How to Get a Commercial Drivers License (CDL)

How to Get a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) Congratulations on your decision to start your career as a Professional Truck Driver! You are entering a field that is in high demand, so your chances of getting a job and becoming a truck driver are more than excellent!The first thing you have to do is to get your commercial driver’s licence (CDL).Different states have different guidelines, click on your state below to find out how you can get started.AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaNorth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingThe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration works with each individual state to license and certify drivers.The Commercial Motor Vehicle Sa fety Act of 1986 was designed to improve highway safety. It ensured that drivers of commercial vehicles are qualified to drive them and removed unsafe drivers from the highways. The Act established minimum standards and required states to upgrade their existing programs.Before the Act was passed, even in states with separate license classes, drivers were not necessarily tested in the types of vehicles they would be driving. States must now test commercial drivers according to federal standards to ensure that drivers know how to operate the trucks or buses they intend to drive.CDL Classes for Every StateThere are separate classes of commercial driver’s licenses. Every state issues licenses in these categories:Class A: Any combination of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GWVR) of 26,001 or more pounds, provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.Class B: Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle tow ing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.Class C: Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is placarded for hazardous materials.The license allows you to drive at the class(es) below it. So If you have a Class A license, you can drive Class A, B, and C vehicles. Those with a Class B license can drive Class B and C vehicles.EndorsementsTo be licensed for certain types of commercial vehicles, extra testing is required. If you pass, you will receive an endorsement on your CDL. These are the endorsements that you can apply for:T―Double/Triple Trailers (knowledge test only)P―Passenger (knowledge and skills tests)N―Tank Vehicle (knowledge test only)H―Hazardous Materials (knowledge test only)S―School Buses (knowledge and skills tests)Applying for a Hazardous Materials Background CheckAfter you get a C DL, apply for a background check from the  TSA if you’ll be obtaining a hazardous materials endorsement. You may do this online or by contacting a TSA agent. They will ask for:Your CDL or CDL permit number.Proof of legal status.Proof of Identity.Next, the TSA will ask you to go to a fingerprint office to give your fingerprints. The TSA and the FBI will conduct background investigations. You will be responsible for various  fees.   Learn more here.If you already have your noncommercial driver’s license, check this round up of state guidelines and see what you’ll need to do to be certified to drive safely behind the wheel of a commercial rig!

Sending Emails With Attachments Using Delphi Indy

Sending Emails With Attachments Using Delphi Indy Below are instructions for creating an email sender that includes an option for sending email messages and attachments directly from a Delphi application. Before we begin, consider the alternative... Suppose you have an application that operates on some database data, among other tasks. Users need to export data from your application and send the data through an email (like an error report). Without the approach outlined below, you have to export the data to an external file and then use an email client to send it. Sending Email From Delphi There are many ways you can send an email directly from Delphi, but the simplest way is to use the ShellExecute API. This will send the email using the default email client installed on the computer. While this approach is acceptable, youre unable to send attachments this way.   Another technique uses Microsoft Outlook and OLE to send  the email, this time with attachment support, but MS Outlook is then required to be used. Yet another option is to use Delphis built-in support for the Windows Simple Mail API. This works only if the user  has a MAPI-compliant email program installed. The technique were discussing here uses Indy  (Internet Direct) components - a great internet component suite comprised of popular internet protocols written in Delphi and based on blocking sockets. The TIdSMTP (Indy) Method Sending (or retrieving) email messages with Indy components (which ships with Delphi 6) is as easy as dropping a component or two on a form, setting some properties, and clicking a button. To send an email with attachments  from Delphi using Indy, well need two components. First, the TIdSMTOP is used to connect and communicate (send mail) with an SMTP server. Second, the TIdMessage handles the storing and encoding of the messages. When the message is constructed (when TIdMessage  is filled with data), the email is delivered to an SMTP server using the TIdSMTP. Email Sender Source Code Ive created a simple mail sender project that I explain below. You can download the full source code here. Note:  That link is a direct download to the ZIP file for the project. You should be able to open it without any problems, but if you cant, use 7-Zip to open the archive so you can extract out the project files (which are stored in a folder called SendMail). As you can see from the design-time screenshot, to send an email using the TIdSMTP component, you at least need to specify the SMTP mail server (host). The message itself needs the regular email parts filled out, like the From, To, Subject, etc. Heres the code that handles sending one email with an attachment: procedure TMailerForm.btnSendMailClick(Sender: TObject) ; begin   Ã‚  StatusMemo.Clear;   Ã‚  //setup SMTP   Ã‚  SMTP.Host : ledHost.Text;   Ã‚  SMTP.Port : 25;   Ã‚  //setup mail message   Ã‚  MailMessage.From.Address : ledFrom.Text;   Ã‚  MailMessage.Recipients.EMailAddresses : ledTo.Text , ledCC.Text;   Ã‚  MailMessage.Subject : ledSubject.Text;   Ã‚  MailMessage.Body.Text : Body.Text;   Ã‚  if FileExists(ledAttachment.Text) then TIdAttachment.Create(MailMessage.MessageParts, ledAttachment.Text) ;   Ã‚  //send mail   Ã‚  try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  SMTP.Connect(1000) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  SMTP.Send(MailMessage) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  except on E:Exception do   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  StatusMemo.Lines.Insert(0, ERROR: E.Message) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  end;   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if SMTP.Connected then SMTP.Disconnect;   Ã‚  end; end; (* btnSendMail Click *) Note:  Inside the source code, youll find two extra procedures that are used to make the values of the Host, From, and To edit boxes persistent, using an INI file for storage.