CDL A Downgraded To Class C License

Topic 4650 | Page 1

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Kai's Comment
member avatar

I know someone who went to the dmv in order to downgrade his CDL to a regular Class C driver's license. He actually did that in order to go back to full trucking school in order to start the career from scratch again. He felt that downgrading is the only way to get a new start, because he has been away from trucking since Summer 2011. He also graduated from a CDL Mill where did not learn much. Now, he wants to go to a real professional company-sponsored school in order to start his career again.

He is asking if there could be any problems for some companies hiring someone who downgraded the license.

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.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

DMV:

Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles

The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.

Rolling Thunder's Comment
member avatar

I am sorry, but that makes absolutely no sense to me. If he had a class A, the school and future possible employers will know. Why go through the hassle? Many companies will happily hire and train a class A holder. All he would need to do is be honest with them.

guyjax(Guy Hodges)'s Comment
member avatar

But why? Does he not know that it's on his record that he had a Class A cdl and every company and school will know it. So not instead of taking a refresher course, which is a bit cheaper and get the same training as a student, he will now have to do all the testing and paperwork and driver training again PLUS be treated like a student.

This is just nuts. They would have to cut my hand off just to get my cdl out of my hand then I would have a new handle Lefty or Righty depending on which hand was holding my cdl at the time.

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.
Rick S.'s Comment
member avatar

Have had my Class-A since '09 - never used it.

I keep it current (as well as my Hazmat , DOT Med & TWIC), just in case I ever need to use it.

I've really been considering (again) getting into the industry recently. I will have to do a refresher - or start from scratch - but at least I have the licensing portion of the equation out of the way.

Why ANYONE who works hard for a CDL , would downgrade it - is beyond me.

Rick

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.

HAZMAT:

Hazardous Materials

Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations

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.

Dave D. (Armyman)'s Comment
member avatar

They can have my my CDL-A, after they...

1) Pry it from my cold dead fingers, or... 2) Remove it from my wallet after I die (of a heart attack or old age) in my sleep, in the sleeper berth.

Dave

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.

Sleeper Berth:

The portion of the tractor behind the seats which acts as the "living space" for the driver. It generally contains a bed (or bunk beds), cabinets, lights, temperature control knobs, and 12 volt plugs for power.

guyjax(Guy Hodges)'s Comment
member avatar

They can have my my CDL-A, after they...

1) Pry it from my cold dead fingers, or... 2) Remove it from my wallet after I die (of a heart attack or old age) in my sleep, in the sleeper berth.

Dave

Agree totally.

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.

Sleeper Berth:

The portion of the tractor behind the seats which acts as the "living space" for the driver. It generally contains a bed (or bunk beds), cabinets, lights, temperature control knobs, and 12 volt plugs for power.

Brett Aquila's Comment
member avatar

Hey Drake. Well as you can see that wasn't the best move, but he should be OK as long as his background checks are solid (driving history, work history, criminal history). He should be able to breeze through the schooling, get his CDL back, and get out on the road.

Because he already had the license and should train quickly he might save a good bit of time and money going through a Company-Sponsored Training . Any of them can be a great place to get his license back and get out on the road. He just has to decide which company he'd like to go with.

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.

Company-sponsored Training:

A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.

The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.

If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.

Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.

Kai's Comment
member avatar

I asked him again and he said that the DMV in Texas downgraded it. He did not do it himself. I don't know what exactly happened, but he has mentioned that he needed to renew the medical card. They sent him a letter where they noticed that he has time until the end of January 30, 2014 to renew the medical card. Someone, in his house failed to give him the mail. He accidently found this mail somewhere in the corner. By that time, he was beyond the deadline.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

DMV:

Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles

The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.

Dustan J.'s Comment
member avatar

Ooooohhhhhh, someone would get a dirty swirly for that one if that happened to me. My dad had a MT CDL and when he went to renew in WY, they downgraded him to a class C because he didn't have a means of retesting on a tractor-trailer. He was pretty bummed by that.

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.
Kai's Comment
member avatar

I am not sure if he is talking about renewing the medical card or medical insurance (I don't know if this was related to Obamacare) etc. He decided to go to the texas department of public safety to downgrade himself, before they do it. He feared that if they downgrade it, it would look bad on an application form. He said that to quit is better than to get fired. He also tried the last whole year to apply either for Refresher or full-time school, but did not have enough experience for the Refresher. The schools that he called did not accept CDL Holders.

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.
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