Not much time and only one shot at this. Please help.

Congrats

 

@lual Them and Schneider were the only ones.

 

UPDATE: I went to the local DDS this morning to finally get my full CDL-A. I brought all of my paperwork with me, the paper showing I passed the CDL course, My CLP permit, my short and long med form. I have one eye, so I'm getting my CDL under the FMCSA Alternative Vision Standard that went into effect in March of 2022.I jumped through all the hoops, followed the process to the letter and I'm qualified for it.

Well, the manager at the DDS refused to give me my CDL. She said I had to pass their vision exam on their little machine with a minimum of 20/40 in BOTH eyes. I told her that's not true if I'm qualified under the new FMCSA law. She said "We go by Federal law here." I said "This IS Federal law." and I even SHOWED it to her. She said "I read the law and I'm not giving you your CDL. I'm sending your paperwork to the CDL department and they will call you and they're closed today." I told her "They will call me? Are you being serious right now? Have you ever tried to call ANY DDS location? They NEVER answer the phone and I seriously doubt anyone will ever call me." She said "I'm sorry for the inconvenience." I told her " Lady, this is WAY beyond an inconvenience!"

I AM LIVID! That lady is the manager and she doesn't go by Federal law and FMCSA regulations even when it's shown to her! I'm going to call the DDS headquarters first thing Monday morning and see what they say. If I get the same runaround from them, I'm going to call the FMCSA. That lady needs to be educated or fired! Sorry, I'm really pissed right now.

 

Chill out.

Success in the CDL world is all about persistence -- & overcoming obstacles.

If you haven't, already -- use a different DDS office -- try the one over in Bainbridge...they are pretty laid back there.

The bottom line: you went outside the manager's "comfort zone" -- & she then covered her derriere.

Square things up over the phone with DDS HQ, & FMCSA -- be sure to get the names & phone #/extension of those with whom you talk -- & then use a different DDS office next time.

Let us know how it goes.

-- L

 

@lual I apologize for losing my cool in my last message. I've been working very hard for months now to get my CDL, working a full time job during the day and going to the CDL classes at night. I've been running on about 3 hours of sleep a night all that time. When I made that post, I had just got home from that incident and I was very mad.

I called my CDL class instructor yesterday and he had me talk to the lady who tested me. They both said they always have problems with the staff at the Valdosta DDS. The lady who tested me said she's going to call someone she knows that she called a "DDS Monitor" on Monday and get it straightened out. I'll likely be sent to a different DDS location to get my license.

 

FYI -- the DDS office in Bainbridge is located on the southwest side/"corner" of the intersection of US Hwy 84 with US Hwy 27.

This will be on the north side of town.

Check/verify open days/hours on the website -- before making that drive.

I tested out for my endorsements there. No problems.

-- L

 

The DDS HQ in Conyers got involved with that issue where the local DDS customer service center would not give me my CDL. The HQ wasn't happy about that at all. Long story short, I have my full unrestricted CDL now and I've gotten the tankers and doubles and triples endorsements on it. All that's left to do is get the hazmat endorsement. That's going to take a couple months probably to go through that whole process. As soon as I get that, I'll have everything and be ready to start looking for a trucking job.

 

Doesnt take that long. Take the test, get fingerprinted, pay $100 and its done. The "clearance" process can take some time depending on your state - I think. It used to take 3 weeks in Minnesota. In Florida it took a day. Honestly. I got my license one day (without the haz on it) and the next day I got the "cleared" one.

Dont know what the difference between MN and FL would be unless it was because when me and the fingerprint lady were talking I told her about the clearance process when I started at the post office or my army security clearance (I was my unit CBR NCO for a year which called for a secret clearance).

 

Gonna try to get hazmat endorsement Florida what do I need