In order to become licensed, CDL truck drivers must first attend a program at a vocational or technical school. Some employers require a Class A CDL and at least a year of experience driving with that license for interstate commerce purposes. A CDL is required for those who drive with hazardous or oversize materials weighing over 26,000 pounds.

Required Skills

All cdl truck driving jobs  require that the employee be able to work under a certain amount of pressure, be self-motivated and work independently, have good customer service and communication skills. They also have to have good knowledge of the differing roads or at least an efficient GPS. Every employee must have a good overall work ethic, be able to follow safety regulations, and be able to read and follow customer orders. They must also be able to drive different trucks when asked.

Some basic tasks that most CDL drivers perform to at least some degree is delivering freight, managing customer paperwork, checking the various mechanical aspects of the trucks, and helping other workers with loading and unloading trucks. In this context, freight doesn’t necessarily relate to trains. It simply refers to truck driving, as a method of delivering goods, commodities and cargo. Other methods are trains, airplanes, and large ships. CDL drivers are also expected to perform simple preventative maintenance tasks when safety issues are found.

CDL truck drivers are also responsible for planning their own routes and meeting delivery schedules. For example, retail stores can only store so much at a time and then when they run out of a stock, they must order more of it. Depending on the level of the product’s demand, both the merchant and their customers can have very short expectations. They always expect the product to be in the best shape that it can be in so that it’s sellable. Grocery stores and other food-related chains especially face very high risks with the food that they sell because some foods expire very quickly, and the food also must arrive as cleanly as possible in order to make them sellable and avoid lawsuits. Truck drivers who deliver for food companies share the responsibility of the latter.

To prove that he or she worked the desired hours and made it to their destinations on time, CDL truck drivers must also fill out and return logs. That’s how their employer knows whether they’ve truly earned their salaries. When they must go through toll booths, they have to keep and turn in those receipts as well. They are also obligated to save delivery instructions for verification. If they get into an accident, a defect happens to show up while they’re on the road, or any other violation occurs, they must be reported.

Being a CDL truck driver is not as easy as many people probably think. There are regulations and rules, like those described above that they must adhere to. They are also highly responsible for maintaining safety on the road.