Good morning, to all of my True American Truck Drivers and those who are Driving Trucks in America 
, this is my story and I would love to hear from other’s this has happened too. My CB handle is Big Man Rico, I graduated Southern State Community College Truck Driving Academy 09/12/2025 for my Class A CDL passed my State Exam 09/18/2025 first try, i didn’t know what company that I wanted to work for because I blew off the companies that came to my school to recruit because I was more focused on actually getting my CDL because without that going to these companies were pointless at least for me, I have my M.A in Environmental Science and Engineering, I used the money that I made doing Environmental work to purchase a lot of land in Rural Ohio, but things cost of course so I decided to look for jobs but, they’re wasn’t and they’re isn’t any opportunity for my background of work here unlike when I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio but, that two hour commute one way is unrealistic, so after working multiple jobs of which had no absolutely no room for growth, and not being paid and being underpaid my eyes opened to how these companies treat rural communities as a whole not just here in Rural Ohio but as a whole, so I decided to get up one day in August and make some calls about getting my CDL because I figured I could make good money and trucking is in every part of America even rural America and buy livestock for my 287 acres. So on 09/17/2025 I called Schneider National recruiter Phoenix Summers, we spoke for a few minutes and he did me a huge favor, he didn’t just try to get me onboard with Schneider he was honest and showed me how to look for good routes that actually paid what they say that they paid and he explained that typically new drivers don’t have this type of opportunity and after doing so much research and meeting other new drivers in orientation and hearing how much they were making (cpm) I felt bad for some of them most were in the 35cpm range while my contract came with a 83cpm but, it didn’t start there it started at 79cpm I negotiated it to 83cpm and it was approved even my detention pay was high and I was covering 28-30 states of the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest dedicated regional, I’m not gate keeping so for those who are looking that account is for Camping World, it’s open now, so I made it all the way to Carlisle, PA to one of their OC facilities for orientation day one or day two I can’t remember exactly but we did our urinalysis and hair follicle drugs test at the end of the week I was being pulled to the side to go give more hair they said that they did not collect enough hair maybe, I couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone not the OC leader and or Concentra Urgent Care, 1124 Harrisburg Pike, Carlisle, PA 17013, honestly at that moment I didn’t care because, I know for a fact I’ve never done any drugs, I tried smoking a joint with my younger brother back in 2008 right after I graduated High School and I didn’t like it and knew it was for me, heck I’m not even a big drinker, I collect expensive liquor but rarely drink and when I say rarely drink I, mean rarely drink the last time I had a drink was three years ago when I took my wife to New Orleans, Louisiana for here birthday, my addictions are hunting and fishing if you want to call it an addiction, and my one bad habit is Cigarettes, I’ve never tried anything else, but anyhow on 10/15/2025 at exactly 3:45pm I’m two days away from finishing up my two weeks of orientation I passed every test that Schneider has through at us, but that called changed it all, that call from Dr. Nicole M Lundy, DO of Med-1 in Grand Rapids, Michigan changed everything, she told me that my test came back positive for Cocaine, she said I passed my urinalysis test but failed the hair follicle test, then she asked if I had used about 30 or so days ago, I proceeded to say no, in fact I’ve never in my life done cocaine or any other drug except hitting a joint back in 2008 may 20th to be exact which was the day that I graduated high school, she said well cocaine was found in my system so, you have to had been using and I have to inform your employer Schneider National and immediately hung up on me, I went straight to the OC Leader and told him, he took me to a room we sat down and spoke and he said yeah if I received a call from her then it’s bad news for me, mid conversation he received a call from her left the room and came back about what seemed like an hour but realistically was probably 8-10 minutes and explained that he has to give me this piece of paper of termination letter and recite this obvious statement to me and of course his hands were tied. Man I wanted to cry so bad and I absolutely do not cry, I felt as if I had been charged with a murder that happened a hour ago across the country in California but, clearly I was in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, even though they know this is still being charged. So when I get back to the hotel I immediately call the Safety and Regulatory Drug and Alcohol Team at Schneider trying to defend my self and this is where it becomes clear I have absolutely no fight in the