CDL: An Investment in Your Future

A commercial driver’s license, or CDL, is required if you want to drive a truck and trailer whose contents weigh more than 26,000 pounds or if it’s for commercial use. A CDL is also required if you haul hazardous materials that require warning signs; a determination made by the Department of Transportation.

Buses, tow trucks and tractor-trailers are the most common motor vehicles that CDL-carriers operate. States have the right to issue CDLs following the passage of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986. Requiring drivers to earn a CDL was intended to make the roadways safer. The federal government established the minimum requirements that drivers have to pass when taking their CDL test.

While formal training for the CDL is not a requirement, many drivers enroll in schools that help them earn their CDL. Most schools offer courses that are between three and seven weeks long. There is a written test involved, which basically covers highway safety. There is also a test that covers different parts of the truck. Eighty percent of the questions must be answered correctly if the driver is to earn his/her CDL. Another part of the exam is a driving test where the driver has to successfully maneuver through a course.

The health of the driver, especially when you consider that they are responsible for 26,000 pounds of freight that is moving 60-plus mph, is important as well. Drivers must get medical certification if they are going to work over the roadways. A qualified doctor has to sign off on the health of the driver. Impairments that can disqualify a driver includes cardiac and respiratory problems, high blood pressure, various psychiatrist disorders, alcoholism, hearing loss, epilepsy and a host of other conditions.

People who earn their CDL and pass the physical are able to make huge investments in their future with a career in driving. There are so many jobs available in the industry today, you’ve practically got your pick of jobs.

Many people are coming out of the recession thinking about going to college to make sure they can get into a career that is more recession proof than their previous one. However, making an investment in a four-year school can take 10 years or longer to pay off. The average student loan debt today is more than $25,000.

People who choose a career in trucking are often able to find an employer who will help them pay for the CDL trucking school, and when they come out in a couple of months, they’ll have a job that pays more than what a person with a four-year liberal arts degree will find.
Furthermore, the industry is exceedingly stable – the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there will be a shortage of drivers for at least a decade to come.

If you’re looking for a job driving trucks, choose Spirit Miller Driveaway Services. We’re looking for responsible drivers like you to help grow our company. Contact us today and get started on your new career.