Illinois CDL TEST

[dirt digger]

a med card is basically saying you are fit to drive...to bad not everyone on the road has to have one. all they do is check your reflexes, vision, and perifial vision...which reminds me i need to get mine renewed before June

you have to carry the card with you at all times...its a little piece of paper about 2"x3" that i just fold up and stick in one of the credit card holders in my wallet

 

[Wrode]

Anyone know if you had a CDL and failed the renewal written test in IL,does your CDL become suspended right then till you take the test and pass? I had to take mine ater driving for 25 yrs,due to getting a speeding ticket in my car 4 years ago. Took the test and failed the airbrakes part. Was mad to took it 3 times right in a row,Yes stupid i know,so have to wait 30 days now. Since i failed and have to wait my boss fired me,job i had 25 yrs,and union says they had just cause to fire me. But since i always had a valid CDL i want to know does it immediately become void from failing the written test. Need something here to fight to get my job back. The state took my $60 right then and there for new license,didnt say oh you can pay when you pass it

 

[dirt digger]

i always thought that once you had your CDL you always had it and the only thing you need to re-new is the HazMat endorsement

i have no knowledge of the inner workings of the DOT so i'm curious on this one too

 

[Wrode]

My understanding is since our nice ex Govenor of IL made all that money off the fake CDL's now we pay for it. It you get any kind of ticket during the time between renewing your license,so every 4 years,you have to take the CDL test. The ticket can be in your car,dont have to be just your truck. I havent had to take the test in 23 years,so no i wasnt prepared. Not to mention i got the ticket 3 years ago in NC,in my car going to family event,paid it,was told wouldnt even show on my record. Then i get in to renew my license and im hit with the fact i have to take the written CDL test,didnt effect my reg license at all. But now ive lost my job cause of it. And only 2 years left to get my pention,which i will lose if i dont do something here. I need to find something showing just cause i failed the CDL test,i get like a grace period,till i take again,which i did and passed finally

 

[Komatsu 150]

My understanding is since our nice ex Govenor of IL made all that money off the fake CDL's now we pay for it. It you get any kind of ticket during the time between renewing your license,so every 4 years,you have to take the CDL test. The ticket can be in your car,dont have to be just your truck. I havent had to take the test in 23 years,so no i wasnt prepared. Not to mention i got the ticket 3 years ago in NC,in my car going to family event,paid it,was told wouldnt even show on my record. Then i get in to renew my license and im hit with the fact i have to take the written CDL test,didnt effect my reg license at all. But now ive lost my job cause of it. And only 2 years left to get my pention,which i will lose if i dont do something here. I need to find something showing just cause i failed the CDL test,i get like a grace period,till i take again,which i did and passed finally

It isn't just getting a ticket in Illinois. If you are involved in an accident - REGARDLESS OF FAULT - you have to take all the written tests. One of my drivers was sitting at a red light behind a car. There was another car behind him. A young girl in an old blazer rear ended the car behind him and pushed it under our trailer. He had to take all the tests and since he had almost everything including hazmat, schoolbus etc., he blew a whole day away. It just makes no sense.

 

[Wrode]

A accident that is not your fault shouldnt even be put on your driving record. Had no idea they are pulling this on drivers too. Seems they stick it to us anyway they can. I had forgot i even got the ticket in NC while on a family vacation. So wasnt prepared to take the written test,and renewl notice for reg license never mentioned it. Will take fault in failing 3 times in one day,i was so mad,fuming,couldnt think right.so ego got the best of me. I passed all but air brakes. They give you 30 days to retake,but should then be a grace period on weather you can drive. I agree with you none of this makes sense. The accident one really dont make sense.

 

[Deere9670]

Ya, I hear you Illinois sucks! Does anybody know you need to obtain a cdl if you plan to drive a semi on a farm that has farm plates? Also do you have to be 21 or older?

