Have class "A" no one will hire me!!

I'd say that the 8 year gap is what's hurting you. To a company, and insurance company, you have no recent experience. My brother drove for 15 years, and came off the road to run a service truck. After about 10 years of that, he wanted to go back on the road and found out that he was a "rookie" again and had to go thru a school.
Also, when / what were the 2 tickets for? Maybe this is the final straw, on top of the no experience thing.
Is that O/O position still available? That may be the best option for you.

 

Yep, that's gotta cause some raised eyebrows. If it were me, I'd check on the O/O position you mentioned, or try and find another one.
Personally, if I got a "no" from a company, I'd ask them straight up what the problem was.

 

As far as the companies go, you're exactly right. In their eyes, and the insurance company, you are completely green. You know nothing. So if you can't find an O/O to get on wiht and get some "recent" experience, then you're probably going to be stuck with going to either a private or company school to get your foot in the door.
Like Brickman said, it's purely insurance driven, and it is a load of crap. But that's the way it is, and sometimes you gotta play ball to get yourself into a better position.
Good luck to you.

 

Personally I'd go with a company training program. I used Schneider, but several companies will train you. I say this for a few reasons. 1. Your school is free as long as you work for that company for 1 year or so. At worst, you get a year experience and free training and then move on to greener pastures. 2. You get trained on the equipment that you'll be using, and by that company's way of doing things. 3. No money out of your pocket for school/lodging/meals etc. Schneider paid for your transportation to school, your hotel, 2 meals a day, and transportation to/from the hotel. 4. For the most part, you'll get paid while in school. Not a lot, but it's better than nothing.
As far as what's best for your situation, only you know that answer. Look around on here, do your research, ask questions. Even if we don't know the answer, the lie we tell you will sound pretty convincing.