In May of 2012 I graduated from Stevens Transport and got hired on as a OTR (Over The Road) driver. Overall, I think the school was pretty good. Upon pre-approval over the phone which takes about 20 mintues they will send you through Greyhound to Dallas, Tx. After 3 days of going over questions, they start taking to take you to Driver Services to take the written parts of the test. I failed my written test twice and my road test twice as well. I'm not a very good test taker and when I did my road test I stalled twice at the same spot. I didn't understand that if you take you foot off the clutch while in gear too fast the truck will shut off. It was kind of funny it happened twice at the same spot at the same traffic light.
Anyhow, I passed all my written test by taking a lot of quizes online. However, the most help came when one my classmates hands me a cheat sheet with the actual test questions. The questions are random out of 50 but there are certain ones that have to be on the test. I know this because you can see others taking the test while you wait in line which of course is very long. I took the computer test version and the paper. The computer version is more relaxing and also has the easier questions.
As you are in class, you will come to find out that many drivers are just there to get the CDL and leave which is fine by Stevens Transport because they charge about 8,000 dollars in tuition cost plus the cost of the hotel they put you in. Their only competition is CR England. From what I read online, CR England pays more and the tuition is free if you stay with them for 9 months after.
I spoke to some of their drivers and they complain about the same things Stevens Transport drivers complain about. The most common complaints are not enough home time and detention pay which is controlled by the offices. Overall, amatures make about $500 to $700 a week. The only complain I really have with Stevens Transport is that some of their people are rude. If you call to ask a question like where a shipper is or what to do in a situation, the replies I've gotten are didn't you pay attention in class, you should know that already your a professional driver, and/or look at the map.
One major complain that I will announce that is the biggest of all is that ALL their rules and regulations are always based on the driver being at fault and the fact that it takes 20 - 30 mintues to even get a hold of someone. The one thing I will give them major props for is that they will never leave you stranded. If your truck breaks down, they will send someone over to tow you or try to repair your truck VERY quickly. If your truck takes longer then 24 hours to repair they will not hesitate to give you detention pay which is very fair because in most other cases they will deny you detention pay for whatever reason.
Whether you choose CR England or Stevens Transport, you will be taking a bus from your city to Dallas, Texas still. So I'm going to give you the study guide for free to help those who are just trying to better their life. I never made so much money before and I have a degree. I have been getting paid minimum wage since I started working 10 years ago. Folks $10 an hour, is minimum wage to me especially when $50 a week is being taking out for student loan's being defaulted.
Click on both links below to download a copy of the CDL Texas study guide. Anyhow when you pass your test feel free to donate at least a $1 to me. I'm not charging upfront because I know how skeptical it can be. It's safe and secure and through Paypal which is #1 site for safe credit card transactions. So don't forget about me and come back to donate! Once downloaded, unrar it with any app from the google play store and you will see it is in pdf format. Some androids and operating systems do it without the use of an app.
Texas Study Guide
Youtube Videos (For Extra Help)
The Actual Road Test is On YouTube if you go to Stevens Transport
Click Here
Donation Link
