eGears Blog for Online CDL Training

After you pass the CDL test and gain some experience as a professional driver, there may come a point in time when you want to add an endorsement on to your CDL.  One of the most common endorsements out there is the Hazardous Materials or HazMat endorsement.  Adding the HazMat endorsement to a CDL allows drivers to haul materials such as explosives, gases, flammable solids, poisonous substances, radioactive material and more.  So why would someone want to haul these dangerous materials? 

Well, there are 2 main reasons to get a HazMat endorsement:

• loads with HazMat materials typically pay more money to the driver
• HazMat drivers can get more loads (accept loads other drivers legally cannot haul)

How To: Prepare for the HazMat Endorsement test?
Well, you could read the state CDL manual – but who has time for that?  As Corbin says above, “it’s hard for me to read a book and keep my mind from wandering.”  This is true for a lot of people and the CDL manual is no easy read.

So how do you make sure you’re ready for the test without reading the manual?  Well,eGears has a CDL HazMat practice test with sample questions and answers that can save you a lot of time and money.  After all, who wants to pay for a retest…or take the time to study again?  After you work through our HazMat practice tests, you’ll know you’re ready to go!  You’ve got things going on in your life, so don’t waste your time fumbling through the CDL manual.  It’s well worth the $9.95 to get started today. 

Get the HazMat Practice Test for Just $9.95 Now!

Image credit: Cocoen Daily Photos, Flickr

Landline Magazine recently reported on an incident in New York in which two trucking school owners helped hundreds of trucking students pass their CDL tests using a jacket equipped with a video camera.

The owners would give students a beeper along with the jacket which housed a hidden camera in the sleeve prior to testing and instructed the students to point the camera at test questions during the exam. The beeper would go off twice for A, four times for B, and six times for C answers. Agents found that the couple had helped more than 700 test takers cheat between January 2010 and March 2012. New York state required 375 of those to retake their CDL tests. Only 93 of them passed the retest.

CDL Test Answers From eGears

So, why did the applicants feel they had to cheat to get the correct CDL test answers? It’s impossible to know — laziness, ignorance, apathy…there are any number of reasons. But it could be because many people are unsure how to study the CDL manual since it’s so content-heavy and they figure cheating is a guaranteed pass (I am not endorsing this, simply saying perhaps this is some peoples’ reasoning). While we do recommend going through the commercial driving handbook in addition to any other study procedures, we see many aspiring truck drivers find success with our CDL Permit Tests.

Instead of having to cheat to get the correct CDL test answers, our CDL Practice Test will serve up over 200 sample questions that are just like what you’ll see when you actually take the state CDL permit test. Sample questions are beneficial because you know what type of questions and material you’ll see on the test before you take it — you’re not shocked at the questions when you begin taking your test because you’ve seen similarly-phrased practice questions before.

Furthermore, many find success with CDL practice tests because they offer a more streamlined method of studying. They’re hands on, whereas reading through the handbook 5 times is tedious and slow going. How many of us zone out when reading something boring and bland? I know I do, along with many others — making practice tests a very beneficial tool since you can actually DO things and LEARN the material instead of just blindly memorizing it (or not, in the case of the story’s test takers).

Looking for an alternative to reading through the CDL handbook time after time? Check out our CDL Practice Tests You have access for 60 days, so you can take your time with it and learn the material at your own pace. There’s no reason to even have to think about cheating to get the correct CDL test answers on your DMV exam.

Every now and then we get inquiries from companies who are interested in our products for their employees. Maybe they need to train a group of drivers, or maybe changes in city government require all city officials to get a Class A CDL. Whatever the case, sometimes you just need a way to train people and can’t afford to outsource CDL training somewhere else.  Here’s an actual piece of an email we received just the other day…

Gentlemen, a new policy has come about from city government here, all crew chief level staff members and above must have a Class A CDL. It appears we will have approx seven crew members who will be required to learn and pass the Oklahoma Class A CDL test and acquire a CDL prior to June 30th 2013…..the city has asked me to find an affordable training option to assist crew members in acquiring their CDL. Please let me know if you have any program that can assist in that pursuit, and the cost of said program.