game Schneider’s dispute policy absolutely gives you realistic chance to defend yourself, they’re policy is to only allow two disputes options pay $50.00 for a Reconfirmation Test of the same sample and or write an email to DSSupport@CerteDrive.com to explain why you feel that the test results are showing positive, I’ll attach the email that I was sent to this post, Schneider National will not allow you to go back to Concentra Urgent Care the one of their choice to get another sample to test taken to prove your innocence, they will not acknowledge if you decide to go and get a hair follicle drug test done on your own at your own expense, they will not accept an offer to sit down with a polygraph examiner even if your willing to pay for it, once again they give you absolutely no right in the game it is what is what It is, I know this because I did these things and i offer these routes to Schneider, and yesterday 10/22/2025 @ 1:13pm i received a call from Dr. Nicole M Lundy, DO of Med-1 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, telling me my reconfirmation test results came back positive again, she says there is no way that cocaine is in my hair follicles unless I’ve been using and I told her well I went to Adena Occupational Health to get my own hair follicle test done she said it doesn’t matter take it up with Schneider National and hung up on me, she is one rude MRO absolutely no help for the people who isn’t paying her, and why’d I wait this long to write this on here is because, i waiting on my results to come back from Adena, and they did this morning at 10/23/2025 9:18am and my Hair Follicle and urine test came back negative for all drugs except nicotine and guess what laboratory did the actual test the same place Concentra Urgent Care, 1124 Harrisburg Pike, Carlisle, PA 17013 that Schneider National use for their Carlisle-OC and both Adena right here in rural Ohio and Concentra Urgent Care use OMEGA Laboratories, 400 N Cleveland Ave, Mogadore, OH 44260 for their drug testing which is wild, so on one test I’m clean but on another test I’m positive, the fact that it even made it this far is incredibly concerning let’s start with the obvious I passed my DOT drug and physical test about 30 days ago of which this Dr, Lundy said I would have been doing Cocaine not once but twice have she said this, even to Schneider National, how did I pass my DOT drug test and pass another DOT urinalysis test at Schneider National but the BS doesn’t add up and then I pass both urinalysis and hair follicle test by the same company claiming that they found Cocaine in my hair but didn’t find it in my hair this time and what’s crazy is they were testing my hair at the same time but didn’t even know it I called OMEGA Laboratories this morning while writing this post and asked did they even perform a Reconfirmation Test, the lady said of course we actually do the test and I said well if you did how it is possible that you guys sent one test results to another company says I’m positive and one back to Adena of which I paid for myself saying negative of any drugs, she literally laughed and told me to get a lawyer if I have an issue, I’m so livid right now and the fact that Schneider National isn’t willing to create another route for you to prove your innocence even when you have actual proof is sickening, Schneider’s Regulatory Drug & Alcohol team said if I want to ever have a possibility of getting rehired by Schneider National I’d have to go through the ASAP, and once I graduate or complete it five years from that date is when I’ll possibly not guaranteed to come back to Schneider National, they also informed me again that this isn’t on my Clearinghouse account and Schneider doesn’t use DAC instead they use HireRight which is the company who created DAC, which made no since for them to tell me that but, this is where your own willingness to do yourself a service which is to do your own research but, they did tell the truth they only put down that I was terminated for company policy safety violation which is better than saying I’m on drugs, so my record is clean except I’m already starting off with a negative due to this termination for company safety policy violation it’s not the end of the world for me I can work with that it all and all of your willing to read this, this far thank you and please leave me your feedback and has this ever happened to anyone that you know even yourself, also for those wondering I have plenty of mega carriers job opportunities maybe not the route and pay I was hoping for but, I’m just at a point of getting my feet wet and going for the experience, this is my story over and out Big Man Rico 
Not sure what to advise you moving forward, but one thing I do know is that fighting against Schneider is a losing battle. They are a very stubborn company and once you get flagged by their safety dept., you are pretty much toast. I drove for Schneider for less than a year and got caught up in their sleep apnea scam. I never could adjust, so I ended up quitting and going to a smaller company that was not so anal retentive as Schneider. Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise and I have never been tempted to go back to Schneider.
