Bad trainer percentage - Page 2 - Truckers' Trucking Forum | Message Board

AfterShock · **^ Top** #11 09.02.2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by razorbacker

Aftershock, may I ask what you would consider valid reasons for requesting a different trainer?Sure!
Read Colts' post below with my reply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by colts832000

Aftershock after reading your post i would lilke to comment on it not personally to you but your not all trainers are like that.

I take that to mean you don't think all trainers are like me? That would be true, however many are (like me).

Quote:

Let's see my trainer gave me no where to put my stuff i slept with my bag of stuff cause there was no where to put it.

Not knowing what kind of a truck you did your training in, it's hard to say why a trainer wouldn't provide SOME place for you to store your stuff. I take it you didn't have an unreasonable amount of stuff. If so, a trainer should be sure there's somewhere for your stuff's storage, IMO.

Quote:

I had no place to put food nor could i stop for food except truck stops where bag chips cause as much as value meal. I wasn't allowed ot have soda on his truck complained when i bought bottle of water and brung it on. He did have cooler full of lettuce and crab meat foods i don't eat or like. Never once did he say hey buy you some food and put it in here so we don't need to stop. I dont' need sit down meal i usually don't eat sit down meal i could run in gas station grab few hot dogs and i good to go. Or run in wendy's or anything like that at truck stop or gas station and grab me quick sandwhich but i wasn't even allowed to do that except at fuel stops only other time truck stopped was places we picked up at and dropped at and rest area's so now tell me where was a person suppose to it.

Unless you can grow your own in the truck, it doesn't sound like that trainer gave you much choice. That trainer sounds like they were on some kind of power trip -- which happens with some trainers and I wouldn't consider them to be "good" trainers.

A "good" trainer SHOULD take into consideration that a trainee is new to the trucking world and doesn't yet understand the importance of keeping the wheels rolling.
Although keeping the Big truck clean is something some drivers stress more than others, and frown on food and/or drink in their truck, the trainee's comfort and well-being should also be considered.

Quote:

Conflict of interest nah i am one of the most easy going people you could ever meet. I got friends from all walks of life. I got redneck friends i got friends who think there gansta's you name it i get alone with 99 percent of people.

Then I'm sure you've noticed that the more you try to get along with SOME people, the more they resist. SOME trainers are like that, which isn't a good thing. I don't think they have to become life-long friends, but I think they should at least be professional about it.

Quote:

But when someone threatens me and puts me in unsafe conditions team driving is not training in any way shape or form i wish government would control that more cause it is unsafe in every way.

As long as a trainee is cooperative, threats are uncalled for --- especially threats of violence. That WOULD be a good reason to request another trainer.
And unless it's company policy to run training like a team, so would a trainer sleeping.
IMO, a trainer isn't training if they're sleeping. Which would be another good reason to request another trainer.

Quote:

Now the lieing on log books was told that only way you make money well i don't need money illegally and thats what it is your robbing a bank so to speak cause if you get caught your in trouble and pam didn't agree with me on this and i told them that maybe i should call that number they offered me new trainer and apologized and we moved on from there.

Logging can be somewhat of a gray area. IMO, there's "cheating" and what I like to call CREATIVE LOGGING 101, which is done to better utilize time --- usually spent on loading/unloading docks and/or to spend sleep breaks in better areas than if one logs 100% the way desk drivers think it can and/or should be done.

I would NEVER suggest logging that would cause any driver to drive tired or fatiqued, or driving beyond legal driving times just to drive more miles or for a so-called "hot" load. Safety is the number one priority. I usually suggested fueling in the mornings, and/or after a sleep break to combine the pre-trip with fueling, rather than log time for doing both which can save 1 1/2 hours a week, or more. That equates to 50 to 75 miles paid, and helps the paycheck.
If loading/unloading takes several hours, I didn't always indicate the full time spent there, but I make the trainee fully aware of what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. If the trainee is uncomfortable with that, I'll log it real time for their benefit.

Those who preferred to log it real time when in training often told me later, after being on their own for awhile, that they now understood what I was trying to show them and now did the same thing.

Quote:

So in my opinion probably 75% trainers are good trainers. 10% are good but get bad rap from conflict of interest. Then the other 15% there for nothing more then money and suck!!!