Using eGears to Train Your Employees

If you find yourself in a similar situation to the one above, you need to find something that proven to work and something you get get in place fast.  Let’s say you can’t afford to hire someone whose job is simply to train new drivers, but you need your employees to pass their CDL tests quickly in order for them to get started on their new job. What’s a company to do? You need a program that’s inexpensive but proven to work. Well, fortunately for you, we offer bulk purchasing! By ordering in bulk through eGears, you’ll be able to set up accounts in advance so all you have to do is assign each person a username and password. From there, you can track the progress each user makes.

Our Suggestions

Our most popular products for training fleets of drivers are our Class A Permit Course and our Class A Pre-Trip DVD Pack. When used in conjunction, these two products can greatly speed up the training process.

Our Class A Permit Course is a hands on learning tool that features over 200 practice test questions, very similar to what you would see when taking the permit test at your local DMV. Employees can work through the practice questions as many times as they need to to familiarize themselves with the material.

Our Pre-Trip Study pack features four useful tools for learning how to perform a proper pre-trip inspection — a pre-trip checklist, an identification guide, a 4-point brake check study sheet, and a DVD demonstration. Our CDL instructor Phil will walk your employees through every aspect of the pre-trip inspection and teach you how to do a 4-point brake check.

Need To Get Your Employees Up To Speed on the CDL Quick?

• Get the details on our Class A Practice Test here
• Find out how the Pre-Trip Study Pack can save you a TON of time here
• You may also call 1-866-753-6414 and ask about bulk purchasing.

Spring is here and for most of us the weather is finally changing.  It’s a great time time of year – time to get outside and get active.  It’s also time for Spring Break.  But what does Spring have to do with school bus driver safety?  A lot actually.

You see, when Spring time comes around students tend to have more energy.  As we all know, children with more energy can result in rowdy behavior… and rowdy behavior on a school bus means more distractions for the bus driver.  As with all CDL drivers, safety is a top concern.  Anticipating this rowdy behavior and not losing your cool is the way to go here (even though you may be wishing you were on Spring Break yourself).  It’s going to happen, especially on the rides home and around Spring Break time.  Many students will be overflowing with energy wanting to get home so they can play outside or finish school so they can leave on a family vacation.  Sooner or later you’ll be in a situation that tests your patience – so what can you do to help you stay calm and safe?

Outside of the required safety regulations, each bus driver has his or her own set of rules for their bus.  Some have a more friendly approach with each student while others mean strictly business when behind the wheel.  Regardless of which approach you take, the best thing you can do is cross everything else off the list.  What do I mean by this?  Make sure you’re doing a complete and proper bus pre-trip inspection before each route.  While you can’t predict a student’s behavior, you can do your best to make sure the school bus is safe so you have one less thing to worry about.  After all, a bus full of rowdy kids isn’t much fun; but a bus full of rowdy kids broken down with a flat tire on the side of road is much worse!  Check out the preview of our pre-trip inspection video below…

Need to Brush Up on the School Bus Pre-Trip Inspection?

eGears offers an School Bus Pre-Trip DVD covering:

• Exterior School Bus Inspection
• Bus Interior / In-Cab Inspection
• Bus Engine Compartment Inspection
• 4-Point Brake Check Demonstration

The School Bus CDL Pre-Trip Inspection video features high quality video footage, professional editing and graphics, crystal clear audio and a DVD menu system so you can get exactly to the area of the bus you need to review. The entire inspection is 37 minutes in length and covers all aspects of the pre-trip inspection in detail.

The CDL Pre-Trip Inspection was written and developed by CDL training experts. Certified CDL examiners oversaw the entire inspection demonstration to ensure DOT rules compliance. This pre-trip inspection video covers all points of the CDL pre-trip inspection and applies to all 50 states.

Order Bus Pre-Trip DVD with FREE Priority Shipping!

