Ex con trying to drive trucks......

and also a company called carolina cargo, they are the worse in that they pay their teams 24 cent a mile. yes 24 cent. thats 12 cent for you and your co-driver. And the trucks are a peice ao crap but hey-- its work.

 

There are companies out there that do hire felons. You will just have to look extra hard for them. If the company goes into Canada you can take them off your search list. You may have a tough time finding work, since companies are being very picky in who they hire.

 

glad to see your getting crappy advice on here, so let me help you. I have a class 5 federal felony, convicted in '92.

1. Technically, you can't drive OTR until you are totally off parole/probation becuase you cannot cross state lines without permission from all states involved.

2. Your best bet is too look at the large truck driving schools, if you can qualify for financing to get your CDL, they should be able to help you get a job.

3. You will not be able to travel to Canada so many of the larger companies are a no go. I know that Werner might hire you, they will specifically notate to your driver manager that you have a felony and cannot go to Canada. This is what they told me several years ago when I talked to them.

4. If you are able, look at relocating to a different state. Talk to some companies in a state you might want to relocate to and see if they will work with you.

5. In my case, when I got out of school, I did local beverage delivery, then worked for a McDonalds distributor before getting on with my current company. I only had 6 mos. exp when they hired me (their insurance required 3 yrs) but the insurance let it slide. At one time there were two of us working for the company with felonies convictions, the other guy was still on probabtion (I came off in Mar. '97). He was able to do limited state line crossing, no more then 100 miles into the states around us since he had written permission from probation to do it. My boss used to say his two best workers were ex-cons. We haul containers, including some military frieght, so we have to have customs bonds for what we haul. It has never been a problem with our bonding. I also have HAZMAT endorsement.

6. Be totally up front with them, if one driving school gives you a hard time, go to a couple of them. That is what I had to do, USTDS told me to buy a shovel and start digging ditches becuase I would never drive a truck. The recruiter for MTA told me to come to his office the next day, within two weeks I was in driving school. I saw that USTDS recruiter at a jobs fair about 3 yrs later, he remembered me and asked how the ditch digging was going. I told him I wouldn't know I was too busy running 2,800 miles a week driving semi's.

 

If you want to drive that bad you could consider moving out of the country and drive.

Contact an attorney about changing your name and getting a new social security card?? Might work?

 

I had a chat not long ago with a felon that had did time in Chino and Tracy out in California. He was doing well when I talked with him, but he had a long road to get to where he is now. He had to start with a local outfit doing local cartage stuff then built up his work history and experience. He now is an O/O that works with Landstar and is happy and doing well. But, like has been echoed here, he had to really pay his dues to get to where he is. Unfortunately, with the increasing police state government policies, the road to get somewhere may be a lot longer now. Also, different areas of the country makes a difference as well. Companies that rely on rail or port hauling won't even consider a felon. But a small outfit that is, say, in the interior of the country may not have to deal with all the security stuff. Hauling commodities like grain, gravel, or livestock is a good way for a felon to get started. You will have to make some contacts in those areas to have a chance of landing a job. An advantage to doing it that way is you are operating local, you get good experience driving, and getting the job is more about your attitude and how you present yourself to the truck owner. Insurance does play some in this, but the rural ag haulers are not under pressure that way like the general freight companies. For a felon to get started, the best advise I can give is get out and away from the city environment, make contacts with local trucking outfits or farming operations, and then sell yourself and your abilities. The best time to do this kind of shopping is now. The harvest is coming in around the country, and the farming operations need good dependable people that can think on their feet and have a good work attitude.

 

let's start by saying Werner will not hire any felons period! that must have been along time ago. You can still get your hazmat and t.w.i.c card with a felony-- i have 2 drug felonies and i have both hazmat and twic. YOU CAN GET WORK, you just have to look a little harder and take the ###### job that comes to you. work there for 90 days get the time in and move on to a better company. I wish you well in your search and i know it will work for you-- as long as you dont mess with kids and are a killer.

 

yeah.. werner is gonna be a no go.. they wouldn't even take me with a misdemeanor providing alcohol to a minor that is 4.5 years old.. told me to check back in 6 months

 

Dont give up,I believe everyone deserves a second chance in life,yes we all make mistakes and have to pay for them but its what you make of your life afterwards,I wish you all the luck in the world and I will pray it all works out for you and please keep your chin up..
God Bless

 

um, hold that thought......<<peeks out window>>...yep truck and container are still there. I hual containers in/out of two different rail yards on a daily basis, also in/out of Port of Houston and Tacoma as needed (although it's been slow since '01). I also haul military and gov't loads. It all about the company and what risk they will take. We used to have a guy that drove for us who was a pedo, he quit after awhile and went to another container hauler. As I stated before, as my boss has said many times, his best driver is an ex-con and if he could he'd have me cloned in a heartbeat.

thanks, it's people like you who give some us the courage to keep trying to correct our mistakes