So there I was. The casino would not rehire me, I could not return to law enforcement, and unemployment benefits weren't going to last forever. I needed to find a job.
Now, I had driven trucks in my younger days and enjoyed it, but the times have changed in the trucking industry. Now almost every employer wants Class A and not Class B drivers, and there's a difference.
Confused? Let me explain. You have seen those big rigs rolling down the highway commonly referred to as eighteen wheelers? Well, to operate them you need a Class A license. Class B is for trucks just slightly smaller that those big rigs and buses that carry more that 20 people. First there are written tests at the local Bureau of Motor Vehicles to make sure you have preexisting knowledge of the vehicle, and there are separate tests for each component: air brakes, passenger, combination vehicles, hazmat, doubles and triples, and tanker.
Hazmat stands for hazardous materials. Not only do you need a test but you must submit to fingerprinting and a background check, and then you have to pony up almost $90. Now I had the Class B with air brake and passenger endorsements as I had been trained to drive the big charter buses, but the openings in that portion of the industry were scarce. So the bright idea came to me to attend truck driving school.
What I did not know is school is very expensive. For 15 weeks / 600 hours it's almost $11,000. There are less expensive programs of 10 weeks / 244 hours, but it's cash only and no school provides financing. So I applied for a government loan but did not qualify for a no-payback loan and settled for one that required repayment. I was also informed that I had to take the 600-hour class if I wanted the money. So I accepted.
The class demographics were not easily measured. Students ranged from early 20s to late 50s. Many, like me, had some driving experience on big trucks, some even had tractor trailer experience but had not driven in a a few years and many companies will not even consider you unless you have recent experience or just graduated from an accredited school. Some of the younger ones in class had never even driven a car with a manual transmission.
For the first few days no one said much, until the day when someone made a funny comment and everybody laughed and added more comments. The atmosphere changed now that we were all on the same page in the humor department. Anyone who thinks truck drivers are illiterate is dead wrong. Drivers have to endure five weeks of just the rules and regulations for commercial drivers, that is eight hours a day, five days a week
Class time was interrupted up by visits from recruiters of different companies,they hoping to pull new employees from the student body. They hand out trinkets give a presentation and answer questions. Many of them come with a rig, so we get to see their actual equipment up close
Back in class there are many tests that must be passed in order to proceed including a mid term and a final. Not to mention the pop quizzes, open book tests and practice logs. Yes, drivers must record where and when they started and where they are bound and how many hours they drove. If pulled over by the D.O.T your logbook better be in order and legible and you better not be over your allowed hours.
Now I had been through a lot of this training about a year and a half earlier, so I was a touched bored and so were some of the others. We made the best of it and finally the day came for the final exam. The instructor asked if we wanted to have a review or just take the test and it was a 50/50 vote. Those who wanted to take the test straightaway did, while those who wanted to review and study would take the test after lunch.
I took mine immediately and received a 94 out of 100, not bad for a high school dropout. With the classroom portion finished, we would now report to the yard for the hands-on portion.
To be continued...
Now, I had driven trucks in my younger days and enjoyed it, but the times have changed in the trucking industry. Now almost every employer wants Class A and not Class B drivers, and there's a difference.
Confused? Let me explain. You have seen those big rigs rolling down the highway commonly referred to as eighteen wheelers? Well, to operate them you need a Class A license. Class B is for trucks just slightly smaller that those big rigs and buses that carry more that 20 people. First there are written tests at the local Bureau of Motor Vehicles to make sure you have preexisting knowledge of the vehicle, and there are separate tests for each component: air brakes, passenger, combination vehicles, hazmat, doubles and triples, and tanker.
Hazmat stands for hazardous materials. Not only do you need a test but you must submit to fingerprinting and a background check, and then you have to pony up almost $90. Now I had the Class B with air brake and passenger endorsements as I had been trained to drive the big charter buses, but the openings in that portion of the industry were scarce. So the bright idea came to me to attend truck driving school.
What I did not know is school is very expensive. For 15 weeks / 600 hours it's almost $11,000. There are less expensive programs of 10 weeks / 244 hours, but it's cash only and no school provides financing. So I applied for a government loan but did not qualify for a no-payback loan and settled for one that required repayment. I was also informed that I had to take the 600-hour class if I wanted the money. So I accepted.
The class demographics were not easily measured. Students ranged from early 20s to late 50s. Many, like me, had some driving experience on big trucks, some even had tractor trailer experience but had not driven in a a few years and many companies will not even consider you unless you have recent experience or just graduated from an accredited school. Some of the younger ones in class had never even driven a car with a manual transmission.
For the first few days no one said much, until the day when someone made a funny comment and everybody laughed and added more comments. The atmosphere changed now that we were all on the same page in the humor department. Anyone who thinks truck drivers are illiterate is dead wrong. Drivers have to endure five weeks of just the rules and regulations for commercial drivers, that is eight hours a day, five days a week
Class time was interrupted up by visits from recruiters of different companies,they hoping to pull new employees from the student body. They hand out trinkets give a presentation and answer questions. Many of them come with a rig, so we get to see their actual equipment up close
Back in class there are many tests that must be passed in order to proceed including a mid term and a final. Not to mention the pop quizzes, open book tests and practice logs. Yes, drivers must record where and when they started and where they are bound and how many hours they drove. If pulled over by the D.O.T your logbook better be in order and legible and you better not be over your allowed hours.
Now I had been through a lot of this training about a year and a half earlier, so I was a touched bored and so were some of the others. We made the best of it and finally the day came for the final exam. The instructor asked if we wanted to have a review or just take the test and it was a 50/50 vote. Those who wanted to take the test straightaway did, while those who wanted to review and study would take the test after lunch.
I took mine immediately and received a 94 out of 100, not bad for a high school dropout. With the classroom portion finished, we would now report to the yard for the hands-on portion.
To be continued...