YeAH!
I'd tend to agree with those figures. Although I'd be inclined to say about 5% may just be on a power-trip and bossing trainees around unnecessarily feeds their egos.

colts832000 · **^ Top** #12 09.02.2008

Ok thanks aftershock appreciate your input i was hoping you woudn't take it personally cause it wasn't meant that way just giving my 2 cents. They are giving me new trainer but i think they should give u list of numbers and stuff up front only one they gave us was liason office which done me no good on weekend. thanks again aftershock.

AfterShock · **^ Top** #13 09.02.2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by colts832000

Ok thanks aftershock appreciate your input i was hoping you woudn't take it personally cause it wasn't meant that way just giving my 2 cents.

Nope!
I didn't take it personal.

And you're welcome.

goodtogo · **^ Top** #14 09.03.2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodcannon

I've read numerous bad trainer horror stories on this forum.

What I'd like to know is what percentage of the total number of trainers are bad ones?

One could get the idea that most trainers are bad from reading the anecdotal evidence here, but I suspect there are far more good trainers than bad ones, at least in terms of temperament.

I bet if 99% trainers were "good" it wouldn't matter to you if you were the guy with one of the 1 percenters.

Trainers can take liberties and they will. Human nature and all. It is their home/work area and you are not a guest. You are a trainee. Its only four to eight weeks though.

My trainer and I got along wonderfully but he would raise his voice a lot. He didn't yell towards me or at me but he just talked way too loud in general and especially towards me. I like a quiet low key environment. He was comfortable with the racket. I finally told him that he would never talk so loudly to or around his father, so not to do it around me. That solved it.

Wife in Waiting.. · **^ Top** #15 09.03.2008

Gosh Colts, had you mentioned your mentor crushing up pain pills and snorting those several times a day, doing a lil X, or coke, or doing a few shots at Hooters or heck if you'd even mentioned parking the rig in "cracktown, usa" on a Sat. nite while you were expected to get some sleep so you could be ready to drive when your mentor came out of the crackhouse, I would swear that you had the same mentor my husband just had! But you didnt mention the rumble strips that you awoke to every night when you tried to sleep while your mentor nodded off. So you must not have had the same mentor. AND Rod, it would be nearly impossible to gauge or guess a percentage of bad trainers. I believe that alot of the time, newbies like my hub will try to "just get through it" so that they can get there own truck and be on there way. Most newbies have families at home to support and getting off that truck & waiting on another trainer can cost precious time and money and possibly your home. Thats why you wont hear about what "really" goes on sometimes. My husband has just gone thru this so this is an open wound right now. It will take some time to not regret his decision of going into the trucking industry. This exp. has left a bad taste in our mouths. And to anyone wondering what company to go with, LOOK at these boards, READ them carefully. There are certain companies, one in particular that is mentioned often. If my hub had it to do over, he'd say GET OFF THE truck and get a new trainer the minute you start to question things. Your staying alive on that truck could depend on it! And to the good trainers out there and we know there are plenty, we salute you for your patience! Its gotta be a tough job!

mannmk7 · **^ Top** #16 09.07.2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by colts832000

Aftershock after reading your post i would lilke to comment on it not personally to you but your not all trainers are like that. Let's see my trainer gave me no where to put my stuff i slept with my bag of stuff cause there was no where to put it. I had no place to put food nor could i stop for food except truck stops where bag chips cause as much as value meal. I wasn't allowed ot have soda on his truck complained when i bought bottle of water and brung it on. He did have cooler full of lettuce and crab meat foods i don't eat or like. Never once did he say hey buy you some food and put it in here so we don't need to stop. I dont' need sit down meal i usually don't eat sit down meal i could run in gas station grab few hot dogs and i good to go. Or run in wendy's or anything like that at truck stop or gas station and grab me quick sandwhich but i wasn't even allowed to do that except at fuel stops only other time truck stopped was places we picked up at and dropped at and rest area's so now tell me where was a person suppose to it. Conflict of interest nah i am one of the most easy going people you could ever meet. I got friends from all walks of life. I got redneck friends i got friends who think there gansta's you name it i get alone with 99 percent of people. But when someone threatens me and puts me in unsafe conditions team driving is not training in any way shape or form i wish government would control that more cause it is unsafe in every way. Now the lieing on log books was told that only way you make money well i don't need money illegally and thats what it is your robbing a bank so to speak cause if you get caught your in trouble and pam didn't agree with me on this and i told them that maybe i should call that number they offered me new trainer and apologized and we moved on from there. So in my opinion probably 75% trainers are good trainers. 10% are good but get bad rap from conflict of interest. Then the other 15% there for nothing more then money and suck!!!

