us exspress

I am leaving for Indiana Sunday morning to go with Roehl Transport. I was cleared this morning for any last minute details they had. At least this company did all of the preliminary checking before dragging me up to their site and rejecting me, unlike U.S. Xpress who buses candidates first without checking anything. The attrition rate directly out of orientation was unbelievable. I can't figure out why Xpress would bring so many people that clearly would not have been accepted with some simple legwork on their part! For example, DUIs ran rampant, various license issues with former, and in some cases, multiple states, etc. If Roehl does preliminary work, why wouldn't U.S. Xpress?

It's unfortunate that the Republicans gutted the industry as you once knew it. I have a feeling, though, that it will not come back even if the Democrats take the White House this year, which will be a strong possibility.

My second degree is Political Science. It seems to me that if a true coalition of honestly concerned drivers got organized and presented their case at the federal level, at least we could be heard. That's not to say that anything will come of it, but stranger things have happened. We by no means have seen the bottom of this black hole yet, so for that reason alone, special interest groups such as trucking would have to wait until things stabilized a bit more.

I did read your post about conditions in England. Maybe we should drive there instead!? That worked for the fuel industry, but today's market dictates that if freight haulers strike, companies will find alternative means such as the train, correct? I was on my way to pick up my wife yesterday at the college where she works and got stopped by a train. There was a HUGE amount of UPS trailers on the train. Two U.S. Xpress trucks as well. Do you know if the rail industry is giving us a serious run for our money? Since all transportation costs are passed to the consumer, what are the chances the driving force will begin to see fewer and fewer miles as we continue this downward spiral of the economy?

Assuming that the sky doesn't fall between now and Monday, I'll be in Indiana at orientation. Thanks for the support. It's well appreciated. And a letter to U.S. Xpress is not such a bad idea. In the meantime, I most likely will hit the million dollar lotto and not have to worry about working ANYWHERE!!

 

Good luck with Roehl, husband went with their schooling and when did the test out with 5 others no one was hired. The schooling and promise of being hired is a joke. Now they are trying to get us to pay for the schooling. They broke the contract, my husband didn't. My husband had all good reports from instructors and testing till the last one. No explaination to any of the 6 people that had tested on why not being hired. I think these schools should be shut down, they tell you that if you pass their school you can sign on with them and then this happens, I think it is a scam to get you to pay for nothing. Schooling was good. Just don't believe everything till you have the keys in your hand. My husband is looking at a few companies and most say 3-6 months. We're just waiting on 3 last companies, hoping they are not just dragging us along. Back to Roehl you'll have to test out before you get your keys, good luck and keep everyone posted.

 

What reason did Roehl give the six trainees for not hiring them? Did any of them pass the entire exam, both written and driving?

I have already taken driving school at an independent school here in Florida and have my CDL.

 

I think a lot of the time the drivers simply are not disclosing all their various violations, hoping they will slip thru the cracks....

You're right - it will not. The future of trucking in the US is even bleaker than we see it now. The economical climate will get worse as the competition with China and India intensifies and that will translate into more drivers from the "third" world and especially Mexico. They will work for 50% less than the US drivers and the trucking companies only look to the bottom line..

I think it is very unlikely that drivers would be taken seriously. They have no political - or economical - clout anymore...

The train works fairly well for freight that is not time sensitive or perishable.

What will happen is that more and more of it will be piggy backed to main hubs and trucks will pick them up and do the delivery within a couple of hundred miles - at $10 or less/hour pay for the driver - and of course the trucking company will make sure he/she will only get 40 hours so no overtime - as in the Walmart model - part time workers mostly - therefore no benefits - huge savings for the company.

LOL - I wish you good luck with that lotto ticket...=*^)

HM

 

When my husband asked and so did the others, they could not come up with a real answer. He kind of talked in circles when my husband asked him about his scores and what the comments were from the trainers, because he had all the papers in front of him. He said he knew all his test scores, he had a 100% for classroom and 98% for range, Dot test was aced pre trip and backing and 4 points off for leaving blinker on too long and taking a corner alittle too wide. So why didn't they hire them, no answer. We are thinking of contacting the BBB and see if they can check how they can get away with this. Like I said, remember you don't have the job probably till you do a test out and the keys in your hand. I forgot to mention that my husband has a perfect driving record, criminal record, and no accidents ever. Yes he passed all exams and road tests. Good Luck!

 

I would be interested to know the real reason that Roehl didn't explain things better to the group. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get hired. If for some reason I don't, I'll just bypass the truck thing since I don't plan to go through any nonsense a third time. (This is my second company I am trying.) Where did your husband end up?

 

I am nearing the end of my training with Roehl Transport. I should be in my own truck in just over a week now. Roehl has been fantastic from start to finish and I would recommend this company to ANY driver, whether a novice or experienced. It's been great talking with all of you. There are good and bad companies - Xpress and Roehl are like night and day. You can catch me on Roehl posts. Good luck to you all.

 

why is it when someone asks about a certain company or something about a company you always have that one or two that have driven for them all or know everybody that has driven for them ,,,,,THEN the subject turns to another company totally off track of the original question....

 

Xpress and Roehl are like night and day.

Because Roehl hired you, and USX did not?


OTR in general is a bad deal for the worker and a good deal for the employer. I mean few industries get to work you 70-100= hours a week and pay you for half of it.

Don't get me wrong you can make a decent wage but not a living, The cost is not always worth it. 45-60k sounds good when you are living in a tent eating pbj's,. But crunch the numbers after a year on the road and you will see what you are making for the time you put in. If it is more then around $15 bucks a hour you are lucky.

Still want to do it?

I am a former USX driver of 6.5 years. was a trainer, team driver , solo and local. Ran 48, reg, 11 west, and dedicated.

This is all you need to know about USX. If you are a Team it may work. If not? don't waste your time with this company. nuff said

 

Bigrigger-husband went to Deboer and went with a trainer for 2 weeks and took his road test on Wednesday and passed with flying colors and was issued his truck. He did his first load and came home for 3 days to load up his truck and off Tuesday am. He was frustrated by the way Roehl treated him and now he is finally happy to be out on his own. When he was with Roehl he was happy with all his training but when it came down to be hired all 6 were denied even with him being top of his class. Don't want to burst your bubble but hopefully you get hired, it was just rude the way these people were treated and if they treat them like that I can only imagine how it would have been down the road. I just don't trust many of these company training schools and from what I have been reading this is not the only company that scams people. Let us know what happens with you we'll watch for you on the Roehl site. GOOD LUCK!!