 

[RollOver Pete]

And with a CDL, you can kiss any thought of ever going to traffic school good by.
Any ticket you get from now on will affect your license in a much more negative way than before your CDL.
It makes no difference what you drive or what state you drive in.
The points will add up, your insurance rates will be affected,
and after 2 or 3 violations you could loose your driving privileges.

I think it's a bunch of crap how they single out a person who depends on his CDL to make an honest living.
It's more like discrimination.
I dont like the idea of worrying about taking a pee test.
I dont like having to spent $ 50-80.00 every two years so some DR. can fondle my sac while I cough.
And then there is the background check that those of us who are still stupid enough to keep a haz mat endorsement have to pay for.
Funny...I can haul bombs, poison, radio active crap, anything except people.
But I'll go to jail if I get caught with a firearm.
What a waste of money the background check is....
Like its posta make me a better, safer, less violent law abiding citizen?

 

[P Backus]

I just passed my WI Class A CDL with air brakes and tank endorsements. I had very litle trouble with the written test- passed all okay, and the pre-trip was no problem either. In WI we can use a cheat sheet that basically lists the pre-trip things to check, so it was no problem. However, I failed the first driving test, mainly because I didn't keep both hands on the wheel when turning corners, and I didn't stop far enough back at stop signs. As far as handling the vehicle, I did fine because in WI you can drive farm trucks without a CDL, so I've been driving for some years already. Had someone taken some time to go with me beforehand, they could have pointed out what things I needed to watch for and improve. The tester (third party) was fair enough, but I had to go back a week later and pay $85 again to retake it.

Dealing with any government bureacracy seems to be the surest way to raise my blood pressure! The whole process just pissed me off. I needed someone to go through what to expect and what is required and that you need to have your med card with you at all times, etc. Maybe you guys all know these things, but I had to learn by making repeated trips to the DMV (wait in line again....). One time he voided my med card because neither the doc or I knew what date to put down for an expiration date, so we left just that line blank thinking that the DMV would tell us when it expired. There was nothing in the manual (read it twice) or anywhere else that explained that sort of thing. So, a trip back to the doc and then back to the DMV... :Banghead:guns:soapbox
Grrr...
I understand the need to keep commercial vehices and drivers safe, but it sure wasn't the most fun time of my life!

Paul

 

[dirt digger]

rollover i agree 100%...it doesn't make sense to penalize the people that are more "qualified" to be on the road then 80% of the other drivers out there

 

[Wrode]

Im not even a over the road driver anymore,I'm a garbage man,<sanitation enginer> Ha ha. I got tired of the over the road stuff. They nailed you way more,seemed some states just layed for you. I've hauled from shampoo to cows. I think thats why I'm more frustrated,should of knowen everything on that written test. Then i woudnt be in this mess,and now wondering how im going to feed my family.

 

[bushcat]

Very Well Said ROP.

 

[Turbo21835]

I agree with you ROP. Im in the middle of this process. I have to fill out the forms online tonight, pay them money to do the backround check. Then i have to be at the flying hook here in town tomorrow so they can take my finger prints. Mondays, from 10-2 every other week, what a pain in the ass. Have to go to the union hall tomorrow to talk to our cdl tester so i can see what i need to do for my pre trip. Ive never had to pre trip a truck. Ive driven them around closed road job sites, and around yards, so i dont think i have a problem with the rest of the test. Best part about doing it through the union, my first road test is free. Yea right, all those dues they take out of my pay checks, i better be getting something

 

[P Backus]

Like I kinda said before, don't think that you will ace the driving part of the test just because you are used to driving a truck. Maybe you are all smarter than I am, but I've been driving for a few years and they failed me on things like having one hand on the shifter when turning corners, and not stopping behind the big white line at a stop sign. I can handle the vehicle just fine, but you have to dot all your 'i's and cross all your 't's.

"Check both mirrors after completing a turn.":Banghead

Paul

 

[dirt digger]

yup...never shift through an intersection either...and if you shift gears going over rail roads tracks you might as well turn around and go back to the DMV...it can get pretty ridiculous

 

[Countryboy]

Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums Wrode! :drinkup