It’s no secret that there’s one big reason you’re interested in online CDL training from eGears – so YOU can GET PAID!  Sure, some of you are newbies who are living out your childhood dream of driving a big truck while others may be former truck drivers with over 20+ years of experience who want to renew their Class A CDL and get back out on the road (they say once truckin’ is in your blood it’s there forever).  While those of you reading this may have different backgrounds, at the end of the day you want to pass the CDL test so you can get your Commercial Driver’s License and make some money!  Whether it’s getting a new job as a Class A driver or going back to the career you always loved, you want to do it to make money.

But when it comes to a truck driver’s salary, there are many questions from newbies on how Class A CDL drivers are paid.  Well, most OTR drivers are paid X cents per mile for each mile the truck moves.  That being said there are both solo and team truck drivers.  So what does a team truck driver salary look like? Our friends over at Driver Solutions put together this great graphic below explaining the difference between solo and team truck driver pay, so check it out!

Understanding a Truck Driver’s Salary – Solo vs. Team

CDL Test Review Programs

This graphic from Driver Solutions makes understanding truck driver pay and how a truck driver earns his or her salary very easy.  Remember though, it all starts with quality training and the best way to study for the actual CDL test is through online CDL practice tests and pre-trip inspection videos.  Here are some resources to get you started and on your way to getting PAID!

• Class A CDL Practice Tests – over 300 sample questions and answers
• Pre-Trip Inspection DVD – step by step walk through of a complete pre-trip check

Last week, our Driver Solutions friends published this post on the dangers of cutting off big trucks. It’s a helpful topic that both truck drivers and small car drivers can benefit from, so I thought I’d do a post of my own on the subject today.

We’re all familiar with being cut off. It sucks, it’s irritating, and it makes the commute home from work that much worse. But for every time that it happens in your little passenger vehicle, it happens about 100 times for truck drivers. It’s a dangerous stunt to pull even in little cars, so it baffles me as to why passenger vehicles can cut off 80,000 pound trucks like it’s no big deal. I guess some of the reasons are as follows:

• They’re in a hurry and trucks aren’t driving as quickly as they want them to.
• They don’t realize how long it actually takes for a semi to stop.
• In extreme cases, they might be trying to make some quick lawsuit money off of you!

The first and last points there…you can’t do much about. The second, however…well, perhaps this will shed some light on the stopping distances of trucks and cars…

Stopping Distance

Total stopping distance is made up of three different distances:  the perception distance, the reaction distance, and the braking distance.

The perception distance is the distance your vehicle moves before you realize the need to brake. It’s how long it takes you to think, “Oh, traffic is stopped up ahead, I should slow down.”

The reaction distance is the distance your vehicle travels in the time it takes you to move your foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal.

The braking distance is the distance your vehicle moves while you’re actually pressing down on the brake.

Now, obviously due to the weight difference between a passenger car and a fully loaded semi, stopping distances between the two can vary greatly. On average, a passenger vehicle traveling 55 miles per hour takes about 140 feet to stop, whereas a fully loaded semi takes about 300 feet to stop when traveling the same speed — that’s about an entire football field’s length. That makes it virtually impossible for a semi truck to stop in time when a passenger vehicle cuts in front and slams on his brakes.

Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to prevent 4-wheelers from cutting you off. They’re going to do what they want to do, and sadly, no amount of online learning will stop someone from being a huge jerk and cutting you off. But what you can do is make sure your brakes are in good, working condition so you can stop on a dime (ok, maybe not so much) if needed! How do you do this? By performing a proper pre-trip inspection before every load. We offer a number of pre-trip inspection and 4-point brake check training products that are sure to help you master the information.

View our pre-trip inspection products here.

Image credit: Richard Rosalion, Flickr

So you’ve made the plunge to get your CDL. You might be wondering, “Boy, how do I study all this information so I can pass the permit test as quickly as possible?!”

