Need Some Advice in Saint Louis

Hey all, I'm looking for some good advice on company sponsored training.

First, I realize that paying for training myself would be a better way to go. Unfortunately, that isn't an option right now, as I recently switched jobs due to a layoff and my wife recently lost her job as well. We aren't even making ends meet at this point, so any extra expense isn't in the budget.

Secondly, I drove OTR about a dozen years ago, but due to a disagreement with my ex-wife (she didn't want me driving after we got married), I dropped my Class A and went to a Class B. Not the smartest decision I ever made, but I was young and stupid(er) at the time. So, I realize that I will have to go back through training in order to get my Class A again, and basically start from the bottom.

Third, I have 1 accident on my MVR due to a less-than-brilliant woman stopping at a yellow light and the brakes on the truck I was driving not being up to par (I was standing on the brake pedal and didn't even leave a black mark. Left a nice imprint of a bumper and towhooks in the back of her mini-cooper though). The reason she stopped at the yellow light? Red-light cameras... even though the ones at the intersection weren't operable. 17 years of commercial driving with no accidents, and then I get tagged by stupidity.

I've already applied to Schneider, and was turned down because of the accident. Which I'm actually okay with, since the only thing they had available in the Saint Louis region was tankers - not my preferred haul. Plus, the woman I spoke to was a) unable to read, apparently. I asked for an evening contact and she called at 2 pm, then couldn't understand why I was unable to talk (I was working). and b) quite rude on the phone. She made no response to any questions I had, and just talked right over me.

So, what it comes down to is, I need to find a decent company that sponsors training and will pay at least a living wage without having to be there for 6 months first. I'm not too concerned with hometime, region, or equipment, but I do have a family to support and can't do it on $50 a day.

So, I need to find a company that pays for training and allows me to make money. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

The accident happened in August. A bit more info, there were no tickets and no injuries, and I'm unsure of what the $$ of the damage was.