According to PTDI's website, entry level students are
only required to drive a minumum of 44 hours. Yet,
the mandated classroom time is 104 hours, which are
spent on talking and watching videos. I've read
several complaints on this forum from recent grads,
about the deficiency of their training, which made them
(graduates) reluctant when test driving for a company.
Should PTDI reevaluate the standards or is this
information incorrect and/or outdated?

Instructional Time
q Does each student receive at least 104 (60-minute) hours in classroom and lab time? (Lab includes time on the range under the supervision of an instructor. Observation time does not count as instructional time.)
q Does each student receive at least 44 (60-minute) hours of actual behind-the-wheel time? (This is time with hands actually on the wheel, with at least 12 hours on the range and 12 on the road and the other 20 hours on either.)

i got yes here.....

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tip for new truckers: to err is human, to forgive is not D.O.T. policy.
"if you don't HAVE the money to buy it, YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT"- DAVE RAMSEY

I understand curriculum is based on contact hours, however why don't they say you need to drive a specific amount of miles. We had 64 hours of classroom, will do 88 hours of range, and 750 miles road. for a total of 230 hours for the class.

44 hours seems a little short. When one considers the many skills there are to aquire (sp) ie; shifting various gear configurations, backing, cornering, driving grades, highway, city etc. Of course some will pick up these skills quicker than others, but seems barely enough time to become proficient. I'm in a PTDI school now and have logged maybe 30 hours behind the wheel, but not all of that time is exactly productive. Spent "waiting in line" for turn at exercises. So all I have learned is shifting (9-speed only), cornering (some), straight-line backing & alley docking. I'm going on the streets maybe today for my first time! So although I'm probably not the quickest learner, you can see how quickly 44 hours goes. Fortunatley, I have 5 1/2 weeks left. and there is a 1000 mile driving requirement to graduate. Over-all, I'm pleased with the instruction at FVTC (Appleton, WI), and glad I didn't do the quick and dirty thing down state MI. One criticism though, I wish they'd require learner's permit and endorsements of students before class begins. It seems to me that this is something totaly do-able, so why waste value-able time (and $$). Also, some of the lecture was long winded. What I felt could have been said in 15 minutes was stretched to 3 1/2 hours. Lastly I just want to say that I wouldn't recomend extending behind the wheel time at the expense of classroom time IF that classroom time is well spent. For examples, demonstrations of all sorts ie; tarping, coupling, field trip to the scales, Sliding tandems, fifth wheels, how to figure bridge weights, trip planning, etc. We shouldn't be forced to choose between good instruction and behind the wheel time. Speaking of which, it's time to go. Drive safe.

CDL schools are set up to teach you the basics so that you can pass your states road test. More time behind the wheel would be great. But, you should not expect to be a super trucker after a few weeks of school. Thats why almost every company that hires new drivers send them out for an additional 3 to 6 weeks with a trainer after you already have your cdl. They know that you are still grinding gears and having a tough time doing various backing manuvers. Nobody in there right mind at a company orientation for rookie drivers is expecting you to be perfect coming right out of school. You should understand the basics, you should know all of the safety procedures like G.O.A.L , and you should have a positive attitude.

That little bit of fear that you feel while driving is going to help keep you alive. It's when you get to so comfortable with backing, etc that you stop using pull-ups and G.O.A.L is when you will hit something or someone.

44 hours is enough hours for someone to become a qualified entry level driver. This is 44 actual hours of driving. It is not observation hours. There are many requirements within this like driving under a load and night time driving. It is a good design that covers all the bases to make an entry level driver. Then it is up to the company to provide instruction on their equipment and their systems.

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