobs like construction jobs because they may see that you have a class A cdl and want to use you for that. Not all companies have the same insurance requirements that OTR companies have. Most local class A jobs will require 2 years experience or at least 1 year but, again, there are nuances.

Good luck

Sorry to hear that was a dead end.

Have you looked into LTL companies? You can start on their dock and then work your way into a driver position. It may take some time but at least you can earn some pay.

Have you tried the Transport jobs section of Craigslist? You need to do your own due diligence but there are jobs on there that you won’t see anywhere else. Lots of garbage but some real opportunities. I know several small companies that hire there and they aren’t to picky.

Hey all. I kinda did...and didn't want to give an update...lol. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to share good news and I do have good news, it's just sometimes I think I jinx myself if I talk about something good and then it either doesn't happen or something gets messed up.

Ok, about 6 days ago I was in communication with a recruiter from US Xpress on the messages on the Driver Pulse app after I completed their application. The recruiter; Shemarica (child of Shemp and America?); said she would text me the next steps after I asked her if there was anything else that she needed. She never texted me anything and I thought that was a subtle way of saying, "Don't call us, we'll call you."

Anyway, I was texting with Paul (Pianoman) earlier today and he had asked me if US Xpress had turned me down. I said technically no and explained. So, he suggested that I give them a call and I'm glad I did. I spoke with a different recruiter by the name of Joshua and he made it pretty clear to me that I've got a job, even with the mishap while with TMC. He said it all comes down to how they defined what happened. If it was a safety violation, then I need a full month of training with a driver trainer, which I actually want. He said if it was just against their company policy then I believe he said it would be just a 2 week stint with a driver trainer. Either way, I'd get a job.

The only thing is that he made it clear that they won't be able to start me until I get the plastic copy of my CDL-A license. Unfortunately, NC has some 3rd party company that makes the plastic copies and they are slower than molasses. I actually almost got tossed from TMC while I was in classroom training because my paper permit almost expired while I was in class. My wife told me 2 days before it expired that the plastic copy came in the mail and she had to take a picture of it so I could email it to TMC. No joke.

Anyways, now it's just a stupid waiting game until I get yhe plastic copy of my CDL-A license.

I hope I didn't jinx myself, put the maloinks on me or anything else that's bad...lol

Fingers crossed on this one! This is very positive news, you have a lot of people here pulling for you to get that needed opportunity. What a journey it has been. Congratulations, man.

Thanks Bruce! I'm so grateful for people like you here that kept pushing me and coming up with advice and suggestions. I just hope this license comes in soon.

Fingers crossed on this one! This is very positive news, you have a lot of people here pulling for you to get that needed opportunity. What a journey it has been. Congratulations, man.

Great news James, glad to see your perserverence is going to pay off for you.....My 2nd co-driver, tore up our truck and never got canned. Even after he ran into a parked truck in a small Pilot in Jersey! He heade to the pumps, too fast, didn't use his mirrors, and cut too soon right into the cab of the truck parked....

He blew so many tires I lost count !! He even did as you, turned to soon, pulling a BRAND spankin new trailer, and bent the wheel and popped the tire !!.....That had to be replaced at a Love's, and was NOT cheap, for a new rim and tire...He had even drug a trailer with brakes locked in a rest area, created 2 flat spots on both rears down to the cords!!

I couldn't wait to get him off my / our truck.....About a year or less he was no longer driving !!

Bestest luck with this new gig, you CAN DO IT

Wow! And I thought I was bad. Jeez! Yeah, I'm not into making the same mistake twice or any new mistakes for thar matter. I mean, I'm sure I'm not going to be a perfect driver, but I'm going to do everything I can to be an incident and accident free driver. That's for sure! Slow and steady wins the race...something like that.

Great news James, glad to see your perserverence is going to pay off for you.....My 2nd co-driver, tore up our truck and never got canned. Even after he ran into a parked truck in a small Pilot in Jersey! He heade to the pumps, too fast, didn't use his mirrors, and cut too soon right into the cab of the truck parked....

He blew so many tires I lost count !! He even did as you, turned to soon, pulling a BRAND spankin new trailer, and bent the wheel and popped the tire !!.....That had to be replaced at a Love's, and was NOT cheap, for a new rim and tire...He had even drug a trailer with brakes locked in a rest area, created 2 flat spots on both rears down to the cords!!

I couldn't wait to get him off my / our truck.....About a year or less he was no longer driving !!

Bestest luck with this new gig, you CAN DO IT

Fingers crossed man. Looks like all good signs to me.

Just to clarify though, your offer is with Western Express right?