CDL Question

I have access to all the information on cone placement for the driver test as well as access to a truck belonging to a veteran driver that owns a small trucking company (2 trucks him and wife) and is willing to help me get my cdl. He is the one that got me thinking about trucking. I took care of his yacht for years. So my question is...

Can I just go to dmv take exams and test out with his truck or do I have to have a certified trainer. Might seem like a stupid question but is see nothing that tells me I can't. I know I will have to study but honestly it's a cake walk compared to what I had to know for my captains exam. I already know pre trip going in. I did state inspections on trucks in Virginia for 10 years and yes you have to drive them for that so I can double clutch or float a non synchronized gearbox. VA state inspection + fluid levels and tire pressure you got a pre trip accept you don't have to jack the front to check king pin and steering linkage play on front axle not to mention I been doing pre trips on buses for 3 years. I'm just saying guys seriously in 3 weeks (the sponsored school time) what are they really going to teach me about that truck I don't already know from 10 years as a mechanic that I can't get from my friend or a book. When I'm hired I have to ride with there trainer any way to start learning the ropes and would know nothing of the business cdl school or not.

Captain Miles, here's the hole in that plan. Unless your friend is also going to hire you after you get your license, this will come back and bite you in the ... err, tail.

Any carrier who is willing to hire rookie drivers, or newly licensed CDL drivers is required by their insurance carriers to have on file a training certificate showing that you have received (usually a minimum of) 160 hours of training from a recognized training school or program. What your stepping into is the astronomical liability that any trucking company is going to face in the unfortunate event that you get involved in an accident and the lawyers ask the company representative, in front of the jury, to produce the training certificate that indicates this driver had the proper training from a state approved program. When they hear that Captain Miles got his license by borrowing "Bubba's" truck because it saved him a lot of money, they are going to nail the company that was foolish enough to hire you.

I don't know any other way to put it, that is the way it works. It's sort of a game of CYA, but that's the way our judicial system works. If you want to play in the game, you've got to get in by following the ground rules, otherwise you are a liability that is too big to take on.

Thanks Old school. No he is not going to hire me. Sell me his business perhaps but that would have to be years down the road and even then I'm not sure I want the headache of running a business again. The dream of trucking is not so nice when your paying fuel, repair, insurance and a million taxes every state you operate in wants. Kinda sounds more like a nightmare. However thanks for pointing that out. Just know some school bus drivers that did it that way but I guess they have post hire training to cover liability like my bus company trained me.

Back in the late 70's (damn, I must be getting old) that's how I learned to drive. They company gave me the keys and said 'go for it'. I taught myself!

But, the new DOT regulations and insurance companies do not allow that to happen. That is why I am researching school options and making a career plan with the aid of TruckingTruth. I want the correct training, and cannot afford to get 'past the test' but then not be able to get a job.

I even had the examiner tell me at the licensing office to avoid borrowing a friend's truck.

Back in the late 70's (damn, I must be getting old) that's how I learned to drive. They company gave me the keys and said 'go for it'. I taught myself!

But, the new DOT regulations and insurance companies do not allow that to happen. That is why I am researching school options and making a career plan with the aid of TruckingTruth. I want the correct training, and cannot afford to get 'past the test' but then not be able to get a job.

I even had the examiner tell me at the licensing office to avoid borrowing a friend's truck.

Ya I got the message from old school. It was just a thought. I think I need to hold out and find a company school close to home and preferably home terminal close to home as well.