My personal Roehl experience!

You're not missing anything in New York anyway! Lol..... Stay safe driver!

 

Thanks for the read Jrivas, been browsing through the forums the last few days on trying to find which Company will help you get a Class A. From what I have read here, and from what a good friend of mine Who just came out of Roehl's school it seems to be a great company.

Just a couple quick questions:
1. Do they offer all endorsement test (tanker's, double, and Hazmat)?
2. Roughly what was their starting pay?

 

Someone can chime in if they have other info, but in many states those are written-only tests that you take at the time you transfer the CDL you obtained at Roehl's school, back to your home state (if it's not Wisconsin). You take your General Knowledge, Combination, and Air Brake tests at your local DMV office when you get your learner's permit, before you go to Roehl's school. Check with the Roehl recruiter who handles inquiries for their CDL school and they can likely give you the exact information that applies to the state where you reside.

Also -- you may already know this, but since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the Hazmat endorsement requires not only the written test you take at the DMV office, but also that you obtain a background check and fingerprinting from the U.S. government Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which currently costs $86.50 and you have to visit a TSA office in person. Google "TSA hazmat" for specifics.

 

Wow, glad to hear so much stuff has gone as it was supposed to..You got lucky and picked a good one..Kudos to the chick that called you first..Sounds like you both are a good match for eachother..

I've lurked and studied these forums for a long time..My intent, maximize my CDL...I want the most most most one can get, and I'll tell ya, most of the big company OTR stuff is pretty much all ka ka, on all levels..I have noticed that 2 drivers can have a totally opposite experience at the same company though!!

The people really matter..If your diggin the people, (whoever, DM's TM's FM's ) then it should be a reason to stay when the next higher paying gig presents itself...

I tuned back into your thread to see what horror befell you first!!! LOL !!!

Keep doin whatch ya doin boss...go out of your way to keep your record clean and after a couple years, check something else out!!
Oilfield is a killer experience, LTL was cool, Ive had some killer jobs with Haliburton, ABF, and SLT running guns and ammo..Lots of places to go and ways to get there...all cool experiences

peace man...

 

Jrivas,

Thanks for the great info!! Have an orientation date of May 4th myself, still haven't decided Van, Reefer or Flatbed yet so not sure where orientation will be but your thread is giving me good vibes about Roehl.

 

Question for you, You said... "Mapping, pretrips, pre-planning and going over the "Roehl's safe seven"- What is Roehls safe seven?

 

The "Safe Seven" are a set of driving behaviors that Roehl promotes. (I see they are listed in the Wikipedia article on Roehl and in some other places, so my repeating them here will hopefully not be viewed unfavorably by anyone, as the sharing of privileged information. Almost all of their trucks have a sticker on the inside of the windshield with them listed also.) Anyway, they are as follows (I've added a few words of explanation to each one, which is my recollection of both what I was taught and what I learned on my own over the course of my time on the road):

1. Slow Down!
Excessive speed for conditions is one of the greatest causes of accidents, injuries and fatalities in trucking. Driving slightly below the speed of traffic around you (without impeding traffic, of course) gives you more time to react to situations that develop ahead of you and helps you maintain a safe following distance (see #2). If you see a situation developing ahead, immediately get off the throttle and cover the brakes. If your path ahead becomes blocked, don't waste valuable time looking for the "escape route" -- rather, your top priority should be to get your speed down, which gives you additional time to react and lessens the severity should a crash occur.

2. Stay Back!
Always maintain the required safe distance between you and the traffic ahead of you. This of course means at least the standard "1 second for each 10 mph of speed, plus an additional second if above 45 mph" that's in the CDL manual, but that's under ideal driving conditions, so adjust accordingly (more time) if conditions are less than ideal.

I've come to value the distance in front of me -- my "buffer zone" -- the same way that an airplane pilot values the distance to the ground, and guard it with the same level of care. When you're following traffic, you don't get to your destination any sooner whether you are tailgating someone or whether you're at a safe following distance, so you might as well follow at a safe distance and guard your buffer zone. This also means that you are looking far enough ahead -- periodically all the way to the horizon if possible -- to be aware of what's coming up in front of you. Many drivers don't look far enough ahead; it's very easy to just start focusing on what's close, so get in the habit of scanning to the horizon.

3. Know what's happening (around you)
Maintain awareness of things alongside you, to your rear, and of course, in front of you. Use "lean and look" with your side mirrors so you can get a wider range of view. Before backing, Get Out And Look (G.O.A.L.) every time. While things happening to your side and rear are important, pay particular attention to what's in front -- the area that your vehicle will be passing through.

4. Yield to others
It's never worth it to get into a contest over who should yield. Do it cheerfully and with a smile.

5. Expect the expected
At first I thought this should read "expect the unexpected," but what it actually means is that we all know the stupid and unsafe things that we see other drivers do, so expect and be prepared for other drivers to do these things. And when they occur, you can chuckle to yourself that you saw it coming, rather than having to react in an emergency manner.

6. Prepare to drive
You'll be fully occupied for a long period of time once you hit the road, so make sure beforehand that you won't have any distractions. This means doing a proper pre-trip each day of course, but also to make sure you know your planned route, the time before you need to stop next, and so forth. It also means getting the proper amount of rest before setting out.

7. Reduce the risk
Choose the course of action that lowers the overall level of risk. This is sort of a "catch-all" rule that bolsters the other ones.

These rules definitely helped me become a better driver, even when just driving a passenger car. My wife says things like "I've noticed that you leave a lot more space in front of you" and so forth.

 

Two things were said to me that mean the most when I started this path; "This is not a job that you should do in a hurry" and "there are things you will see that defy explanation". The "Safe 7" kinda covers a lot of both, even if it does seem cheesy. Stay back and yield, its not a pi$$ing match who can go faster (the one governed at 63 vs the one governed at 64) If they need in front of you that bad.... Put your ego aside and let them have the space.
I've seen this when PAM absolutely HAD to be in front of me..... going up and down Tennessee terrain, speed can be your friend and your enemy on those grades. 40 tons don't go up hill quickly and can go down way too fast if you let it. PAM was tired of being behind me when I was slowly going uphill, but couldn't quite pass me while we were going down the hills. After about 10 miles or so he got neck and neck with me, screaming out with his air-horn, throwing around his attitude (and his trailer) and since I got tired of seeing from my peripheral vision his hand motions, I slowed down a bit and let him pass. Only to see the car behind him was a state patrol and yes, Tenn State Patrol Did pull him over.... I can't guess the conversation but more power to him.
Personally I'd rather sit 7 or so seconds behind someone..... gives me enough time to react to bad drivers, debris on the road and animals that find their way in front of a moving battering ram. My goal on the road is to be a Professional Driver, pay my bills, feed my family and enjoy my vacations..... Not be a super trucker/steering wheel holder and unemployed cause my license was pulled.