hey everybody whats going on out their! well im 23years old and cant get my career going.lol.I was thinking about getting into trucking and trying out otr. im single living at home so no worries about a family.i was woundering about winter driving, ive never done it im from south florida. it makes me nervous do they teach you that? i was also woundering what you thought of watkins&shepard as my starter company.also they have a terminal near youngstown ohio,which i have family in the cleveland area that i can say im living with if they dont wana hire me from fl, if i claim ohio as my home can they route me to fl for home time? im also a type one diabetic have been since i was 8.i recently was diagnosed with gastroprysis (incorrect spelling) which is the nerves in my stomach dont work properly it sounds worse than it is.but everything i eat goes right threw me. which means i use the mens room more offten than the average peron and somtime i can hold it long any suggestions on what to do when driving like maybe a portable potty lol i know kinda funny hahaha. well let me know what you think and if i can think of anything else ill post again later
Hey smalizia, welcome to the forums! There is a wealth of information here if you just look around. A good place to start is Here: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/motor-carrier-questions-the-inside-scoop/ Just look up Watkins & Shepard on the "DAC" list You can also look Here: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/discuss-your-favorite-trucking-company-here/ or here: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/report-a-bad-trucking-company-here/ and just search for applicable threads. Keep in mind a TDS, doesn't train you to be a driver; they train you to pass the CDL. Your company will "train" you, though the amount of time they spend on this will vary. Most of what you'll learn will be from first hand experience. Yes, on the home time issue. Hell, many drivers take "home time" right out on the road--as I plan to! As far as the diabetes, I believe I read something here about, if it's controlled with pills, you're fine--needles, no. Since you indicated misspelling, I'm not sure if you meant "Gastroparesis" or not, since that indicates for a completely opposite affect (sorry, former nursing student--however, a quick Google shows that this condition is known to be secondary to your type of diabetes) but if your bathroom needs are going to be that much of a problem, you may want to reconsider this career choice. I don't want to discourage you, but you'd be best off to discuss this career choice with your physician first.
Welcome to TTR smalizia. Type 1 diabetes is automatic disqualifying but you can go through the waiver process and still qualify if your diabetes is controlled. If you can do all this, then you can get a waiver... You can get all the forms here.... http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/medical/exemptions.htm
Ya, hate to say it and burst your nice little bubble you got goin, but you cannot drive a big truck with diabetes. Sorry man, that really sucks.