So save your energy and find something else. Forget the big pay, just take whatever else you can and work your way up. And remember, the companies call the shots, not you. Just find an opportunity and drive like you’re grateful for it. Once you have a year under your belt, then you will be in a better position to evaluate things in the trucking industry. Good luck!
Schneider telling you they’d give you 80 cpm is insane bc they are closer to 39 cpm in my research.
I have read online of others recieving a false positive on hair follicle tests but haven’t been through this myself or know anyone personally. I’ve passed a hair follicle test myself. But I must admit, the fact that false positives can happen and there’s nothing you can do about it does create a bit of fear in taking one.
All that being said, IMO there are far better companies to start with than Schneider. Best of luck to you sir.
That’s basically what I’ve told myself at this point, but I definitely wanted to give my fellow truck drivers the insight of what I went through and how unfair I was treated as if I was a liar and when I proved otherwise it still didn’t matter, but I’ve moved I officially moved on as of this morning I’ll be back on the road very very soon, and thank you for taking the time to actually read my thread keep your eyes open and stay safe out there on those roads, brother
I’ve looked it up also, but it’s not exact, because it’s what I was offered check out their routes and also remember you absolutely have the power to negotiate your pay you do not have to accept a half filled cup just because, it’s offered, you have the right and the power to demand that they fill that cup up, and if they refuse then simply take your license and skills and experience somewhere else, it’s your hard work that you put in the place to get where you are today. Demand that full-cup you’ve earned it. And also, even though I had another test done by myself through Adena, I still have that anxiety of going through this again because I’ve taken multiple drug test, both urinalysis and hair follicle test and the one thing I never worried about is failing one, but now that I’ve went through this situation my anxiety has skyrocketed, and the company that I’m going to does them but, I’m taking my own results with me and the locations contact information of where I got it done just in case but honestly I’m not worried it is what it is, the only thing that I can do is move forward no matter the outcome. Also, drop some company names that you think are better I’m New to this industry and am leaving the door open for all options, thanks again taking the time to read my thread and the support, stay safe and keep your eyes open while driving on these road keep on trucking brother
Unfortunately, your options are limited. If you truly know that you are clean, and only you can answer that, then it may be worth attempting to fight legally, however the results are usually not good. Schneider, like any other company will have their policies and they cant be compelled to hire you. Im not saying right or wrong, just stating facts.
There are companies that will hire candidates with a failed test, provided they are going through sap accordingly. It may not be the easiest route but plenty have gone on to successful careers out of second chance carriers such as western express.
In regards to the cpm, they can vary on dedicated accounts, touch freight, a lot of conditions. One thing is that what really matters is ultimately what’s put on paper.
FWIW, guarding your cdl and making sure your environment will never possibly lead to a bad test is a top priority. Ive had a doctor accidently switch samples with another client. I caught it as it happened, nothing nefarious, both of us named David, she called him for my slot, and me for his. I had them call tge lab, destroy t g e samples and retest both of is, called my new employer, and got everything in writing.
Mistakes can and do happen.
I haven’t done any drugs, but, now, I think I will order a test for myself to make sure.
Yeah brother, I’m not much of a negotiater. They can tell me what they pay and if I’m not willing to accept that, I’ll just move on. There’s gotta be a reason they offer the lowest cpm in the industry so that in itself is enough for me to want to walk away.
@BigMan-Trucking any luck out there? How’s the job search going after the Schneider incident?
Yes, unfortunately I’ll be headed to Nashville, Sunday to Welfare Express,
Therea a well respected guy from the Trucking Truth forum (from which this forum was born thanks to Davy) who got his start at Western Express. Don’t listen to all the naysayers and go make the best of it brother. You’ll be on the road and that’s what it’s all about. Congratulations my brother. Keep on trucking.
