CDL training teaches you to pass the test. Road Tested teaches you to build a career. Written by a VP of Operations who started on the dock, drove OTR, and now runs a 75-truck fleet — someone who's seen every side of this industry from the inside.
Most CDL training programs cover what the federal minimums require — and stop. Graduates walk out with a license and almost no understanding of how the industry actually works. Pay structures, hours of service strategy, carrier selection, trip planning, communication with dispatch — the knowledge that determines whether a driver survives the first year or washes out in 90 days.
Vehicle operation. Pre-trip inspections. Basic safety protocols. The minimum federal standards required to test for your CDL. Essential — but incomplete.
The business of driving. How freight moves, who pays whom, and where you fit. How to read a settlement statement, plan a trip, manage your clock, choose a carrier, and build a career — not just fill a seat.
Industry turnover for new drivers exceeds 90% in the first year. Not because they can't drive — because nobody taught them the rest of it.
A Vice President of Operations with 25 years in the industry — from dock work to OTR driving to running a 75-truck fleet. He put everything he wished someone had told new drivers into a series of books. Written from the executive suite. Tested on the road.
The Company Driver Survival Guide. Three books covering the full arc from getting your CDL to building a sustainable career, with a fourth in development. Written in plain language by someone who's been on both sides of the dispatch window.
The Guide They Don't Give You at Orientation
Coming SoonYour training program gets them road-ready. Road Tested keeps them employed. Independent CDL schools across the country are using these guides as supplemental curriculum and graduate resources — giving students the real-world knowledge that ELDT requirements don't cover.
Use Road Tested as supplemental classroom material alongside your existing ELDT training. Each book covers topics students need but the federal minimums don't require — pay structures, carrier selection, HOS strategy, and career planning.
Send your graduates into the industry with a reference they'll actually use. A book they keep in the cab. Schools report that graduates who receive Road Tested feel better prepared and stay in touch longer.
Volume discounts for schools ordering 10 or more copies. Tiered pricing that makes it cheaper than photocopying whatever you're currently using. Contact me for a custom quote based on your class sizes.
Not sure if it's the right fit? I'll send you a complimentary copy to evaluate. No obligation, no pressure. If it works for your program, we'll talk. If it doesn't, you've got a free book.
"I use this book with all of my incoming students. It brings up things that the normal curriculum set forth by the FMCSA and portal providers don't really cover. Topics important to the new driver but seldom addressed until they discover the real world of the trucking industry."— Thomas, The CMV Tutor · Rochester, MN · 5-Star Amazon Review, Book 1
"I use these books for my students to help them with things that aren't normally in the curriculum. These present questions from the students that they didn't know they needed to ask or know about. Things that us as seasoned drivers do daily and don't give a second thought about."— Thomas, The CMV Tutor · Rochester, MN · 5-Star Amazon Review, Book 2
I started on the dock. Earned my CDL and drove over-the-road. Worked my way through dispatch, operations management, and into executive leadership. Today I serve as Vice President of Operations for a reefer carrier in Rochester, Minnesota, directing a 75-truck fleet across OTR, regional, local, and dedicated services.
Before trucking, I spent a decade in the United States Air Force as an Aircraft Electrical and Environmental Systems Specialist — ten years of technical discipline, systems-level thinking, and leadership under pressure that shaped everything I've done since.
I've sat in every seat in this business. That's why Road Tested exists. These books aren't theory. They're not compiled from interviews or secondhand research. They're the practical, no-bullshit knowledge that comes from 25 years of doing the work — the stuff I wish someone had handed me when I started, and the stuff I wish every new driver who walks through my door already knew.
After a decade in the United States Air Force, I entered trucking from the ground up. Every chapter on this timeline informs what's in these books.
Hansonville, VA. After 10 years in the Air Force as an Aircraft Electrical & Environmental Systems Specialist, started where every driver starts — behind the wheel with everything to learn.
Sparta, NC. Dry van freight — furniture and yarn to California and back every week. Team driver operation. Out and back in 4.5 days.
Shakopee, MN. Transitioned to solo driving with a reefer company. Leased first truck from Q Carriers in 2008.
One million miles without a preventable accident. Paid off third truck — a Peterbilt 386. One month later, hit a deer and nearly lost everything while it was in for repairs.
Dodge Center, MN. Sold the truck. Shifted to local work delivering steel and aluminum products on flatbed and Conestoga trailers.
Rochester, MN. Moved from the cab to the office. Managed the Minnesota van division fleet operations.
Elevated to director-level leadership. Full oversight of van division operations, dispatch, driver management, and customer service.
Expanded scope across Heavy Haul, Machinery, and Dry Van divisions. Building operational procedures and performance standards across service lines.
Completed the MTA's NextLeader program — an industry leadership development initiative for emerging transportation executives.
Rochester, MN. Joined Lawrence Transportation. Promoted to Director of Operations within 5 months. Assumed oversight of brokerage division and recruiting.
Promoted to VP and third-ranking executive. Directing all facets of a 75-truck reefer fleet serving major food-industry clients. Redesigned the company freight network. Restructured the organization for efficiency without losing capacity.
Released a three-book series covering everything from getting started to professional operations to career management. Born from 25 years of watching good drivers wash out because nobody taught them the business.
Road Tested adopted as supplemental curriculum at CDL schools. Launched roadtestedcdl.com and began partnerships with independent training providers and industry organizations. Book 4 — The Operations Manual — in development.
Whether you're a driver looking for guidance, a school interested in bulk orders, or someone who wants to collaborate — I'd like to hear from you.
Interested in review copies, bulk pricing, or curriculum integration? Reach out and I'll get back to you within 48 hours.
Questions about the books, the industry, or your career path? I read every message.
Updates on new releases, industry insights, and behind-the-scenes writing notes.
