Drivers who didn't go to school

No school for me actually in the 70's schools were few and far between reagan started a three way scam between the government,ATA and the driving schools to retrain factory workers whose jobs were sent offshore.Then the schools were everywhere to cash in on the government money.

 

I started out doing local deliveries in small vans, moved up to straight trucks. Started with an O/O to learn in a semi, at the time PA didn't have and was just starting to issue Chauffer licenses for trucks, so I sent in a said I wanted one.

 

No school for me....Except the "Old School".

 

old school here. started out on dump trucks, then first 18 was a 66 pete 352 4x4 .

 

No CDL mill for me... I started out driving an old Brockway loaded down with oranges from the family groves to the packing house. I was 16, everyone seemed to look the other way back then.

I ended up going on the road as a real job a short time later. We picked up some 80s model Pete 379s in OH on my second run with the company, even tho I knew the basics, it was still an educational experience to drive a rig 1000+ miles.

 

I know a guy who was a merchandiser for Coke and then they trained him to get his CDL and now drives one of their side loaders.

Another guy came from a towing background. the tow company trained him for a CDL and now he operates their heavy wreckers

 

I actually started driving with NO formal training, other than watching my boss's 17 yo nephew drive for almost 24 straight hours.

I did make the mistake of thinking I would never drive a truck again in my life, and allowed my CDL to expire. At which point I was forced to go to school....what a pain in the ###.

 

LOL you are sooooo right .....


.......... Jim

 

now as i read some of these post about schools i just got to add mine. when i started there was no such thing as a school or a cdl and as a matter of fact the insurance company just didn't matter and if there had been a school i could not have went i was to young to go anyway at the age if 14 you were to young for bout anything.

i learned from an old owner operator who i guess felt sorry for me , he found me in a truck stop hungry and about scared to death, no home to go to no food to eat , well he said lets go and i did what else was i to do, a year later i had my own truck doing that deal. and if you really want to learn how to drive a truck take a trip to nome alaska buy the time you get back you will be as good as any if you haven't froze to death, hell i didn't have a license of any kind no dot card or icc back then but i was making money and i didn't do bad, but that was then you in no way could do it now they would probably pt you under the jail . but those were good times and to some extent i miss the old days where men were men and you could tell the difference.

southernpride