My schooling

You are in my prayers.

 

praying with you about your schooling.

 

RoB, praying that they will either let you in despite your tardy application, or that you will find that there is another door yet to open as this one closes.

 

Praying for you.raying:

 

raying: for you!

 

Praying for you here.

 

Thanks for sharing the news!

 

Be watching for that next door to swing open.

 

I will continue to pray that God will open wide a door for you.

Truck driving is hard on the health: The hours are dictated by federal regulations. Once you go on duty.... you are allowed 14 on duty hours to complete your run or turn into the bunk. You are not allowed to go over that time. You may be expected by your driver manager to drive the full 11 hours of drive time permitted by federal law each day in order to get 'good runs'.

You can count on being paid by the miles as offered on your work order.... but as a company driver, you will be expected to run the routes they give you and the mileage which goes on the worksheet are generally 'movers miles' from the exit of one city on pick-up to the entrance of another city or location for drop or unload. Generally you are shorted by about 10-15% of the miles you actually ran on the odometer. Federal law requires you to keep a log book. On it you post your actual miles driven each day.....not the 'paid miles' Any where on the road or at a POE, you may get an inspection of the log book.....its amongst the first things asked for when you're stopped by LEO or DOT. You may hear stories.... tall ones .... about 'fudging' (lying) on the log book. DOT has computer programs..... very accurate regarding the posted miles and the miles between points on a map as recorded in the log book.... and can ticket for speeding if you compress time between two points or if you under record the actual miles from start to finish to falsefy miles or hours driven. You must log each change of duty status and the times can be checked against all electronic records available including the trucks Qual-Com, your cell phone, a fueling card or receipt, credit cards, ATM's, and load delivery times.

Company policy or load offer spells out whether detention is paid for off time waiting 'on duty' at p/u or delivery..... and sometimes requires bargaining with company and customer for detention pay. Depending upon policies and causative factors, you may have to log against your time available, all repair time and truck wash time..... but you might not always get paid. Federal law restricts you to 70hour on duty per week and then you must go down for (if I recall correctly) 34hours of off duty before a reset of time to run..... that OR, you can only run a few hours up front after a few hours drop off the back of your week. You can only drive a maximum of 11 hours within the 14 permitted each day. But there are some categories of 'on duty time' not driving for which you are not paid.... like truck pre/post trip safety inspections, time to fuel and get through the line at the register, hunting for a trailer dropped on a crowded lot or in a train yard, or chedking into a ship yard or gate inspection delays like at Dupont Chemical.

If you must take a 'reset' in order to get back run time.... unless it just happened to coincide with a location a few miles of home.... you will not be allowed to go home. The 'Mom and Pops' kitchens of yesteryear are mostly a thing of the past..... so your nutrition will be what's found in fast food services in truck stops. Instead of being treated like a road knight at the truck stop.... you will be just another custormer like all the travelers who now frequent them. If you get sick out on the road..... you'lll have to treat yourself or consider the cost of cab fare or ambulance to get you to an urgent care center or emergency room and hope your medical will cover.

If you have an important appointment back home... you have to schedule it ahead and remind your DM and insist he gets you home early.... like at least a day ahead.... just to be sure... as mix ups can and do happen. Plan on missing important holidays with family, important birthdays, weddings, graduations, funerals, etc..

As a 'newbie' you're likely to be sent cross country..... and on unfamiliar roads, unfamiliar traffic patterns, unfamilir weather and through treacherous weather events..... and have no iota where you can count on a truck stop with a parking slot still open or a public rest area where a trucker can park to nap or sleep. 'Lizards' do roam the parking lots and so do panhandlers....... and theives. Some trucks may have such universal locks that you can open the door of any of your brand about 1 in 6.... and company policy dictates whether you're allowed to pack and carry.... usually not..... and so do the laws of each state you enter.

Whatever the circumstances and the environment and the behavior of other motorist, you, the professional truck driver are responsibile for maintaining control of your truck at all times..... so an accident that may not be your fault will be assumed by others to be your fault unless you can prove your innocence not only in the cause but also in areas of 'unpreventable'. In a big truck, you do have blind spots....... but that is no matter. Most motorist drive like they don't see your blinker needing a lane change for an exit.... or they race you neck in neck to get ahead of your merge.... and its easier to pass you in the right lane when your governor or load prevents your accelarating in the left lane to get around that slow poke in the right.... and then dart right in front of you with a hairs breath of space. As big as you are.... they drive like they don't see you or like you're their enemy.... but every accident scene you pass reminds you to watch for them and you quickly develop an attitude which thinks of them like family mis-behaving so you don't get road rage and instead exercise more caution for their carelessness.

As a 'newbie', you may be allowed to draw a limited 'advance' on miles already driven but yet unpaid..... but each advance come with its charges and each truck stop charges for cashing it. You're not liklely to catch up between your expenses and your pay check for 3-6 months as you will have some expected and unexpected expenses on the road to pay out of pocket.

