Driving experience needed before a CDL

You get used to it as Im sure you know.

Sometimes you have to take opposing lanes. It gets tricky sometimes and you can learn to time it a bit sometimes.

Turning right into a road with two lanes. Theres two lanes right there. The turning lane is the 3rd. Yes so split. If your Tandems are all the way forward youll clear the curb completely. If not you might still see some curb action.

That stuff should come quickly to a thinking person thats focused on what hes doing.

Backing those things up is the hardest part of driving.

The hardest part of the lifestyle is getting enough sleep. In my opinion, of course.

 

He just heard stories about millions of dollars truck drivers make and lavish lifestyle !

 

Also the angle of the road needs to be considered. The right-hand turns that are sharper than 90 degrees suck. You might have to try and skip the turning lane altogether and hope someone does not try to squeeze in on your right while doing it. Or pass the road and try to circle around.

 

I came across a guy that was accepted to Transport America's driving school. He hadn't had a license but barely a year I think. He was hesitant about going there because they wanted a 9 month commitment, but that's no time if it comes down to getting your license. He ended up taking the offer to go up to Minnesota for their schooling. He was out of Indiana. Werner was willing to look at him too. I wonder since Werner took over Roadmaster, if they have adopted the company paid training....

 

There is a Roadmaster school near me and they are even using Werner trucks and trailers now so I would imagine that if they aren't already they are probably working on it to get themselves fresh students.

 

There's one near me too, just over the Mississippi River in West Memphis, it's quite entertaining to see them and Swift with all the new drivers. Takes so long when the get the turn arrow for them to turn. Reminds me of myself in 2009/2010 lol, I remember Werner buying them out but couldn't remember if they converted to that style of training. They're sure churning them out though

 

One obstacle for some of the no- or low-experience car drivers entering trucking is not having at least 1 year old driver's license. The insurance companies for trucking companies make those kind of decisions. There is a severe decline in the driving ability of drivers entering the industry and most of the new drivers have tons of car driving experience, badly driving cars. Since you've had your license since being a teenager I guess you are OK in that regard, unless you let it lapse for long periods.

The new drivers seem to have this acceptance that they are going to break things and wreck stuff. WTH !!!!! If you have that idea stay away from trucking. Everyone says they are a careful driver, but often that means they think their ability to speed, drive on sidewalks while texting means they are a great driver. I guess it depends on your attention to detail, your ability to keep your situational awareness intact in new cities.

 

Plenty of companies will hire you after graduating from College of Southern Maryland.
Looks like an excellent program and also has weekend classes for those that need to keep working while in school.