Absolutely, it just sucks that I have resort to a so low standard of a company, it’s not about the here-say it’s what I know I’ve done my own research and I started with safer.fmcsa.dot.gov first red flag was that this company has multiple USDOT numbers I’m not going to get into their CSA score, but my point is I had high standards of whom I wanted to start off with, it’s a good thing that their giving folks another opportunity but man if you were to here this conversation that I had with them, you be scared, no background check, no mvr check, no clearing house check, no job offer letter, no packing list, heck the only thing I received was a call setting up my travel plans and a text through Driver Pulse letting me know what time I need to be at the bus station, I didn’t even get my confirmation tickets to get on the bus for Sunday. This is about to be one hella of experience, but you are correct I’m taking the good out of it and getting my experience plus I’m doing the Flatbed accounts working my way up to them Over Size loads.
Ive known a couple people that went on to very successful careers from them. Yes, it will be tough, but you if you can put together 6 months to a year of incident free, accident free driving there, exceed expectations, you end up controlling your career path.
I had many differences with some at Knight, yet I always kept it professional and never burned the bridge, even at times when I was convinced that I was being taken advantage of. Most times it turned out that I wasn’t, I only thought I was. As it was, I ended up back there on the owner op side.
Often times, weather a company is good or bad isn’t important, rather what’s important is how we react and what choices we make.
Sir I have been following your journey of posts here. This last one reveals too me you don’t know what you don’t know. You have made snarky comments not knowing some things.
Western Express is widely known in this industry as a second chance plus company and alot goes with that, up to and including low pay. At least its a job and one that is giving you a shot and allowing you to get experience. As far as your resesrch on safer web goes I just went through it, and found 1 DOT number for them as a carrier and broker. The rest of the long list of variations by name are not them. If you ran my company name you will find 6 different variant names, only one is mine.
I highly recommend you show up to orientation with your high standards set to listen and learn what they expect from you and perform at your highest level. Show them they made a great choice in giving you this shot. Or show up make snarky statements and project an attitude your better than them and see how they react.
Neither of us know one another. I don’t want to be insulting, but some of your comments can be taken as if you are better than others and deserving of better than them. Your a CDL holder with no experience. That is almost worse than not having one at all.
Show up humble and ready to learn. Get 6 months to a year of solid experience without any issues and move on.
Going flatbed you have a double hill to climb. First learning to be a safe and reliable driver. Second load securement and all the additional rules that apply, and there are many. Any one of them that can get you in big trouble real fast.
Let us know how it goes.
So very well said @PJerrold I can’t agree more.
PJ is giving out some very valuable information and career advice here. If a new driver becomes a burr under the saddle, almost all companies will part ways with such a driver. They just don’t want to deal with a driver who comes in with a predisposed negative attitude. Keep the attitude positive, be the guy who does the GOAL’s and get through those first 6 months (a year is even better). And always remember that most of the dings on new driver’s records come at truck stops and customer locations, not necessarily on the road while driving from point A to point B. Good luck and keep yourself connected to the positive terminal.
I love this group so much. The honesty and sincerity.. the great advice! Being easy to get along with and likeable have served me very well my whole life. That’s valuable information right there!
Be there to soak it all in and learn.. not to show that you already know it all bc the fact is, we don’t! Hell we’re just starting out. We have to prove ourselves to be a valuable part of the team and that comes with having a great and willing attitude.
I just tell it the way I see it. I learn something everyday. I was a long time contributer to trucking truth because I felt strongly in providing folks the truth and hopefully it would benifit someone. I have done alot within this industry in both good times and survived alot of the bad. I have a strong training background and just want to see folks succeed.
I have nothing to prove to anyone, and I don’t really care if someone listens too what I have to say or not. The simple basic reason is, because their failure or succuss has no impact on me, my company, or income.
I am very blessed, in many ways. I will very willing share my insight, opinion, and lessons learned. If anyone wants to listen, its up too them. I don’t get offended if someone feels I’m full of it.
Amen, good Sir! Amen!
Well im late to this party, but i agree with PJ. One comment that sttof out to me is “violation of company safety policy is better”… uh… no it isnt. That is a tough tough hurdle to jump. I know for a fact that there are experienced drivers who got fired for sexual harrassment and was given that on DAC. A 14 yr driver is now running Uber cause he couldnt find a job due to that statement.
Appreciate the opportunity at WE. Also realize, with no experience, not even a passing DOT physical… a newbie isnt worth much. So negotiating and demanding to be paid what one is worth can back fire. Good luck