What company to go with?
 

My brother has been looking to go to school to drive for a few years now. Unfortunately something happen and it got pushed back and make a long story short, he just got out of jail after being in for three months and he has a battery misdemeanor charge. He called Werner and they told him they couldnt take him and he is wanting to know if anybody knows of who he should call or do or if he even has a chance of driving a truck now? He doesnt care on what he does for right now but eventually he wants into flatbed. He had a permit for a cdl but while in jail it expired. He will be 22 years old in September. We appreciate any help we could get and hopefully someone has some good news for him.

he might have a hard time finding a driving job. my brother had a simple battery charge and swift and some other ones told him to try back in 5 years. that was back in 2000 when he applied. are you telling the truth about your brother being locked up for 3 months on a battery charge because my brother had the same charge and was released the next day on a 2 thousand dollar bond and served 1 year on probation with a 500 dollar fine. Maybe the law is different in your home state than in mine.

If he is hot headed enough to get into fights, who is to say a shipper or receiver, or another truck driver isn't going to piss him off and he does something stupid? Just sayin...

Hard for me to imagine it, I have never been in a fight in my life, the word is much more powerful then the fist.

The problem is that it's an employer's market right now, so they can be as picky as they want.
Just totally pulling this one out of thin air, but maybe a job related to trucking, like dock work or something just to get in with a company for starters.

For one, i am not lying about anything. He took a plea deal, and with it he got 90 days in jail, has a fine and then this charge. The first charge was sexual assualt (which as now been dropped) and it was one of them he said she said and it went on for over a year and he just took the plea deal to get it done with. He was getting into debt, been kicked out of the Navy and he couldnt do anything with this over his head. so he settled for this. There is no reason for me to lie about any of it. I am on here to get an honest opinion about what to do and if i was to lie about whats going on then the help I would be getting wouldnt really help, right? anyway, how they got it down to this kind of charge, i have no idea. He has never been in a fight with anyone so no I dont have to worry about him getting mad at someone. My husband is a driver too and my brother went out on the road with him a few years ago and he has heard a lot about what goes on out there. So he kinda knows what to expect. i dont know how much more to tell you guys without going into a long story so hopefully with this information someone can help.

Sorry after i posted this, i realized i was logged into my husband account. but the information doesnt change.

Good luck to your brother.
As has already been mentioned,the employers can be pickier now about new employees.

what do you guys mean that they can be pickier? How, i mean are they wanting older people? People with more experience? Does this mean that he wouldnt even be able to get into one of these companies that train, like werner or swift?

Last I checked, Schneider has put a freeze on hiring non-experienced drivers for training.
Times are tough all around, but yeah, companies that traditionally hire newbies are scaling that back.
So now they can pick and choose the best drivers and leave the "riskier" drivers to the "lesser" companies.
and FYI, "risk" is usually decided by some actuarial table used by the carriers' insurers.

Felony? no thanks
DUI? keep walking
job hopper? pass
bad credit? sorry

We're not saying "give up," we're just saying that it's going to take more time and patience to make this happen.

It may help to not take the attitude on "settling" on driving. Trucking companies don't want to invest time and money to train a groom a driver who's just passing thru waiting for something better. He may just have to gut it up and work for a crappy company at substandard wages to get in a year of experience. That would go a long way towards building a better driving resume.

Phreddo...

Why BAD CREDIT as a criteria?

Are folks with credit issues considered a higher risk for "inventory shrinkage" problems? Or is it the "potential stress" of having bill collectors on their butts?

I'm getting ready to do a bankruptcy - mainly around my mortgage and an RV purchase that I could no longer afford to make payments on (voluntary repo before I was even late on a payment). These two debts have me at close to $900K in debt, and the only logical choice is to bankrupt them out (along with a paltry-in-comparison $50K in credit card debt).

I understand that credit reports are pulled as part of a USIS/DAC and that insurance companies usually pull them (in judging whether or not to extend a payment plan for premiums) - but was told that they really aren't given that much weight in hiring in the industry.

Sigh...

At this point, I may just have to go with Plan A (which would now be Plan C), and purchase a Truck right off the bat after I graduate school (don't ask, but the DP and "reasonable financing" is already in place), shagging freight off the freight boards for 6 months to a year, then getting on with LandStar or another company as an O/O Leased To. It's looking like the BEST WAY for a newb to get in at this point - is to come with their OWN TRUCK.

This was my "Plan A" - which I quickly dismissed under the advice of folks on this and other boards - opting to go company driver for a year or two (Plan B) before deciding whether or not to purchase a truck (avoiding "fleece deals" at all costs).

Guess it's time to start shopping INSURANCE (the most expensive recurring part of the equation for a newb) and looking at fright sources (brokers and load boards) to see how those are running...

Rick

Good luck finding an insurance company to insure you with no experience! Not to mention even some brokers won't even give you the freight either. To buy a truck as a newbie and run under your own authority is almost just as tough as it is getting in with a company now a days! Even if you do find someone to insure you, it is probably only going to be a 300 mile radius or so.