DOT physical confusion for new driver

Why do people of the younger generations think their personal philosophy or how they think about things is the most important data point in the economy? A job is where youbtrade your time & effort to someone in exchnge for money & benefits. Every relationship is not like the one between you and your friend. "I feel openness & honesty are important so I sold my boss he is an a-hole. Why is he firing me? He should have asked me about my philosophy."

 

Not necessarily. Many times I've had a valid card, and a new employer had me take another physical, at the clinic they use.

 

say as little as possible ! y or n ? or dont recall. follow kms (keep mouth shut)

 

it all really depends on the company…. in a way, they should not make you get a new card because legally , it is not required, and in a way, they are kind of disrespecting the dot med card law, and disrespecting the dot card holder

 

Does western express have a dot physical when attending orientation? My card is good until November. I’m afraid now it could get flagged as doctor shopping…I don’t start western for another 3-4 weeks.

 

The people paying for the doctor & the paychecks don't have to accept the unknown medical judgment of some random doctor in another state.

 

Yup, don't let them bully you.

That seems like a very childish attitude that will only lead to the exit sign.

 

It's not doctor shopping if the company you're applying with requires it.

 

@bryan21384 can give information on Western Express flatbed vs Western Express dry van.

 

As far as what everyone else said about talking too much, follow that advice. Nobody needs to know about your personal endeavors. The trucking industry is pretty sensitive to drug use. You don't want to go down that rabbit hole at any point. Trust me.

Also when you look for a company, don't go by reviews. At their core, all trucking companies are pretty much the same. A driver's experience will be contingent on his or her attitude while working at that company. If you can follow the company's policies, keep your head down, run the miles, and do whatever is asked of you, you'll have a better chance of having a good experience at any company. If you're the type who is confrontational instead of conversational, then you'll be leaving one of those bad reviews too.

The flatbed division seemed to get better treatment while I was there. It's been some time since I was there(2010) but from what others recently told me, a lot of the their business practices are the same. They ran all 48 states. In the dry van division, you got pigeon holed on either coast depending on where you live. The west coast drivers typically ran 11 western and those living east of Denver usually ended up on the I-95 corridor. They've got a presence in the northeast. They stayed running up to Maine picking up water loads and taking them to wherever assigned. The last time I talked to a van driver there, he stayed somewhere on the eastern half of the country. I forgot where. The farthest west he had gone at that point was Denver, I want to say he had been there 6 to 8 months at that point. If you go dry van, you may have to wait on a truck/trainer. If you go flatbed, you'll probably be able to get started sooner. The pay will not be the highest, but they'll make up for it by dishing out a lot of miles. That's one thing I can say about Western. If you show you can run, they are gonna put some miles on you.

They will probably have you do a physical with their doctor. That's pretty much the norm in the trucking industry. Some companies won't have you do a physical if it's less than a year old or some criteria. Every trucking company almost always have their drivers get checked out prior just so they have their own records, their own doctors check you out. No DOT examiners check out drivers the same way. Just remember not to eat anything prior or give out too much information and you'll be fine. Just relax. You came on here, and you've got a good number of high character drivers who'll help you. Feel free to ask questions at any time.