About the author
Shawn Gresham
CDL-A driver, instructor, and founder · 17 years driving, zero violations
Who writes these guides
Shawn Gresham founded Trucking Life With Shawn and writes the guides on this site.
He has 17 years of CDL-A driving experience and states a zero-violation record over that time.
He works in driver training and in safety and compliance, which is where most of the questions these guides answer come from.
Everything here is written from that experience — what actually happens at a scale house, on a range, and in a DOT physical — rather than from a rewrite of somebody else’s article.
How these guides are written
Every regulatory statement on this site cites the rule it comes from — a section of 49 CFR, or the agency page that publishes it — and carries the date it was last checked against the eCFR. Where a rule varies by state, the guide says so and sends you to your own licensing agency rather than guessing on your behalf.
Where something is not established, it does not get written as though it were. That applies to this page too: it says what Shawn does and how long he has done it, and stops there.
Start here
If you are working toward a CDL, these are the four worth reading first:
- The CDL permit (CLP), explained
The first real step, and the one most people get wrong twice before they get it right.
- Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) requirements
What the federal training rule actually requires, and who it applies to.
- Finding a certified DOT medical examiner
The step that quietly stops more people than the written test does.
- Free CDL General Knowledge practice test
Every question carries its citation, so a wrong answer teaches you something.
The whole run-up to CDL school, stage by stage, is laid out on Pre-CDL. “Pre-CDL” is our own name for that preparation stage — not a federal licence class, permit type, or government program.