Month: March 2019

Class A CDL vs Class B CDL

Posted on by Paradigm Media

If you’re thinking about getting a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), it’s important to know the difference between a Class A Commercial Driver’s License and a Class B CDL. Essentially, the weight of the vehicle(s) determines whether you can or cannot drive with your new license. Below you’ll find information that explains the difference in general terms, which will help you choose the CDL that’s right for you.

Class A CDL

With a Class A CDL, you can operate hefty trucks and vehicle combinations such as:

  • Tractor trailers, also known as 18-wheelers or semi-trucks
  • Flatbed trucks
  • Livestock carriers
  • Certain Class B vehicles

These are all vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 26,001 pounds or more. The Class A CDL also lets you tow vehicles that weigh 10,000 pounds or more.

Class B CDL

With the Class B CDL, you can also drive a vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more, but you can’t legally tow anything more than 9,999 pounds. Class B vehicles include:

  • Delivery trucks, such as straight trucks (which are similar to tractor trailers, but with lesser towing options) and box trucks
  • Segmented buses
  • Dump trucks

What License Works for You?

Although a Class B CDL is a good choice for those looking to drive for shorter periods of time, the salaries are much less attractive and the job prospects are more limited. A Class A CDL is definitely the option with more career possibilities and higher average salaries. Those with a Class A CDL can operate a greater diversity of vehicles, and jobs for Class A holders are in high demand. The outlook for the trucking industry for 2019, will continue to be an increase in demand for the transportation of goods and plenty of Class A trucking job vacancies. At CDS, the staff even assists you with the job placement process after training, further solidifying your career path. For more information about getting your Class A CDL, contact us today!

Financial Boost for Virginia Workforce Credential Program

Posted on by Paradigm Media

Lawmakers have currently expressed their interest in giving the VA’s Workforce Credential Program a much needed financial kick start. As this legislative period comes to a close, the VA’s Workforce Credential Program is one of the main topics that lawmakers have left to discuss. This “FastForward” initiative is intended to help continue to boost the economy by providing additional funds for Virginia residents.

What will this do for me?

The VA Workforce Credential Program is a short-term initiative that lasts about 6 to 12 weeks and allows Virginia residents to register for classes within the Virginia Community College System. These programs get geared towards industries such as trucking and manufacturing. Getting students “in-and-out” allows people to have a chance at getting a quality education so that they can get jobs in in-demand fields and better their individual lives. By training students in specific fields where the demand is high, helps ensure that these students will find jobs when they graduate from the program.

How will this work for me?

FastForward programs require students to pay 1/3 of the cost up front, and the institution takes care of the rest. The FastForward programs not only boost industries like the trucking industry, but it also helps Virginia families who have adults out working minimum wage jobs trying to support families break what a cycle of being meager income or even in poverty is. It gives people of all ages and from all walks of life a chance to improve their lives, make a better living, gain the benefits that come with truck driving jobs (and those in many other industries), and provide for their families long-term.

The state of Virginia is willing to pay up to $3,000 per student for credentials with the most expensive program costing about $4,500 ($1,500 out of pocket for the participant). So far, since 2016 over 12,000 participants have received credentials and been able to improve their lives thanks to the VA Workforce Credential Program.

Why is this important for me?

It has been announced that there have been an additional $4 million allocated to the program, which is believed to cover the entire backlog of money that the program needed to get up to date on their past expenses. The Community College Workforce Alliance reports that a large portion of the students who came through the program indeed ended up going to training to get their CDL and work in the trucking industry.

Del. Chris Jones (R-District 76) reports that the goal of the program is to train truck drivers as well as many other skilled laborers such as those who get needed in the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this entire bill is to give more people the opportunity to gain skills that they will need to get into a higher-paying job with excellent benefits, so everyone has a chance to support their families.

For further information about what this new initiative might mean for you, contact CDS Tractor Trailer Training. Let’s sit down and find a plan that makes sense financially and works with your current lifestyle!

What is the DRIVE Safe Act?

Posted on by Paradigm Media

In the majority of states, you can get your driver’s license as early as sixteen, but if you are interested in being a truck driver, specifically driving out of state lines, you must be at least twenty-one.  The DRIVE Safe Act is hoping to change all of that.

What is the DRIVE Safe Act?

The DRIVE Safe Act was passed by Congress and will allow those under twenty-one, but over eighteen, to cross state lines as an interstate truck driver with approval as long as they have their Commercial Driver’s License. There are other requirements involving a lengthy probationary period, a set amount of driving hours, and certain other criteria. During the probationary period, the hopeful driver will have to “… complete at least 400 hours of on-duty time and 240 hours of driving time with an experienced driver in the cab with them” by the end of the program in order to qualify. If the particular driver completes the criteria, they would be able to start immediately after obtaining their CDL.

Why will the DRIVE Safe Act help trucking?

For a long time now, there has been a shortage of truck drivers. This is not only negative for the trucking industry, but for the entire economy.

“… that’s one of the reasons that consumer prices for goods have gone up recently, there are not enough drivers.” says the California Congressman, Duncan Hunter, who sponsored the act.

The hope is that the DRIVE Safe Act will let more individuals right out of high school to dive right into interstate driving. As it is, most people who have just left school want to work immediately and while being an in-state driver is a possibility, it’s not a particularly good one. Youth that may have turned to trucking, instead end up in other career paths. With the DRIVE Safe Act, the goal is to help the truck driver shortage, while still making sure we have well-trained drivers on the road.

When will the DRIVE Safe Act go into effect?

The DRIVE Safe Act was first sponsored by California Congressman Duncan Hunter in March 21st, of 2018. The Entry Level Driver Training Rule will likely go into effect around February of 2020.

 

For more information on the DRIVE Safe Act as well as the CDL training at CDS Tractor Trailer Training, contact us today. We are ready to help you hit the road with a new career in trucking!

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