McCoy Truck Tire Service Center would like to congratulate Matt C. on recently completing the requirements for a Class “B” Commercial Driver’s License.
With the upgrade to his license, he can legally carry an extra 2 tons of mounted tires in the 26’-two-axle-Freightliner that he drives for McCoy’s, however, as Matt pointed out, “so long as the way the tires are loaded does not cause the truck to be more than 10,500lbs on the steer axle or 20,000lbs on the rear.”
To complete the requirements, he studied a pamphlet that was about 50 pages thick. Then, he took a written test on the information that he studied and received a passing grade. With the book work complete, he was eligible for a driving test. Driving a big rig however, in the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles’ view, begins with a thorough inspection of the vehicle. Matt had to show his drive tester that he knew how to check the oil, check the suspension, check the lights, and even check that the cab was a safe work environment. He also had to make sure that the tires were not damaged, worn out, or flat. Once the vehicle passed all these checks, he did a live brake check, to make sure all the air pressures in the brake system were right and there were no leaks.
Then finally behind the wheel on the driving test the inspector tried to get Matt to take the truck over the 7th street bridge, but Matt knew better. It’s posted ahead of the 7th street bridge, “No vehicles over 7 tons”, and so Matt asked the inspector for an alternate route. The inspector was pleased with Matt’s awareness, and we at McCoy Truck Tire Service Center Inc. are too. Good job Matt!
