Ive been off the road for about 4 years.But have about 5 years previous experience.But because I have no recent experience in the last 3 years,no real compay will hire me.They said I have to go back to school,lol
I have never had a accident or ticket.I graduated from two truck friving schools.The first one was a fly by night school,and went out of business before they could place me.I live in NYS but will consider a job offer down south someplace

 

Yeah it sucks, but if you are out of the truck that long, insurance companies don't like it, no more than owners. You will have lost skills, and not be up to date with everything going on out there.

You can do well though, with such a good prior driving record, and should advance quickly. Some of the larger companies have their own refresher course. That's what you will need, and the courses are generally a week long and cost $500-800 I think.

You been out of the truck so long, some companies may not consider you qualified with a refresher, so make sure you check with companies you have an interest in first, about where you stand.

You may get cut more slack with smaller companies who may send you out with a trainer for a few weeks, or at least not expect a refresher course. Bottom line is you are considered a rookie now, either way.

Good luck, I hope you get a truck soon. :thumbsup:

 

There isnt many companies up here in upstate NY.I was thinking about applying to some down south.Yeah Im between a rock and a hard place.I actually miss being on the road
Peace Brother

 

Just1nce,

When I was taking my training course we had a guy there who was in your position. Former driver, but no one would hire him without retraining. Seems to me that driving a truck would be like riding a bike, you just never forget it, but I could be wrong.

Good Luck and welcome back to the good life,

Zombie Woof

 

I'm having my doubts about it being the insurance companies. Why would a industry that bases it's highest auto ins. premiums on lack of experience and age reverse itself for truck drivers?

And why so much disparity in amount of experience and time limits? Everything from 3 months to 3 years experience in anything from past year to past 5 years? I think if were Ins. industry mandated, there would be more uniformity in requirements.

The companies, however, by using this excuse, can bring in lots of school grads and exp. drivers like the OP and pay them bottom of the pay scale, making it much cheaper for them in cost. The difference between $.25 and $.30+ per mile can really add up to a chunk of change. The better companies that insist on 2 or 3 years experience, usually pay better to start with, and don't seem to have as bad a driver turn over problem.

Just my gut feeling, I could be wrong, have been many times before :-)

 

No argument with you here. (supply and demand) Right now the jobs don't even exist for the most part either...so why spend money on training/retraining unless you have a sure thing lined up?
5 years ago, turn over was at 136%. For every 100 hired, 136 quit.

I've never done a study on this subject. How much influence insurance has on hiring practice, along with truck company safety concerns when hiring. With insurance, I'm sure they have their "high risk" factors, and rates go accordingly. Makes sense to reason a young or inexperienced driver is a higher risk, than a proven safe driver. In contrast, I'm sure they have data to show experience leads to complacency and unsafe practices for some drivers. (4 to 5 years on the job regardless of age) I'm just saying, this is not a general trend, but how the insurance or truck companies figure high risk, I don't know exactly.

I've always heard long lapses in work history and job hopping reduce your hire-ability, as well as any undesirable work history.
I would agree, companies are looking always at the bottom line, but on the other hand, you have to cut off the tail, of high risk.

 

Recent experience does play a factor with insurance companies. My insurance company requires at least 2 years experience in the last 3. That is the insurance company requirement. Each insurance company has their own requirements for covering a driver. Insurance companies can't tell you who to hire, but can decide whom they will cover. If a carrier can't get the insurance company to cover a driver then they can't hire him. One reason some carriers can hire less experienced drivers is because they are partially self insured. The insurance company may only come in if there is a catastrophic claim. At one time I used to spend time checking an applicant's record and references. I quickly found out that I need to run them by the insurance company first and if they pass their requirements then I will start doing my own investigation. I think that is the way most carriers look at it when hiring a new driver. It may not sound fair, but insurance companies don't like to pay claims. When there is an accident involving a big truck claims are likely to be high. That is one reason that most insurance companies have higher requirements. When I first started insurance companies weren't in such control of our business.

 

the carriers figure you wont be familiar with road changes and where to plan stops and things like that, a lot of things change in just a few years, they also figure if you haven't been driving, you probably havent kept up with the regulations which seem to change almost daily.

 

I was in a similer situation and Crete took me on, give them a try. They have a NE fleet now that seems to be getting bigger or at least I see about 4-6 of CCC trucks on I90 just between Rochester and Syracuse daily. In cases like your's they look closely at the person behind the app not just what's on the app. Send a PM to Bluebeetle (if he 's still around) he's a recuiter for them Good luck and don't give up