Rookie No Longer - One Year Under My Belt With Roehl

Dirk Steel,
I was in full agreement with you on training "experienced" vs. "inexperienced". I believe no matter what stage of driving a person is in becoming a "trainer" depends on the individual. Just as teaching, training should not be just based on financial considerations. It takes a person who wants to succeed, exceed expectations, and has a desire to pass on their "knowledge", successes, and/or failures.

Unfortunately, you totally digressed when you got into your political ideologies. I am NOT writing this post to create an argument, but simply to point out I drove 5 years during the 1980's when there was much less regulation than there is today. After 25 years out of the industry I have made the life changing decision to return. I made this decision mainly because of the increased regulations making the industry safer than it was 25 years ago.

I am currently in school again learning what I consider to be the "right way" to run the road this time. The school I chose is fully accredidated by the U.S. Dept. of Education. It's a 540 hr. course over 22 weeks. 12 weeks of classroom and 10 weeks on the yard.
To me your "BIG GOVERNMENT" = SAFETY!

Furthermore, when I first started driving classes at the same school was 8 weeks. 4 weeks classroom and 4 weeks on the yard. I don't understand how so many of these trucking companies believe they are turning out safe, knowledgeable drivers in 3-4 weeks using trainers with 6 months experience after attending a school with only 3-4 weeks of training.

I learn a lot just by reading and asking questions on this forum. From drivers with all levels of experience. You just need to want to learn and filter everything so it "suits" you. WHEN THE DAY COMES THAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW IT ALL, IT'S TIME TO GET OFF THE ROAD. BECAUSE YOU ARE NOW DETRIMENT TO THE INDUSTRY AND TO PUBLIC SAFETY!

 

Well hopefully someone will teach or reteach fuel isle etiquette! Oops prolly different forum for this.

 

Where in my posts did I say that experience meant one knows everything. It seems, in fact that I said that that type of driver needs to get out of the business. Most assuredly million milers complain about the "new breed" dragging down the industry because we've seen the changes in attitude and lack of common sense as well as lack of common courtesy in recent years. Since you are admittedly not OTR, you are not seeing the same things those of us that have paid our dues and put in time are seeing on a daily basis and therefor don't have a dog in this fight. But, by all means, you guys keep bashing the experienced and stating that our opinions and methods are outdated. I guess a million-plus accident-free miles don't count for much.
I'm not leased to a training company, nor will I, so training isn't an option, even if I were so inclined.

I agree with Dirk Steel, there are drivers with a year's worth of experience that are good at this, unfortunately, I still don't think it's enough to train someone, but that's just my opinion. Having said that, there are some that could do a decent job as a trainer, but my point is that there are so many "trainers" that have no business driving, themselves, let alone "train" someone else. In addition, too many of these "trainers" are doing it for the money, not to actually train these new drivers and all to often, the "trainer" goes to bed, leaving the trainee to his own devices. There was a time, years ago, that this worked out, but only because the number of selfish idiots was much smaller than it is today.

Solution? I don't have the answers, maybe one is to screen these "trainers" make sure they are in the business and have the aptitude to actually train and not just looking for a way for their truck to cover more miles and make more money. Years (or months) of experience do not equate to being qualified to train. I have done it as an instructor for a school. It wasn't for me.

 

Oh, and I should have stated this early on and apologize for not doing so; Congratulations, ATX, on a successful first year. May there be many more.

 

Love to see the day when everyone can park the rigs and say "Hey f-you mister congressman, you and your wife won't be getting that case of

Dom Perignon tonight. We just feel to tired to continue driving or better yet we can't afford your high fuel prices because the tycoons had to

invest in your campaign funds and have jacked everyone around to meet your self interests. Anyone else feel the revolution brewing?

 

Will never work. Congress will hold an emergency session and will enact the "Trucker defense emergency act" which will immediately let 5 million immigrants from Russia, Nigeria, China, and everywhere else in overnight to fill the gap. They will probably even pay for their CDL training. That's one reason why truckers are making in 2014 what they made in 1980 right now. There are literally billions of people who will come here in a second and be thrilled to death to drive a truck for $8.00 dollars an hour. That's who you are competing against.

 

You are sadly mistaken if you think big government = safety. Do you really believe that the new HOS have made things safer? If so, then you don't have a clue. These new HOS regs are making things less safe, but only those that like the government holding their hands from cradle to grave will never see it and embrace the concept. You say the increased regulations have made things safer, I'd like some examples of this. My guess is you didn't get out of it because it was unsafe, but more because you feel the new regs have made it to where you don't have to work as hard. In other words, you couldn't hack it then, as the industry was a bit more picky as compared to today, where, if you can fog a mirror and spell your name close enough to correctly to fool the reader, you can get a CDL and the keys to an 80,000 lb rig.

 

I only take a quick shower when I park in the fuel island.

 

Wow. Someone is drinking that red Kool-aid. They didn't develop anything. They were too cheap to keep paying for the Smith System so they stole it and added a few wrinkles and called it their own. Once upon a time it was really hard to become a Roehl trainer. They didn't consider anyone unless they had five years and an immaculate record. Then they kept changing the training program and messing with the trainer's pay. If they paid trainers what they were worth they wouldn't have to settle for guys with only one year experience or less. Out of curiosity, how do they pay trainers now? When I left I was getting paid $65 a day for flatbed training and all miles driven. That was before this new training program and it sounded like they were actually going to cut trainers pay.

 

First, I wouldn't make assumptions about someone you don't know. I can assure you that it wasn't because I couldn't "hack" it! Furthermore, I never said I got out because of the industry being unsafe.

You asked for examples where governmental regulations made things safer. 1. child labor laws 2. EPA laws for safe drinking water, etc.. there a many examples if you think about it. Yes I do believe HOS laws make the roads and public safer. The days of running 2 and 3 logbooks and holding multiple licenses from multiple states are gone! But then, of course judging by your age you wouldn't know anything, first-hand, about those days. Since it was before you were born. CDL's are all you have ever known.

What I don't understand is why you're getting so riled up with what I posted? Especially when we were both saying essentially the same thing about the original topic of training. It seems to me that you're only getting upset because you're seeing the industry changing and you don't want to change with it.