Pinellas Technical College

If anyone is considering attending Pinellas Technical College in the Commercial Vehicle Driving Program, whether it be Class A or Class B ... do yourself a favor and sign up immediately!

Laura Kingsland and Mary O'Keefe are the main instructors. Tom ( forgot his last name ) and Steve Villano are the testers. Tom does a little instruction as well, mainly with the Class B students. This group of people know the business and love to share their knowledge with you if you give them the chance. The program is long and I believe that scares a lot of people away but it is well worth the money you pay for it, which is much much less than those 3 and 4 week programs. When you are done you will have your CDL in your hand along with at least 1,000 miles of real world driving AND you will not be tied down to a specific company to pay off a loan for the school they force you to go to. You will be free to apply and work for any company of your choice without a contract when you graduate from this program.

When it comes to instruction, Laura and Mary are very easy-going and will make the class fun but there are times when they are serious and expect you to be as well. They give you plenty of time to practice for your tests so do not get discouraged if you do not catch on immediately. If there are multiple students work together as a team and encourage and help each other out, it will definitely pay off in the end and you might make some new friends!

If you show you are not catching on after a reasonable amount of time, which is about 3 to 5 weeks, they will have "the talk" with you. This could mean dropping to the Class B program or being withdrawn completely. Get your book work done early, Laura does allow you to work on it at home as well so get it done as soon as possible ... it means more practice time on the range!

During the 3rd to 5th week ( it all depends on the size of the class ) you will get a demo city drive around Tropicana Field in Downtown St. Petersburg, these streets WILL be included in your Road Test. Later on you will begin city/highway driving most likely with Mary, PAY ATTENTION THIS WILL BE YOUR ROAD TEST ROUTE!

Once you have passed all of your tests you will begin taking long trips and will be gone for the majority of the class time, again most likely with Mary. She will take out 1 or 2 trucks depending on the size of the class and she will be in constant contact via radio, they have their own radio system. They also have cameras in the road trucks. They do review the video so if you are not in the instructor truck do not break the rules because they will know. They do not allow you to consume food inside the trucks at all. Drinks are allowed, however it can only be a sealed cup or bottle ... invest in a lockable top bottle or use bottled water.

If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask here, message me or contact via the various methods on the Information tab on my profile here.

 

Classes run Monday to Thursday 7am to 2pm for 9 weeks, it is sometimes shorter it all depends on the size of your specific class.

They do limit their class size to 7.

As far as payment, I was self pay. I paid out of pocket. Unfortunately the program is not Pell Grant eligible but they do have some sort of financing thing. FAFSA will help with that I think.

If you end up going there you and Laura will get along great ... she is a former flatbedder. She is the lead instructor.

 

Oh really ... your wife grew up on Wilder Road? That is where I am from originally ... lived at the corner of Wilder and Williams Road. My dad and grandmother still live there. What is her maiden last name? See if she knows anyone with the last name Futch.

 

TABE is not required for the Commercial Driving Program. They MAY have a list of hotels in the area. Ashlei is the CDL secretary, you will be in constant contact with her throughout registration. You can ask her about it.