Any one here self taught?

A lot of new drivers fail the pretrip portion of the test.

The driving test is just part of what you need to do,
DMV is going to want to see a proper pretrip and they're going to ask you questions about some of the stuff under the hood.

You'll need to show them that you know how and where to look for critical wear items like steering and brakes.

You'll need to know what the colored air knobs on the dash are for and which gets used when.

And, whatever you do, do not go to take your test in a truck that has anything wrong with it. No bad tires, no cracked glass, no lights out, no air leaks etc. etc. etc,

Don't smoke during the test. Keep both hands on the wheel except when shifting.

Have the proper paperwork for the truck and the trailer too. Just in case.

And no, I never went to truck driving school. They were looked down on when I learned to drive. My instruction came from the old-timers. And from my mistakes.

 

I'm with you on that. On these forums I always try to recommend checking out a tech school. You can get your CDL and in some cases get some tuition assistance and walk away free to go with who ever makes you the best offer. I don't care for this indentured servitude company paid schools do.

 

All GOOD points!!!

It's not just about driving

 

Well OK, but here is the thing, unless you are an employee, they can lose their insurance for that. A lot of insurance companies and underwriters will not allow this to happen, mine would have a fit if I decided to let a non-cdl holder to drive a truck and is not an employee.

I run a fleet, it is a small fleet but I work with my insurance provider and the underwriter on issues to keep cost down, it is really the number one reason why we have the mess we have today. Long gone are the days of just getting a simple insurance to cover things, now it is complex.

 

What rule is this? I've never heard of this rule you're talking about or even a proposal of one.

 

They are changing a few things like the training, the way CDLs tests are given and the material on the tests. This is what I was told which is a good thing.

The tests are too easy, my cats took a combination and hazmat practice tests and scored 80% on each ... and they don't know how to read.

 

To hear most drivers out here tell it, they never learned. They popped out of their momma knowing how to do everything.

 

There's no real FMCSA rules on how much training you have to have, if there is there is 0 enforcement that I've seen. Changining that wouldnt necessarily be a horrible thing though I guess.

 

To be fair I have not took the time to read the entire entry in the federal register. However if I understand what I read correctly there is no enforcement to it outside the states DMVs. You will not be able to get a CDL until this new requirement is satisfied. Again I have not read this new rule. I might be wrong on that. However between this coming rule and insurance underwriters not covering these zero experience drivers I am pretty sure the days of getting a CDL all by yourself are getting close to being over!

 

Nothing yet has been put into the regs, but they have been talking about fixing the flaws in the horrible CDL education and testing system. I hear the 2019 and 2020 dates as to have regs created. No matter what, we need something changed.