How old is too old?

O.P. I can certainly understand your wanting to get out of CA- so do I. Call some companies your interested in and go for it. Only person in the World who can stop you is..well..you.!!

 

No your good...go for it.

 

Transport America had two new hires in my group that were 72 plus. Neither passed the physical however. I would still recommend you try as it is not that hard of a job with automatics and all becoming more common.

 

When I was a dispatcher at roehl we brought on a 66 year old with no prior experience to do flat bed. He was awful, but he got hired.

 

If you're healthy, you're not too old.
Look at many companies that have different divisions such as reefer, flatbed, van, tanker. This way you can switch divisions if you feel another would be more comfortable for you, without having to change companies and go thru the hiring process again. For example, Schneider has everything, Watkins & Shepard has flatbed & van, Panther Expedite has van, cargo van, straight box truck. There are many others to consider.

 

I have noticed over the last few years that my company has been hiring younger drivers. I believe this is do to the fact that a large part of the driver pool is now in their 50s. Another factor is older drivers have accumulated some CSA points. This would not affect you as you would just be starting in trucking and have no CSA points. Most likely you will find it difficult to find a job because of your age. I have no doubt that you can do the job as we have two drivers that are 70 and they both are more active than many of the younger drivers.

 

My dad has unlimited earnings + keeps all his SS. As to age, you should know yourself whether you would be dangerous to others and when to call it quits. DOT physicals barely touch the surface when it comes to a real med checkup, as you might know. I just had my blood drawn, ekg,audio, depth perception and more to qualify recent. Admit this is overboard but worth it considering the company and what comes next cash and bennies, but thats a real checkup in my view, and would skinny out plenty who just plain need to rework their physical aspects 1st before hauling 80k at highway speeds in traffic. Believe it or not, a former coworker was in his eighties and doing produce linehauls over the passes everynight in WA State and then through the gorge, 12mnths a yr. Skinny as a rail, non smoke, and owned a farm somewhere too.Friendly as h**l, for that age, great guy!

 

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CA does not like it if you have a CDL and you are over 70. Also the companies insurance may have an issue with it. All of the old guys that I know who are driving have been driving for there career. Do you want to drive local or OTR? what do you want to drive? Good luck