My experience with USA truck and some general advice

where was the 5000 number quoted from????

 

And why / how would you say the industry is not regulated? Isn't that the job of the DOT? Or someother government agency?

 

Probably from here (?) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5312a3.htm

During 1992--2001, fatal work-related roadway crashes most often involved collisions of vehicles (6,593 [49%]), followed by single-vehicle incidents that did not involve a collision with another vehicle or with a pedestrian (e.g., rollovers) (3,492 [26%]), and collisions between a vehicle and a stationary object (2,369 [18%]). Vehicles most commonly occupied by fatally injured workers were semi-trucks (3,780 [28%]), cars (3,140 [24%]), other and unspecified trucks (2,359 [18%]), and pickup trucks (1,607 [12%]). The annual number of deaths of pickup truck occupants increased 96%, and deaths of semi-truck occupants increased 49%. Deaths of car occupants decreased 33% (Figure).

The transportation, communications, and public utilities industries, which include commercial trucking, had the largest number and rate of roadway deaths (4,358 deaths; 4.6 per 100,000 FTE workers) (Table 1). The services industry accounted for the second highest number of deaths (1,884) but had a low fatality rate (0.5). The construction; public administration; wholesale trade; agriculture, forestry, and fishing; and mining industries all had higher death rates than the overall rate for workers (1.1), ranging from 1.7 to 3.4 (Table 1).

Occupations in which the largest numbers of roadway deaths occurred were transportation and material moving (6,212 deaths; 11.1 per 100,000 FTE workers). These occupations accounted for 47% of all work-related roadway fatalities (Table 2). Truck drivers, who are classified within transportation and material-moving occupations, accounted for 5,375 deaths (17.6), the highest number and rate for any single occupation.

Also;

full article here; http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20040923/ai_n11478637

THere was a bit moe - but figured that would suffice.

I would also like to add- that USA Truck is in the running for when I get my CDL A from my local truck driving school. I'm not looking to go with them, npr anu other mega-carrier for long. Just long enopugh to get some experience (at least a yr)- then hit the local market.

 

Well I don't know what you were doing to be worried about "snitches,stool pigens" or back stabbers??? it is just truck driving...don't feed the drama, hanging in the drivers lounge trying to B.B.D.(BIGGER, BETTER DEAL) everyone and everything said. what are you doing that your not "sa-posta be a doing" that someone is tattling on you for??? pee bottle in the yard, leaving trailers with flat tires or damaged????

 

awww, come on now you goober smoocher, you calling me a good buddy is like the pot calling the kettle black... what is Shinola anyway, something they sell on later night T.V. to clean to toliet? "removes poop stains fast!!" or something to that effect??? and if I call in right now they will DOUBLE my order huh.... all for the low,low Shinola price of $19.99... wait that's not all we can make you a trainer too, if you act right now. We'll send you our 14 page manual on "how to be THE trainer" this manual explains how to look,act, and smell like a real trainer... you'll learn real trainer phrase's like, "that ain't right", "let's try that again" and "wake me up if you have any questions", it comes complete with pictures showing you how to tilt your hat, which belt buckle match's which cowboy boots, and 5 different smerks the stare down your trainee with when they pull a bonehead move you didn't already show them... plus as an added bonus we'll throw in a professional protractor to set the angle of your antenna's to super trucker! all of this for the one time LOW shinola price of $19.99 : offer not available in real life or cyber world....

 

This is a message board for professional drivers, and people interested in the trucking industry.

You two posting like that makes it like channel 19. There is honestly no place in the industry for that type of behavior. Locdrjr, at least was sarcastic and did not turn it into an actual flame fest.
Please Jerry, think before you post. You acted like his earlier post about the pee bottles and leaving broken trailers was directed at you. I do not think he had an actual target. It was an observation about the company.

I agree with one comment you made though. I too think that trainers need to be driving longer than many training company's require. Mine is the same way though.
Many of the drivers at the training company's with the years to really have the experience, do not want to be trainers. So the company's are stuck with what they can get.

 

yeah, I have to apologize for that out burst,, just to much of a smart-allic in me.

 

I've recently learned the reason for this. It would seem the government has a new program to promote training new students. Though my time frames may be off, and for this I apologize, the basic jest of it is as follows:

If a company hires a NEWLY CDL Licensed driver and puts them in a NEW truck and the driver wrecks said truck in 30 days (time maybe wrong here), the company gets that truck replaced and 2 more. If the driver wrecks the truck in 90 days (time maybe wrong here as well), the company gets that truck replaced and 1 more.

Is it fair? No. This basically pushes the company to put new drivers who are MORE LIKELY to wreck the truck in the new trucks while the older drivers suffer with "what's available". Granted, this doesn't always happen, I've been with the USA for just shy of 6 months (Solo) at this point and have been in one of the 9400i's the entire time.

Oh, and for those of you out there, you can find me in 8927.

Yes, I'm a trucker. I'm also an exterminator, just look at my windshield.

 

Ok folks, I understand what you're saying that USA trainers should have more than just a few months of SOLO Behind The Wheel Experience. However, let's look at a few points:

1) Those with the experience enjoy being alone, or have a rider... They don't want a rookie in the truck with them.

2) Those with the experience are probably no longer working for USA Truck (or any other 'starter company' for that matter), as they've moved on to a more appealing company.

And the BIGGEST point:

3) I don't know how many people know about PTL, however they're training program requires a few weeks in class, then they put to trainees in a truck and tell them to go make deliveries. At least USA (PAM, CRST, Werner, Schneider, Mavrick, TMC, SRT, Prime, Swift, and other starter companies) do at least put a new trainee with someone that has an IDEA of what to do. Yep, that's right: Dumb & Dumber/Blind leading the Blind

 

Thanks for the info. I start my CDL training on Monday and am going with USA insteed of PAM because of what I have read on the boards here.