Blog/How to Get CDL – The Rights on a Truck?

How to Get CDL – The Rights on a Truck?

CDL (Commercial Driver’s license)
HelIo everyone. Today we are going to talk about a profession of truck driver in the United States. This profession is probably one of the most popular among immigrants for several reasons. First of all, in order to become a driver, you do not need a long-term training, because in general you need only the rights to the tract (which is here called CDL, which is decoded as commercial driver’s license). Getting these rights does not take much time. In principle, you can fit a month with a little or somewhere up to two months.


Secondly, this profession is so popular because it does not require special knowledge of English, which of course is a big plus at first. I see a lot of immigrants who start with this way in America. As soon as they get a permission to work, a Social Security Number (SSN) or come by the Green Card, than many of them are immediately go to receive these rights. Without SSN, and without work permit you would not receive this rights, so those who are already “burned” in the tourist status is not relevant. This applies only to those who have permission to work and SSN or Green Card. It takes up for two months to receive these rights. The process does not require a lot of money. In principle, you can settle in $ 1,500-2,000, if you live here and do not rent the separate accommodation in order to come to school.

Of course, by earning money, there is a plus. The truck driver already earns $ 1,500 a week in at first , which, in general, is not so common among other professions. According to other professions such earnings come out through a year not earlier probably (and without knowledge of English, I do not even know). The work of a truck driver makes it possible to earn more or less decent money, because the payment goes for miles: something from $ 0.40 to $ 0.50 per mile. And then the income already depends on how much a person wants to earn. There is, of course, a minus, which is that the family sees the driver rarely, because the trip lasts for several days, and sometimes there aren`t driver at home by weeks, he rides somewhere. This work is better when a person is alone when he does not have a family. Well, in principle, when there is a family, this is not also such a big problem. I know that some Americans are riding like a family: both husband and wife are riding, maybe even children. Of course, I do not quite understand how it is possible to bring a child to the truck, but such practice exists.

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Next, you need to do to get these rights. That is the purpose of my video in fact. By common law, of course, I help, and many people ask me and say: now I have the next goal – to get a commercial rights. What can you offer me on this topic? And I could not offer anything, because I was narrowly restricted with my usual rights to cars. I got tired of giving out clients to other people and decided that probably it’s time to do this myself. It’s not that difficult, include that I’m already torn in this area. And I decided to start from myself, getting a CDL. I have already begun this process and I am in the middle.

This process consists of 3 steps:
  1.   passage of the medical board. It is necessary to get a conclusion from the doctor that we are suitable for the manage of the tract;
  2.   passing the theoretical part;
  3.   passing of driving – a practical part.
I have already received a medical certificate. It is presented in the form of several sheets of A4 format. It contains our information. And here I get put something else in a plastic bag, I then used this certificate at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), where its employees got it out of the bag.

But you need to bring all the documents together. To get a medical certificate, you need to go to a doctor. His office and the corresponding list of information I have, if anyone needs it. Getting a certificate does not take much time. I probably arrived at 9 o’clock in the morning and at 13 o’clock I was free, so this took  4 hours to receive this sertification. They got my analyzes there, checked them right there and they said everything was fine.

I was inspected by a doctor, checked with the help of a stethoscope, how the heart works. They tested my vision and hearing . They were leading by some kind of thing in front of my eyes – what they were testing  there I do not know. They asked me to get up and raise the hands up and to get lower – probably the spine was checking I do not know. In general, there is nothing difficult there. And this medical board is passed over if not all than almost everyone. It can be a failure only in vision  probably or if you do not understand English completely, because the doctor is chatting a lot in English. I have also took a group of two guys and lead them parallel with me  just experimentally. We went to the medical board together. Everyone have coped so they have no problems …Well, I came and told them that they would be asked this, this and this so they do not have to get confused. They normally did everything (one and them absolutely without knowledge of English), they passed this medical board without problems, all turned out to be the good ones .

The next stage is passing of the theoretical part. The theoretical part includes 3 tests.  Each of it we need to learn at home and come to the DMV office (where we are going to get ordinary rights also we come there to pass 3 CDL tests).

This 3 tests are:
This test is the most extensive one; I think it is considered to be the most difficult one because of this reason. There are about 300 questions that need to be answered. The questions relate to general knowledge, safety, truck devices and some situations on the roads. This test was given  a little bit easier to me than to others, because I already knew the answers to many questions from my main specifity. For example questions about switching the distant light to the nearer and how to be in one or another situation. I teach my clients the answers for the same questions when they are going to get the usual rights so then of course I know them well.

Therefore, in this part of the test it had probably been on a 15 percent easier to me. These 15 percent of the issues I have already known. The other questions I had to be taught of course. Many new terms I did not know. Many of questions were the ones I knew from my main work (these are all the road terms). Of course, it was easier for me. I look at my guys: they do not know the words, which are already elementary for me . And also I had many other words that were added to this cargo specificity. So the General Knowledge test as a rule needs to go first, because in DMV systems it is often scored first. Until we pass it, we can not go further.

But people like to pass this test in last turn because it is more complicated, and they are going to pass the simple ones at first. There are some DMV offices where the system does not commit to do the General Knowledge first so you can start with more simple tests. If someone has questions about which sequence is better, I will tell;
  • Air Brakes (pneumatic brakes). 
The trucks are equipped with pneumatic brakes. This test was completely new to me here. He was not that vast. I needed to learn somewhere about 80 questions to pass it. But the test was completely new, because we do not use these brakes in motor cars and of course and we do not know anything about them at all. However, it had to be learned;
  • Combination.
This test is aimed to educating us to make a correct coupling between a trailer and a tractor. All this was also new to me, all these terms and in general how it all happens, because I know how to control only the motor car. But I learned it too. The test is not very extensive, there are also about 80 questions. So this is how I passed 3 of these tests and based on their results I got a permit that called Temporary Driving Permit (temporary management permission).

This permit is issued for a period of 180 days and during these 180 days I can go to school to study driving, as well as I can easily drive truck on a road in the presence of a driver who has already a full rights in this cargo category. So I figured out with the medical part and with the theoretical part; now I have only a driver’s school. Today I have a fly to Belarus in 3 hours and I am still here working! I’ll go to rest for several weeks and this permit will have already 2 weeks, and it will be possible to go to pass a drive part.