Washington county Vo tech Driving school?

An 8 week course is a pretty good length of time. How much time per day are the classes? Going through a separate school is probably a better idea than being stuck in a one or two year contract with one of the companies. Also, find out what companies they have that hire through them, if any.

The improper lane change could be a slight problem, but since the speeding will be off your record soon, it shouldn't be as much of a problem. That one would be a real problem for you. Seat belt violation probably no big deal.

The school I went to had some pretty old trucks, but it just makes you appreciate the newer equipment the companies have more!

 

You should hopefully be learning a lot at that school then with 8 weeks of days like that. There are a lot of schools out there that only have three week sessions. The 'starter' companies have their good points and bad points, and there are plenty of people on here that can tell you all sorts of stories, good and bad, about the starter companies.

Make sure you look at the companies, what they offer, and pick the company that fits you. If you can, try and get the recruiters from the companies to talk straight to you instead of giving you the usual sunshine routine. I've dealt with trucking company recruiters and military recruiters, and I honestly think that trucking company recruiters are worse!

 

It depends. Sometimes you'll have forever to get a load somewhere, and sometimes you'll feel like you barely have enough time. You pretty much decide when you stop to sleep, eat, etc, but that will have to work around the schedule of the load, such as when you picked it up, when it's due to deliver etc. You don't get much time for 'extracurricular' activities such as stopping at a football game.

 

It varies from company to company, but late loads without a good reason, such as a breakdown, get them really mad. You're trainer should work with you to get you up to speed on load planning, which includes how long the trip should take, where you want to stop (you should have a couple of options incase the first one is full), and the rest of the stuff. They can make adjustments to delivery times in cases of breakdowns if that is going to cause you to be late. Sometimes, they'll switch the load to another driver to deliver. My hubby just had this happen when his EGR valve went on his truck. Good load planning along with good communication with your dispatcher will help prevent you from being late with loads.

 

I don't drive anymore. Bad back and shoulder took me out of the game. Job market is a bit tricky since over 1,900 trucking companies closed their doors in the first half of this year, but there's always room for new drivers. There are drivers retiring, going to local, or just getting out of the biz. It's not always an easy industry to deal with, but if you go in with a good attitude, you'll be able to make it. There are a lot of threads on here that will probably answer more questions than you knew you had!