Dismissed Felony, do you think I’ll have a chance in trucking?

Generally, you don't want to answer questions in trucking before they are asked. If the applications ask about arrests, answer it. If they ask about felony convictions, answer that. Your stable work history is a huge gold star in your favor. Plenty of us in trucking do not want to get vaccinated but really hate the mandates. Nothing unusual about that.

The best step forward is to think very carefully about what kind of trucking you want to do. In the past, but not any more, you almost could only enter trucking by volunteering to be away from home for several weeks or months before going home. Today plenty of newbies enter the industry and never work Over the Road (OTR).

IMO, it is best to decide what type of trucking you want to do, if in doubt, pull a dry van,not reefer. Decide how often you need to be home, or have time off. Once you have those choices made, then decide on which company to work for. Only after those choices have been made should you decide about CDL school. Some companies offer their own school ("free training") and some companies hire newbies from particular CDL schools, or any CDL school near the company. It varies. Instead of getting all twisted comparing "free training" and paying for training on your own, the goal is to work at the right place. You wouldn't choose which woman to marry based on which church had the best wedding package because choosing the right wife is a million times more important that what church the ceremony was held in. CDL school is ONLY about passing the state test and getting a license.

You had a checkered past, but you should be hireable at 90% of trucking companies. They are not doing you a favor to hire you.You are greatly in demand and you should be choosy. Rushing into the industry is a good way to make bad choices which all but guarantee you are out of the industry within 12 months. 80% of new CDL drivers leave the industry before 12 months experience. If you make good choices you will have a smoother time, make at least $50k, and only contemplate quitting during the time you ride with your trainer, which many of us think of as the hardest time of our career. 2 men stuck in a moving closet with no bathroom. The level of stress drops considerably once you get in your solo truck.

You should not have much of a problem getting started. Avoid CR England at all cost. They advertise all over the internet. Many newbies seem to think they are the only company in the US. They are the worst company to start with. They have 3 bunk trucks where 2 trainees and 1 "trainer" with 4 weeks experience live in the same closet.

 

The only way to get your criminal history is to submit fingerprints and pay the fee.
In person at your state BCI.

There's NO doing it online.

Misdemeanors can be expunged. Felonies can't. I don't know if court orders do anything though.

Expungement is a simple process. No lawyer needed. Just time out of your day.
Worth doing and will help you in the long run.

The only companies worried about criminal are those that go in to Canada.
They're also ones that give you your personal dac history.

Stay away from those companies and nobody will care.

Local companies don't care about that crap so don't be in the mindset of long haul or dac.

 

Your charges do NOT disqualify you for HazMat. Make sure to get your tanker endorsement. It's an easy endorsement, it never expires or requires retesting. Tanker endorsement is required to haul certain items inside other trailers, not just for jobs pulling liquid tankers. If a customer ships plastic totes of a certain size or weight inside a dry van that may require a Tanker endorsement. Once you have a year of experience you may want to switch to tanker. It's much better than dry van or reefer, IMO, and it pays better. The customers are much better in tanker.

 

Get the DOT medical exam. HazMat takes weeks longer. Answer only the questions asked. Don't volunteer any health info they didn't ask. This is NOT your family doctor or your "partner in health". This exam is essentially looking to disqualify you, if possible. Remember, you sleep like a speed bump and you do not snore. They are not asking about minor aches and pains or anything minor to advance your health care. They are looking which avenue they should pursue to disqualify you. If your blood pressure is over 140/90 they will only give you a 1 year medical card. If you are on BP medicine they will only give you a 1 year medical card, instead of the 2 year medical card. Almost every company in the industry will hire you even if you get a 1 year medical card. They will test your urine for sugars and proteins. They do not have a chemistry lab to detect if you take medication or once inhaled an illegal weed. You will take a drug screen before getting hired. This medical exam is not a drug screen.

 

It looks like you got your answers. If you do expunge your record remember only the government can see that. No one else.

 

Some companies don't force Canada.
Some ask if you're allowed in Canada; so in that case say 'NO.'

 

Make sure you notice the difference in ads between Prefer 6 months experience and Require 6 months experience. "Preferred" means apply anyway. Don't miss out on a local job, if you like it, simply because you don't have what they prefer. If they meant require 6 months they would have printed that. Switch your mindset from "maybe some generous company will hire a 'wretch' like me" to "I've proven I'm a solid and dependable employee and they would be luck y to have me." 15 years of steady work at one company is more than their last 30 applicants combined. Your black marks are so old they are just an asterisk. You didn't change directions last week and hope to be swuared away going forward. You've got 15 years history as a squared away employee/manager. Trucking companies are seeing rejects from McDonalds and recent refugees from war zones in Africa.