Driving jobs in the oilfield
We’re now official guest contributors to the blog at EagleFordShale.com. Check out our first post http://www.eaglefordshale.com/blog/get-a-cdl-in-10-easy-steps-start-a-career-in-the-eagle-ford-oilfield/ and all the resources at this site.
The driver shortage strikes again!
Check out this story from the Web site of the Altoona Mirror regarding the need for drivers with commercial driver’s licenses. If you’d like to get a jump start preparing to take your CDL tests, we suggest that you look into our iPhone app, BUMPER TO BUMPER® Easy CDL.
Apply for scholarship
High school seniors still have time to submit their applications for financial assistance from the OOIDA Mary Johnston Scholarship fund, announced Landline Magazine, the official publication of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, Feb. 1, for the 2012-2013 school year. Interested applicants should contact the OOIDA Membership Department at 800-444-5791 and ask for either Sylvia Dodson or Marion Case. The OOIDA scholarship fund was established in 1998 to help the children, grandchildren and legal dependents of dues-paying OOIDA members achieve their dreams of going on to college or trade school. Scholarship winners are selected based on grades, extracurricular activities, and a 500-word essay. The committee awards one first-place scholarship for $2,000 and four $1,000 awards, which can be renewed for up to four years.
Lots learned at NAPFTDS Regional conference
The National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools Regional Conference, held Nov. 10th and 11th at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, was well worth attending. All the presenters brought valuable information to share, from advice on contract training and industry partnerships to regulatory and funding issues for truck driver training, to commercial vehicle crime prevention. For example, check out American Association of Motor Vehicles’ Kevin Lewis’s presentation on DOT testing regulations DOT Testing Regulations and Compliance Safety Systems’ David Saunders’s presentation on CSA. For more information about NAPFTDS, visit the Web site at www.napftds.org.
Easy CDL for Hot Shot Trucking
Easy CDL for Hot Shot Trucking, an app for the iPhone, has just debuted in the Apple iTunes App Store. The Hot Shot Trucking app follows on the heels of BUMPER TO BUMPER® Easy CDL and Easy CDL Hazardous Materials Endorsement Review, four- and five-star apps developed by Mike Byrnes and Associates, Inc., publishers of BUMPER TO BUMPER®, The Complete Guide to Tractor-Trailer Operations and other commercial motor vehicle driver training materials, and produced by StudyByApp, LLC, an educational software development company that develops apps for the iPhone, iTouch and iPad. Easy CDL for Hot Shot Trucking sells for $2.99 and can be obtained via the Study By App Web site at www.studybyapp.com or from the iTunes store. Easy CDL for Hot Shot Trucking’s eight units recap all the topics that operators of heavy duty pickups must study to get a Commercial Driver’s License Test and be able to drive a commercial motor vehicle truck-and-trailer combination with a gross combined weight rating in excess of 26,000 pounds.
Scam alert
Maralyn Chavez, WesternPacific Truck School reports:
We received a call today from a man, “Willard Peabody”, who informed us that he was at the terminal in downtown Los Angeles and wanted to know how he was supposed to get to the school. We told the caller we did not have a school in that area. He then informed us that John D. Western had signed him up for Western Pacific Truck School in Georgia and gave him a discounted price, if he paid up front. He also said that 8-9 others were also there waiting at the terminal trying to get to the school. We asked the caller for a phone number, and were provided with two numbers. One number was supposed to be for John D. Western and the other was supposed to be a cell phone of one of the others waiting at the terminal. The number for “John D. Western” had an outgoing message that said “not taking calls at this time”. The other number was an unassigned MagicJack phone number.
Regional conference report
Our Education Coordinator, John Rojas, reported that the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools Region 6 meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee was a great success in Chattanooga Tennessee. John said:
We were honored to learn valuable information from speakers such as:
- John White – President U.S. Xpress
- Dr. James Catanzaro – President Chattanooga State Tech College
- Homer Paul – Field Recruiting Manager U.S. Xpress
- Jim Klepper – Attorney, Founder & President of Drivers Legal Plan
- Dave Osiecki – Senior VP of Policy & Regulatory Affairs, American Truck Association
- Lane Kid – President, Arkansas Trucking Association
- Chris Burruss – President, Truckload Carriers Association
- Brett Wacker – VP Corporate Maintenance, Arnold Transportation Services
- Martin Garsee – President of NAPFTDS & Program Director of Transportation Training, Houston Community College
- David Saunders – CEO Compliance Safety Systems
- Steve Conway – Academic Affairs Coordinator & Transportation Curriculum Specialist Technical, College System of Georgia
- David Huneryager – President, Tennessee Trucking Association
- Mark Brown – Assistant Director of Transportation, Central Tech
- Bryan Fanis – Production Manager, RigDig
- Max Fuller – Co-Chairman, U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc.
- Claude Ramsey – Deputy & Chief of Staff to the Governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslarn
- Robert Viso – VP of Safety, U.S. Xpress, Inc.
I personally was very impressed with the professional assembly of the agenda and facilities provided. Thank you Chattanooga State Community College and U.S. Xpress for a great job.
School meeting chugging along in Chattanooga
Live from the meeting of Region 6 of the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools in Chattanooga, our Education Coordinator John Rojas reports that the conference is going very well. “The speakers have been very influential,” says John. “ Thank you US Xpress and Chattanooga State Community College for hosting such a professional and well organized Conference.” For more information about NAPFTDS, visit their Web site.
Trucking industry looking for a few good men — and women
Soldiers are coming home soon and it just so happens that the trucking industry is looking for a few good men — and women — to hire as drivers… more
Driver shortage creates trucking jobs
Truck driver training schools in Ohio, including Hamrick Truck Driving School, are working to supply drivers to meet the demand to fill trucking jobs created by the driver shortage, according to this story on www.chron.com.
