Commercial Driver License

[chevyjeffgordon]

Anyone here got one? I was thinking about getting one and wanted to know if it would be good to have. also tinking about becoming a truck driver.

[MWright936]

I've heard one thing about a CDL that you may want to keep in mind. Evidently, when you have a CDL, police see you as a "professional driver", so there is no chance you will ever get a warning for a moving violation. If you don't make a habit of speeding or anything, I say go for it. It can only open up more opportunities. I've considered it myself.

[ibmoses]

I got a CDL.
If you can swing it, go for it. That will open up all kinds of job opportunities that are otherwise unobtainable.

I dont drive big vehicles but lots of my coworkers do and our company requires all employees to have them. I used to have the Haz-Mat endorsement but after 9/11 they require you to jump through a bunch of hoops to keep them so I let that expire.

The written test is not hard. The pre trip inspection is not real hard. The driving test was not hard either but I had to use a truck I was not familiar with and had to do the backing part three times before I got it...'

Bert

[tbplus10]

I have my CDL with a Hazmat endorsement, it does open a lot of doors when looking for employment. As pointed out many police officers treat you differently when stopped, and moving violations when not in a commercial vehicle count against your commercial license.
Look into getting an endorsement for air brakes and Hazmat on your regular license, many companies drive use bobtails that dont require a CDL, this way you can gain experience prior to spending the money for a CDL.

[chevygurl]

I've got one since my dad owns a few trucks, and I drive for him on occasions. I agree that it opens up alot of doors. For instance, my dad hauls wastewater for our county here, and during the summer when it rains the pickup stations get flooded if the water isn't hauled right away to the treatment plants. So the county pays my dad an insane amount of money to simply sit at the station and wait for it to get flooded (24/7) until the rains stop. He passes most of this onto his drivers, and last year we made over $100/hour sitting at the plant (we as in the drivers). It's always a bonus to have one even if you don't drive for a living, because it's an easy way to pick up extra cash. Here in FL, it's that expensive for the test, however they do not provide a truck to take it in. You can try to borrow one, or pay $300 for a day long class that gives you your license.

Like they said above though, once you have it, don't mess around in your personal vehicle. Cops don't even like it when I have my radar detector up, even if I'm not speeding. They've pulled me over just to ask about it before. Like tbplus said, the moving violations count against your CDL, and some can even get it revoked for life down here.

If you're already a safe driver, I'd say go for it! It's been well worth my while even though I don't drive often. But if you have a lead foot, I'd think hard about it first.