Experience question

[greg334]

In a discussion with a friend today, he asked a question about experience as a requirement for any expediting company. I could not answer his question, so I am posting it here to find an answer.

If someone has driving experience as a flower delivery driver, auto parts driver or courier or any professional driving job, would this be enough for most companies to qualify as experience needed to fill that 1 or 2 year minimum?

Thanks in advance.

 

[X1_SRH]

Good question Greg -

Every company is different in their experience requirements, so it is important to speak with them individually.
As a rule, (and a very general one at that) Experience is constituted by having to keep a log book. Any over the road experience would require a driver to keep a DOT log - and a lot of times the DOT experience is what a company is really looking for.
Make your phone calls - all companies have a different way of looking at things - and I would by no means consider this to be an industry standard. A lot of times things can be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Thanks for your question - Scott

 

[ATeam]

It's not unusual for people to become expediters with no truck driving experience whatsoever. When my wife and I started, we had none. The two-dozen fleet owners we interviewed before selecting one all said they'd bring us on.

At that time, our carrier had (and still has, I believe) a six-month experience requirement. The carrier also had a rule that allowed the requirement to be waived if we passed a road test administered by a carrier-approved school. That's the route we took. The road test differed little from the CDL road test given by our state drivers licence examiners.

While experience rules vary from carrier to carrier, a number of fleet owners will happily bring newbies on board and help them get started in the industry.