Questions About Studying For The CDL; Need Permit?
Topic 6921 | Page 1
Welcome Robert!
Before you make any moves, go through our entire Truck Driver's Career Guide and follow all of the links you come across. It will teach you a ton of information about how the trucking industry works, How To Choose A School, How To Choose A Company, and a whole lot more.
Go through that really good and come back here with all the questions you have. We'll be more than happy to help out.
To answer your question though, you will have to take a written test to get your CDL permit. We have a free online training program with the CDL manual built right in called The High Road Training Program. Here's how our program breaks down:
To Get Your CDL Permit:
- Rules & Regulations
- Driving Safely
- Transporting Cargo Safely
- Air Brakes
- Combination Vehicles
- Pre-Trip Inspection
- Driving Exam
To get your CDL endorsements which are optional but we highly recommend you get:
- Transporting Passengers
- Doubles And Triples
- Tankers
- Hazardous Materials
And two sections we've built ourselves with info you'll need for everyday life on the road but the manual doesn't really cover it:
- Logbook
- Weight & Balance
If you've decided you do indeed want to get into trucking then get started on that as soon as you're ready.
Pre-trip Inspection:
A pre-trip inspection is a thorough inspection of the truck completed before driving for the first time each day.
Federal and state laws require that drivers inspect their vehicles. Federal and state inspectors also may inspect your vehicles. If they judge a vehicle to be unsafe, they will put it “out of service” until it is repaired.
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.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
Combination Vehicle:
A vehicle with two separate parts - the power unit (tractor) and the trailer. Tractor-trailers are considered combination vehicles.
Doubles:
Refers to pulling two trailers at the same time, otherwise known as "pups" or "pup trailers" because they're only about 28 feet long. However there are some states that allow doubles that are each 48 feet in length.
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.
Thanks Brett! I've actually been lurking around the website for a good part of 6 weeks now and have gotten to 20% of the High Road Training Program! (Taking my time so that I can absorb everything!) Thanks for the info about the permit. I've been reading that I need a permit but the IL DMV website is just as confusing as anything. Planning on going through the HRTP a few times and getting things in order so that by April I can take the written exam.
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.
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Hey ya'll,
I'm locked into a volunteer position (AmeriCorps-type thing) until July so right now I'm taking my time and trying to get as much info as possible. Right now I live in Chicago and that's where I plan on finding a company to work for (looking into driving schools right now), but I can't find anything on CDL permits on the DOT website. Will I need a permit for CDL training or am I merely expected to pass the written exam before i can get behind the wheel and start training?
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.