A few bargains may be found in truck stops... on the like of western wear and tee shirts.... but its no WalMart with family sized toothpaste tubes nor Lowe's or Ace for tools and supplies. And you'll need some: a wrench for brake adjustment, a 100+ psi airguage, a 5th wheel pin puller, a phillips and flat head screw driver, flashlights... several with replacement batteries... (ideal is the kind you can wear on your head which frees your hands for work), an alarm clock, a commercial road map which shows truck routes, height and weight restrictions and wheel bridge for each state, and low overpasses. In some areas.... i.e. Charlotte-NC, Chicago-IL, New York-NY., Los Angeles-CA, Dallas-Ft Worth-TX., Atlanta-GA., Memphis-TN., its advisable that you purchase a city map before entering to make a PU or DEL. ...In some of these, I'd advise to have one anyway..... especially for Chicago as the interstate you're sent in on may or may not make a connection with another according to the directions you're given..... Figure on $8-10 per shower/bath. Oh yes..... things like toll fees and any penalties for regulations will come out of pocket.... yours. Toll expenses will be reimbursed based upon company policy and direction which took you that route.... but if you carry a load too heavy.... or fail to get a permit for entering a state like Idaho.... it is your expense to eat.

More and more states or municipalities are enacting 'idling laws' which mean.... you are restricted to time limits after parking your truck either for a brief break or to sleep at which time you may be fined for continuing to run your truck engine. Normal wear of a deisel engine is such that, as long as it is properly oiled and lubed (and you're responsible for knowing its schedule and getting it done on your time at company shop), idling doesn't hurt it but burns fuel, and is necessary for cab heat in winter and cooling in summer conditions.... unless your company has APU's installed. If your company allows a pet on board.... it may excuse you for idling during extremes of hot or cold.... but the pet also requires attention to its needs and you are responsible for repair issues if the pet damages the truck.

When you get to a destination ..... you may find that driver 'unload' is expected: Chances are, unless you have proof that you have operational experience on a motorized fork lift.... the best you can hope for is a manual pallet jack.... and not having to break down pallets. Some loads like K-Mart and tires are 'driver unload' and these are not palletized. Ugh! Grocery loads frequently have to be broken down and sometimes inspected for lossage due to shifting or breakage. The company may pay you something like $40-80 for a driver unload but willl authorize a com-check for as much as $240 for lumpers to unload. This doesn't sound fair, but that's the facts.

If you really like to drive, it might be easier on you and your family and pay you better to get on with driving a school bus. sometimes they train.

If you should read this.... it is long..... I hope it increases your thankfulness that God will lead you to something else.... and may help others to appreciate that truck driving is harder on a person AND his income than it looks.

One thing about trucking, it will either increase one's faith or take away what little they have.... and you'll find Christian truckers out there.... but, like you.... the only church you have is inside yourself and fellowship w/o the benefit of establishing few if any relationships or partners in prayer.

 

raying: God will supply a job for you!

 

I've PM'd info to you.

Here are some postings from the newbie driver forum I mentioned in PM:

a driver with 1 and 1/2 years exp. gone for 2 and 1/2yrs thinks about returning:
read posts 1, 4, 5, 6 here.....
http://www.truckstopusa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27272

CDL mill, and a company school closed, due to irregularities in 3rd party testing: (In some cases in the past, although not clear in this post, drivers who have gotten their CDL's through 3rd party locations, may also be the victims when they find that all such issued licenses are suspended and drivers must retest. Oh, a '3rd party' testing is when the DOT or the DMV has certified certain driver teachers in a CDL school to conduct the actual practical demonstration of driver mastery in accordance to that required by the DMV officer. Otherwise, the skills tests may require travel and a driver providing his truck and accompanied the student driver to an official DMV testing site where upon the student tests out with the DMV officer in the driver's truck.) Post here:
http://www.truckstopusa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26694

Here for more newbie questions and posts:
http://www.truckstopusa.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=39

Here for tax information and posts:
http://www.truckstopusa.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=57

BTW, if you decide to join there so you can post your questions and get answers, tell 'Harry' (administration) that windcatcher... aka 'jen' or 'jennie' said to treat you right.... um.... just tell him I said 'hello' ........K? :laugh:

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Here's another great site for posting questions and getting answers:

Newbies:
http://roundtable.truck.net/viewforum.php?f=5&sid=12a9ec7945638865e4860df382567a27

Driver Health issues:
http://roundtable.truck.net/viewforum.php?f=3

Tax Questions:
http://roundtable.truck.net/viewforum.php?f=22

That should be enough to keep you busy for a while.:thumbsup:

 

To get an idea of how much commericial driving is regulated and some idea of driver responsibilities and carrier responsibilities visit here and read through these threads:
http://roundtable.truck.net/viewforum.php
While you may not understand all that you read on this site, it will give you some idea that penalties on drivers and carriers are quite severe for violations..... and it may help you to intensify your efforts at learning all you can about logging correctly and learning as much as you can upfront: Even then, a commercial driver is ever learning: The one who stops learning should not be on the road.

 

No more word in posts or private message?

Hoping and praying that all is well with you and your training.