Drove Over The Road 36 Yrs Now Can't Seem To Get A Job

Drove over the road 36 yrs ,worked as a CDL Driving Instructor, owned several trucks had my own Authority have always taken pride in my ride, have always gave 100% took a year off due to the death of my Mother, and now get told if I want to drive again Ive got to go to driving school, What ! are they serious ? I'm honestly lost for words, any Ideals ? because I am clearly not going to Truck driving school plain and simple.

Hey Mike, welcome to the new reality of Trucking!

Yeah these are some crazy times. If you are out of a truck for about six months it is hard to find your way back in unless you go through some training. This is brought to you by unrelenting trial lawyers who have won some huge settlements against trucking companies by proving they did not train their drivers properly. Insurance companies are just running scared from any drivers who don't have documentation of their recent training or recent (in the last few months) driving employment verification.

There are some companies that will give you what they call a "refresher" course. I recently changed employers and started working for Knight Transportation in a dedicated flat-bed division. When I went to the orientation there were two drivers in there who had not driven in about six months and they were required to go through a "refresher" course. I heard that one of them spent only one day with a trainer and the trainer brought him back and told them he had passed and he didn't need anymore training, so they put him right into a truck. I don't know if that is typical or not, but I would look into it if I were you.

You can also take a refresher at a driving school, but from the tone of your post I'm assuming you're not willing to go that route.

Best of luck to ya!

I know some companies offer a refresher course. How many companies have you actually talked to so far?

Hey! Welcome to Trucking Truth, Mike!

When I was at Con-way Freight, we had a 10-year veteran go through some orientation, refresher training, and a little time to get used to the company systems, and hand-held computer, etc. He was on his own and into the city within a week to 10 days. He had to do a pre-trip, skills, and road test just like everyone else. He, of course, aced it. It wasn't that bad at all.

-mountain girl

If you don't have a diploma or a GED you will have a hard time finding a good job too. And I have a good driving record. But that does not matter. I was told today by a millis recruiter