If I get my CDL Permit, are there companies out there that will hire me to go OTR?

Whether or not they're still at the drawing board it's still in the Regulations and has to be followed. We just had an audit and they checked for this on one of our new-hires.

From your link: The current rule, which the court indicated would remain in effect until a new one is developed, requires 10 hours of non-driving training on subjects such as how to fill out a logbook and what qualifications a person must meet to be a commercial driver.

So now you're arguing about the rule, which you said didn't apply in the first place. Do you admit it applies now, however vague it may be?

 

Simple answer NO if you are talking about studing on you own and getting a permit then going to work driving. You will have to go through their training or an accredited school. Small company wont due to insurance rates for training a driver. Large companies wont because you have to be fully trained their style. Even if you find someone that will let you use their truck to take the test without any experence large companies will still require you to go through their training

 

Those 10 hours can be done at a company orientation . It doesn't take 160 hours at a CDL mill . The auditor was probably checking the quality of orientation and probably checked hazmat training as well . Hazmat training has to be redone every 3 years .

 

The current law says that you do not have to be officially trained but it is changing. It is extremely hard to find a company that will hire a "semi-truck driver" without a CDL. Most companies that will hire are not depending on you being a driver as your main occupation, it's just a part of the position. Many local companies can't hire students out of school but some will and yes, the schools are the first to know about it. Con-Way, here in Illinois, doesn't train many drivers. They have a sign up "hiring drivers" and are never looking so there is no purpose to spend the time and money to train BUT when (and if) they do, it is the dock handlers they work with.