CDL Truck School Mount Rainier MD - Become a Commercial Truck Driver

How to Decide on the Right Trucking Classes near Mount Rainier Maryland

tractor truck in Mount Rainier MD Congratulations on your decision to become a truck driver and enroll in a trucking school near Mount Rainier MD. Perhaps it has always been your ambition to hit the open highway while driving a monster tractor trailer. Or maybe you have done some research and have discovered that an occupation as a truck driver provides good pay and flexible work prospects. Regardless of what your reason is, it’s imperative to obtain the proper training by picking the right CDL school in your area. When reviewing your options, there are various factors that you’ll want to examine prior to making your ultimate choice. Location will undoubtedly be important, particularly if you have to commute from your Mount Rainier home. The cost will also be of importance, but selecting a school based entirely on price is not the best means to ensure you’ll receive the right training. Don’t forget, your goal is to master the knowledge and skills that will enable you to pass the CDL examinations and become a qualified truck driver. So keeping that purpose in mind, just how do you choose a truck driving school? That is what we are going to cover in the remainder of this article. But first, we are going to review a little bit about which CDL license you will eventually need.

Which Commercial Drivers License Should You Get?

Mount Rainier MD long haul tractor trailer In order to drive commercial vehicles legally within the United States and Mount Rainier MD, a driver needs to get a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License). The three license classes that a driver can apply for are Class A, Class B and Class C. Since the subject of this article is how to choose a truck driving school, we will highlight Class A and B licenses. What differentiates each class of CDL is the type of vehicle that the driver can operate as well as the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) or GCWR (Gross Combination Weight Rating). Following are short descriptions for the two classes.

Class A CDL. A Class A CDL is needed to drive any vehicle that has a GCWR of more than 26,000 lbs., including a towed vehicle of greater than 10,000 lbs. A few of the vehicles that drivers may be able to operate with Class A licenses are:

Interstate or Intrastate Tractor Trailers
Trucks with Double or Triple Trailers
Tanker Trucks
Livestock Carriers
Class B and Class C Vehicles

Class B CDL. A Class B Commercial Drivers License is required to operate single vehicles having a GVWR of more than 26,000 lbs., or a GCWR of greater than 26,000 lbs. including a towed vehicle weighing up to 10,000 lbs. Several of the vehicles that drivers may be qualified to operate with Class B licenses are:

Tractor Trailers
Dump Trucks
Cement Mixers
Large Buses
Class C Vehicles

Both Class A and Class B Commercial Drivers Licenses may also need endorsements to operate certain kinds of vehicles, such as passenger or school buses. And a Class A licensee, with the appropriate needed endorsements, may operate any vehicle that a Class B licensee is authorized to operate.

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How to Evaluate a CDL School

Mount Rainier MD truck driving school When you have decided which Commercial Drivers License you wish to pursue, you can begin the process of evaluating the Mount Rainier MD truck driver schools that you are considering. As already discussed, location and cost will no doubt be your initial considerations. But it can’t be emphasized enough that they must not be your sole considerations. Other factors, including the experience of the instructors or the reputations of the schools are similarly if not more important. So following are a few more points that you should research while conducting your due diligence before selecting, and especially paying for, your truck driving training.

Are the Schools Accredited or Certified ? Not many trucking schools in the Mount Rainier MD area are accredited because of the rigorous process and expense to the schools. On the other hand, certification is more commonplace and is offered by the Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI). A school is not required to become certified, but there are a number of advantages. Interested students know that the training will be of the highest standard, and that they will be given an ample amount of driving time. As an example, PTDI requires 44 hours of actual driving time, not ride-alongs or simulations. So if a school’s program is certified (the program, not the school is certified), students know that the curriculum and training will fulfill the very high benchmarks set by PTDI.

How Long in Operation? One clue to help assess the quality of a truck driver school is how long it has been in operation. A poorly reviewed or a fly by night school typically will not stay in business very long, so longevity is a plus. Having said that, even the top Mount Rainier MD schools had to start from their opening day of training, so use it as one of several qualifiers. You can also learn what the school’s history is concerning successful licensing and job placement of its graduating students. If a school won’t share those stats, look elsewhere. The schools should also maintain associations with regional and national trucking firms. Having numerous contacts not only confirms a quality reputation within the profession, but also boosts their job assistance program for students. It also wouldn’t hurt to contact the Maryland licensing department to make sure that the CDL trucking schools you are considering are in compliance.

How Good is the Training? At a minimum, the schools must be licensed in Maryland and employ instructors that are experienced and trained. We will talk more about the instructors in the next segment. Also, the student to instructor proportion should be no higher than 4 to 1. If it’s any higher, then students will not be receiving the individual attention they will need. This is especially true concerning the one-on-one instruction for behind the wheel training. And be critical of any school that insists it can teach you to drive trucks in a comparatively short time period. Training to be an operator and to drive a tractor trailer professionally takes time. Most Mount Rainier MD schools offer training courses that run from 3 weeks to as long as two months, depending on the class of license or kind of vehicle.