Many people trying to get their CDL license haven’t studied for an exam of this magnitude in a long time. And unfortunately, when they sit down to study for the CDL permit test, they don’t prepare in the best, most time-sensitive ways. Today, I’m going to talk about four mistakes people make when preparing for their CDL exam and how you can avoid them.

1. Only Reading the CDL Manual

You’ll certainly want to read through the CDL manual before taking your CDL test, but using only this for studying can hinder you. Many people need something a little more interactive than reading from a 150-page manual multiple times to fully grasp all the information. Other study aids like videos and CDL practice tests can help to teach you the material in a different way, which often helps people learn it as opposed to just memorizing it for the test, then forgetting everything. Need a copy of your state’s CDL manual? Download it here.

2. Not Taking Any Practice Tests

CDL practice tests will help you familiarize yourself with what the actual questions on the DMV permit exam will be like. You can take CDL practice tests open-book to help you initially learn the material, then take them without any assistance in order to test how you might do on the real written exam. eGears offers CDL practice tests for both Class A and Class B CDL license.

3. Not Studying for Endorsements

You certainly don’t have to study for endorsement tests if you don’t want to, but we recommend getting it out of the way from the beginning. Take any endorsement tests at the same time you take your permit test. This way, you can kill two birds with one stone and you won’t have to make another trip to the DMV to take another test. Also, many DMV locations will charge a fee if they have to add endorsements to your license after it’s already been issued, so it’d be more financially savvy to already have these endorsements from the beginning. The DMV manual contains information on all the endorsements you can get on your license — look over whatever sections you need prior to taking the test. Currently, eGears offers a Hazmat Endorsement Training Course.

4. Winging the Permit Test

Do not go take your CDL permit test without preparing beforehand! Some people glance over the CDL manual and think they’ll be able to pass the permit test on the first try, only to find that they fail miserably. You should definitely spend the time to review different training methods to up your chances of passing the test on the first try. You should also note that some DMV locations charge a retest fee if you fail the first time.

CDL Permit Test Study Options
If you’re looking for something that’s far easier to understand than the CDL manual, give the eGears CDL permit practice tests a try.  You can pick from both Class A and Class B options which cover sections of the handbook such as General Knowledge, Air Brakes and Combination Vehicles.

As any driver knows (both professional and “regular” drivers) safety is a top concern.  All drivers are required to take tests to prove they’re qualified to drive.  And as many of you know, truck drivers have to take it a step further by passing the Class A CDL test to get a Commercial Driver’s License.  Passing the CDL test means being able to meet even tougher safety requirements than other motorists out there and demonstrate you can operate a much larger vehicle.

So, what happens when you mix vehicles of different sizes and drivers with different levels of safety and training?  Well, you get drivers who may not understand the limitations of equipment and drivers around them.  Not understanding limitations in your mind is one thing, but not understanding limitations while driving out on the road is another thing.  Why?  Because it can cause serious accidents.

The folks over at Driver Solutions have rolled out a great infographic which features 10 Tips For Sharing The Road With Semi Trucks.  These tips help motorists understand each other better.  In other words, these tips help everyone become more aware of the driver to their left or right and what they can do to help if that driver happens to be a CDL driver behind the wheel of a semi truck or another CDL vehicle.

Today, we want to share with you just one of those tips.  This particular tip, Tip #1, addresses blind spots and calls attention to what truck drivers may or may not be able to see around them.  We’ve all probably had someone creep into our blind spot from time to time and with truck drivers this happens frequently because their blind spots can be larger.  Let’s take a look at the 4 major blind spot areas for truck drivers.

The 4 blind spots for trucks are located:

1. Directly in front of the truck’s cab. The nose of the tractor blocks the view of any cars directly in front of the truck.
2. Directly behind the trailer. If you’re driving behind a truck and cannot see the driver’s side mirrors, they cannot see you.
3. Along the driver’s side door and trailer, extending out a couple lanes.
4. Along and back behind the passenger side door, extending out three lanes.

