Passing my CDL 20 years ago was simple because I got my first commercial Texas drivers license in 1959 and I had been around trucks all that time. I have never had to take another written or driving test. I pay $80 each for medical exams for myself as well as for my drivers. Before you drive any commercial vehicle (26001 lbs gross weight) you have to take a drug test and then be in a drug test. In Texas, a person with an operators license can take defensive driving or get deferred judication to wipe out a ticket. Federal law does now allow states to do anything to "mask" a ticket on the driving record of a CDL holder. Also, drunk for a CDL holder is .04 whether you are in a truck or a car. Drunk for an operators license is .08. Also, a conviction for drunk is an automatic suspension for a year. A second conviction is suspension forever anywhere in the US. Also, many officers hate trucks and will give a CDL holder a ticket in a situation where an operator would have gotten a warning. I recently experienced that. I had my cruise set on 67 for the highway where the speed limit was 70. At the outskirts of a small town the limit dropped to 60 and a city cop stopped me. He was writing a warning and suddenly realized I had a CDL. He tore up the warning and wrote a citation that will show up as "speeding" on my record for 3 years. Having a CDL has no bearing on your personal vehicle insurance. Most insurance companies scrutinize speeding tickets much less than stop signs, red lights and following too close. These are the violations that cause liability claims in an accident. Speeding in not considered to be that high a risk factor in causing at fault accidents.
