Wanting to be a truck driver and actually being able to be one are different things. Not everyone who wants to can become a professional truck driver. Therefore before you pay money to a school or training program first consider if you will be able to pass the Department of Transportation’s exam.
Do you have any major health concerns or are you missing some fingers or toes? Getting a medical waiver for some health issues is possible but not for everything. You want to think about this first so if you know you have major issues then you may want to learn more about the DOT requirements before spending money on training.
If the DOT exam should not be an issue the next step is learning about the different methods of becoming a truck driver. Do you want to attend a 3 week truck driver training program or a longer one. There are pros and cons to each, so understand what you will be getting yourself into.
In addition to learning book information and theory make sure the school you choose will give you enough time behind the wheel. You will need to know the rules but without learning the actual skills to be behind the wheel in a safe manner you may not be ready for the open road.
Going to work for a trucking company and having an experienced driver assigned to help you improve your skills is great, but make sure to find a trucking school that also focuses on behind the wheel time. This will help develop a base line of important skills needed on the road.
Getting a lot of real world practice driving, doing vehicle inspections, hook and trailer drops, etc is important. The books help, but getting your hands dirty learning the needed skills is important.
Getting an instructor with a lot of real world experience behind the wheel and in real life situations would be beneficial. Learning material from books helps but getting real life examples of what to do in certain situations is more helpful.
Finding a school where safety is considered very important is key. You want to learn good driving habits and safety to be a professional truck driver.
Tags: Career