Driving in any one of these spots is not a safe place to be – 1/3 of fatal crashes between passenger vehicles and large trucks occur in one of these 4 areas. Several different types of accidents can occur in a truck’s blind spots including underrides, rear-end collisions, and sideswipes, and they can be very dangerous.  The key thing to remember is this: if you can’t see the truck driver, he can’t see your car.

Please join us in sharing these tips on sites such as Facebook and Twitter using the share buttons in this post to help spread the word.  Tips like these are especially important around Spring Break time as traffic picks up.  Let’s all try to make the roads a safer place together!

About eGears
If you’re looking to get a Commercial Driver’s License and driver professionally, check out our CDL practice tests and pre-trip inspection videos.  We can help you get the training you need to be a safe, qualified driver.  Remember to Study Better, Not Longer with eGears!

At eGears, our goal is to make studying for your CDL exams easier and quicker than conventional study methods like reading through the DMV handbook.

Though our products focus on safety and studying for your CDL tests, we also care about industry wide topics like truck driver health and fitness. Truck driver health is becoming a bigger and bigger problem in the industry these days. That’s why we’ve partnered with TheHealthyTrucker.net, a website dedicated solely to the health of truck drivers everywhere.

The Healthy Trucker does focus heavily on healthy eating and exercise, but they also offer financial health tips as well as lifestyle and recreational tips. All of these things work together in conjunction to make you a well-rounded, healthy truck driver. The Healthy Trucker focuses on three main topics on their website: health, money, and lifestyle.

Health

Truck driver health is something to take seriously as it can really affect you on the road. Truck driving presents a huge lifestyle change and often it’s hard for drivers to adjust to the personal health changes that come with it. In the Health section of the site, you’ll find information on how you can improve your overall wellness while out on the road. View exercise ideas, suggestions, recipes, healthy eating tips, and more.

Money

The money section of the website gives truck drivers tips on how to manage their bills and finances on the road. A financially secure trucker is a happy trucker, after all.

Lifestyle

The lifestyle of a professional truck driver presents many challenges, so in this section, you’ll find tips on maintaining relationships, coping with being away from home, and recharging your batteries with some truck driver entertainment.

If you’re looking for tips and suggestions on how to live a healthier life on the road, we suggest you check out TheHealthyTrucker.net. Let them know we sent you and get on the road to becoming a healthy truck driver!

FMCSA has launched a crackdown on unsafe bus operations after two West Coast bus crashes killed multiple passengers each. Both companies were shut down and called “imminent hazards” to public safety. As a commercial driver, regardless of the type of vehicle you drive, safety should be at the forefront of your mind. With this recent announcement of the FMCSA cracking down on unsafe bus operations, we thought we’d take the time to briefly remind you about some safe driving practices of buses and trucks.

Hours of Service

Hours of Service regulations are in place to prevent fatigued driving and the associated risk factors it brings to the table…er, road. Fatigued driving can land you points on your CSA score, so it would behoove you to abide by the rules set in place. Here’s a quick reminder via FMCSA’s website:

Driver Factors

FMCSA has already shut down several companies that were hiring drivers without CDLs or who could not pass a drug and/or alcohol test. Furthermore, they have urged state police to crackdown on drivers speeding, following too closely, texting, or using a handheld device while driving a commercial vehicle.

Pre-Trip Inspections

Now here’s the meat of CMV safety — pre-trip inspections. A pre-trip inspection must be done at the start of every trip in order to prevent accidents caused by vehicle malfunctions or damages. Remember — you’re responsible for your passengers (or cargo)! Failure to perform a pre-trip can result in accidents and even fatalities and can threaten your commercial driving career.

While this article via Transport Topics states that FMCSA will only be focusing on unsafe bus operations, safety is something that all commercial drivers need to remember, regardless of whether your cargo is alive or not. Need a little refresher on the pre-trip inspection? We offer DVDs, online videos, and study guides to help you learn the PTI.

See these helpful eGears products:

• School Bus Pre-Trip DVD
• Class A Pre-Trip DVD