How Good are the Teachers? As previously mentioned, it’s important that the instructors are trained to teach driving techniques and experienced as both instructors and drivers. Although a number of states have minimum driving time requirements to qualify as a teacher, the more professional driving experience a teacher has the better. It’s also crucial that the instructors stay current with industry advancements or any new laws or changes in regulations. Assessing instructors may be a little more intuitive than other standards, and perhaps the best method is to check out the school and talk to the instructors in person. You can also talk to a few of the students going through the training and find out if they are satisfied with the level of instruction and the teacher’s qualification to train them.

How Much Driving Time? Most importantly, a great trucking school will provide ample driving time to its students. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about? Driving time is the real time spent behind the wheel driving a truck. While the use of ride-a-longs with other students and simulators are necessary training tools, they are no substitute for actual driving. The more training that a student gets behind the wheel, the better driver she or he will become. And even though driving time can vary between schools, a good benchmark is a minimum of 32 hours. If the school is PTDI certified, it will furnish no less than 44 hours of driving time. Get in touch with the Mount Rainier MD schools you are looking at and ask how much driving time they furnish.

Are they Captive or Independent ? It’s possible to receive discounted or even free training from some trucking schools if you make a commitment to drive for a particular carrier for a defined time period. This is referred to as contract training, and the schools that provide it are called captives. So instead of having relationships with a wide range of trucking lines that they can place their graduates with, captives only work with one company. The benefit is receiving free or less expensive training by giving up the freedom to initially be a driver wherever you have an opportunity. Obviously contract training has the potential to restrict your income opportunities when starting out. But for some it may be the ideal way to get affordable training. Just remember to find out if the Mount Rainier MD schools you are contemplating are captive or independent so that you can make an informed decision.

Provide CDL Testing Onsite? There are a number of states that will allow third party CDL testing onsite of trucking schools for its graduates. If onsite testing is allowed in Maryland, ask if the schools you are looking at are DMV certified to provide it. One benefit is that it is more accommodating than battling with graduates of competing schools for test times at Maryland testing locations. It is also an indicator that the DMV views the authorized schools to be of a higher quality.

Are the Classes Accessible? As previously mentioned, truck driving training is only about one to two months long. With such a brief duration, it’s essential that the Mount Rainier MD school you choose provides flexibility for both the scheduling of classes and the curriculum. For example, if you’re having difficulty learning a certain driving maneuver, then the teacher should be willing to devote more time with you until you are proficient. And if you’re still holding a job while attending training, then the class scheduling must be flexible enough to accommodate working hours or other commitments.

Is Job Placement Provided? As soon as you have acquired your CDL license after graduating from truck driver school, you will be keen to begin your new profession. Make sure that the schools you are reviewing have job assistance programs. Find out what their job placement ratio is and what average salary their graduates start at. Also, ask which local and national trucking companies their graduates are referred to for hiring. If a school has a low job placement rate or not many Mount Rainier MD employers hiring their grads, it might be a clue to search elsewhere.

Is Financial Assistance Available? Truck driver schools are similar to colleges and other Mount Rainier MD area trade or technical schools when it comes to loans and other forms of financial aid being available. Ask if the schools you are evaluating have a financial aid department, or at a minimum someone who can help you understand the options and forms that need to be completed.

CDL Truck School Mount Rainier Maryland

Mount Rainier MD long haul truck Choosing the appropriate trucking school is an essential first step to beginning your new vocation as a local or long distance truck driver. The skill sets that you will learn at school will be those that forge a new career behind the wheel. There are many options offered and understanding them is critical to a new driver’s success. You originally came to our website because of your interest in CDL Truck School and wanting information on the topic CDL Training And Job Placement. But first and foremost, you must obtain the necessary training in order to operate a big commercial vehicle in a safe and professional fashion. If you are short on cash or financing, you might need to think about a captive school. You will pay a reduced or in some cases no tuition in exchange for driving for their contracted carrier. Or you can enroll in an independent trucking school and have the the freedom to drive for the trucking firm of your choosing, or one of several affiliated with the school. It’s your choice. But regardless of how you receive your training, you will soon be part of a profession that helps our country move as a professional trucker in Mount Rainier MD.

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Mount Rainier, Maryland

Mount Rainier /reɪˈnɪər/ is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, bordering Washington D.C .[4] The population was 8,080 at the 2010 census.[5] Mount Rainier is contained between the Northwest Branch Anacostia River, Cedar Lane Alley, and 34th Street to the north, 37th Street and 37th Place to the northeast, Upshur Street and Queens Chapel Road to the west, the Cargo Train/ the former 82 Streetcar tracks to the east, and Eastern Avenue NE to the south. Mount Rainier got its start as a streetcar suburb. (See Streetcars in Washington, D.C.) According to local tradition, surveyors from the Pacific Northwest named the town, giving the streets names such as "Shasta" and "Cascade". Historic U.S. 1 runs through the center of the town and serves as the main street and central business district.

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 8,080 people, 3,344 households, and 1,735 families residing in the city. The population density was 12,430.8 inhabitants per square mile (4,799.6/km2). There were 3,601 housing units at an average density of 5,540.0 per square mile (2,139.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 19.9% White, 52.8% African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 20.9% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.4% of the population.

There were 3,344 households of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.9% were married couples living together, 18.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.1% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.27.