What you have described is a nightmare. Since people are so stupid and insensitive, greedy or whatever, to others, the government should step in. What you have pointed out is the very reason why unions came to being. If companies can't do things right by their employees maybe we need to go back.

I have been concerned about this kind of training since I started thinking about driving for a living.

Bad food:

Bad food, bad sleep will weaken you and make you ill. They feed on each other.

Trainee's and Night Driving

I have a sneaking suspicion that there are other abuse as well. What I have read suggest that so called driver trainee's are being used as a way for some drivers trainers to get someone to do their night driving.

Trainee's, Cheap Team Drivers

Driver trainee's, in some cases, is another way for companies to get team drivers, and get them cheap, because so many drivers are against the idea of driving teams for the reasons you mention. Another problem is the truck never stops moving.

Scarecrow03 · **^ Top** #17 09.07.2008

The last thing needed in any aspect of the trucking industry is more government control or regulation. We've got more than enough now.

When I was a trainer for PAM back in 2004-2005, we trainers were encouraged to have our trainees do the majority of their driving during off peak hours for the first few weeks while they were getting comfortable with driving a 70' vehicle that they had previously only driven for maybe an hour or two total during their 3 week CDL "school". That meant trainees were driving at night. I told my trainees to stop whenever they got tired. Some of them would stop around their previously normal bedtimes, others would trudge on through the night with me cat napping in the passenger seat.

Depending on the learning ability and skills of the trainee, by the second or third week they would be driving during peak hours. Again, I would not be anywhere but in the passenger seat when they were going through a major city during rush hour.

I remember one of my trainees who admitted to me he wasn't able to see well at night. I communicated this with my superiors and was instructed to only allow him to drive only during the day until his 4 weeks was up and they would handle it from there. I complied with their instructions and when I dropped him off in Tontitown he was given the choice to upgrade his eyewear prescription or go home. He chose the latter. I suspected that he might as he had previously (for 30 years) been in upper management for a large grocery chain and quickly found out that being a truck driver wasn't the same as having a corner office with a view.

mannmk7 · **^ Top** #18 09.07.2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scarecrow03

The last thing needed in any aspect of the trucking industry is more government control or regulation. We've got more than enough now.

When I was a trainer for PAM back in 2004-2005, we trainers were encouraged to have our trainees do the majority of their driving during off peak hours for the first few weeks while they were getting comfortable with driving a 70' vehicle that they had previously only driven for maybe an hour or two total during their 3 week CDL "school". That meant trainees were driving at night. I told my trainees to stop whenever they got tired. Some of them would stop around their previously normal bedtimes, others would trudge on through the night with me cat napping in the passenger seat.

Depending on the learning ability and skills of the trainee, by the second or third week they would be driving during peak hours. Again, I would not be anywhere but in the passenger seat when they were going through a major city during rush hour.

I remember one of my trainees who admitted to me he wasn't able to see well at night. I communicated this with my superiors and was instructed to only allow him to drive only during the day until his 4 weeks was up and they would handle it from there. I complied with their instructions and when I dropped him off in Tontitown he was given the choice to upgrade his eyewear prescription or go home. He chose the latter. I suspected that he might as he had previously (for 30 years) been in upper management for a large grocery chain and quickly found out that being a truck driver wasn't the same as having a corner office with a view.

It's great to hear there are decent trainers out there. And it's good to get a sense of how the training process works. Can this be counted on from most trainers and companies?

What are considered to be none peak driving hours. None peak could be between late morning and early afternoon correct as well as after6-7pm? I guess it would depend on were you are at.

Scarecrow03 · **^ Top** #19 09.07.2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannmk7

It's great to hear there are decent trainers out there. And it's good to get a sense of how the training process works. Can this be counted on from most trainers and companies?

I reckon that depends on your definition of "counted on". One thing is certain in this industry. Nothing is certain. Certainly you can appreciate that.

I would say that 85% of all respectable companies train this way, but that's just my speculation which combined with $1.00 + tax will get you a large sweet tea at just about every McDonalds in the country.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannmk7

What are considered to be none peak driving hours. None peak could be between late morning and early afternoon correct? I guess it would depend on were you are at.

Non-peak is typically recognized as M-F from 6pm to 5am. However, as you stated, depending on where you're at it could be at different times. For example, the great state of Wyoming has about 400 miles of I-80 running through it. At least 380 of those miles is pretty barren and has very little traffic, other than fellow big trucks. In other words, it's not bad for brand new trainees to drive it any time of the day except in the winter months (which for Wyoming runs from Sept.-May).

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