So it turns out that the FMCSA needed to hear it from truckers that they shouldn’t be allowing drivers with only 6 months experience to be training the next generation of drivers. Imagine that. That was only one of the many suggestions put forward during a listening session hosted by the FMCSA on the subject of new driver training.
This was the second of two such sessions that are being billed as a key element in the agency’s information-gathering efforts that will help them construct a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in early 2014. That’s right, they’ll be announcing their intention in early 2014 to make some new changes… at some point in the future. Sounds like they’re really using their time efficiently.
FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro was in attendance at the listening session and heard from a myriad of different interested parties, among them 38-year trucking veteran Lee Strebel who brought up the lack of driving experience that driver trainers have. Also picking up the microphone to make their voices heard were some OOIDA members, headed by OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer, who spoke about the need for experienced drivers to replace the aging veterans leaving the industry.
With the yearly driver turnover rate hovering around 100%, experienced drivers are becoming a thing of the past, and megacarriers are content to fill their empty seats with raw recruits – many of whom are graduating from schools that only train for two to three weeks.
These dime-a-dozen trainees aren’t given the training time, nor the supervised OTR time to become effective and safe drivers, but it’s not their fault. An official representing a group of schools that graduates about 50,000 entry level drivers each year said that most of their trainees go to just a few megacarriers. The number of seats they have to fill is high, but their turnover is also disproportionately high when compared to smaller companies.
One suggestion given to combat this meat-grinder mentality is to cap the number of new drivers that can be recruited by a company every year.
“There is no oversight on the turnover rate,” said OOIDA member Sandi Talbott. “As a veteran driver and as a taxpayer, I feel if the FMCSA truly cared about safety they would have a cap on how many students could be recruited by a training carrier per year.”
Suggestions like this one definitely have some merit, but they may involve too radical a change to realistically undergo. A suggestion that is similarly desirable, but simply too far-fetched to be realized was the suggestion that every driver should have at least 6 months behind the wheel with an experienced trainer before being let loose on their own.
Regardless of the feasibility of the ideas put forward, they all show very clearly that there are issues that need to be fixed and that very little (if anything) is being done to fix them. At least we can take heart that the FMCSA is going to be talking a year from now about what they might do to fix some problems way down the road. Wonderful! We’ll just sit tight till then and hope the megacarriers grow a conscience.
Next Story: Politicians Join The Hours Of Service Brawl
This was certainly my experience being half-trained by the mega carrier I now work for. You’d think they’d want highly trained drivers but they don’t seem to care one bit.
My first training was a nut case, my second was a rat who gave me minimal “advice” for the weeks I was with him, no real training. My third trainer (a former military guy from Texas) taught me more in 5 days than I had learned in the previous 5 weeks. He said he does this kind of clean up behind slack trainers a lot. And I heard many horror stories from other trainees about their experiences with maladjusted, incompetent and physically filthy trainers.
I had a guy hit my truck and tore a fender mirror off. Luckily that was all he did. But unfortunately it will not be his only accident as he admitted to 3 others that same week! That guy is another example of a bad company putting out bad drivers on the road with no really good training behind them.
Frankly I am appalled at what some of these trucking schools charge and what little training these people get. Personally I think we should be treating truck driving almost as importantly as a Airline pilot or another profession that requires a person to be professional and well trained to protect the public. We have a growing problem with this because many of the new drivers are coming from the unemployment line and finding truck driving a last option for them for work. I am not saying that everyone is not cut out for truck driving who comes out of a school or company training program. I am saying that finding out on the road after a few accidents is not the correct way to find out.
John, you are absolutely right. My husband came out of one of those “meat grinder” schools. I won’t say who, but I can say they are in SLC. Anyway, I was amazed that he was done in two weeks, which was when I got him and finished his training. I disagree with your comment: “we should be treating truck driving ALMOST as importantly as an Airline pilot or another profession…” Actually I think you should have said that we SHOULD treat truck driving AS IMPORTANTLY as an Airline pilot or other profession that has the potential to harm the public if we don’t drive properly. Anyone can learn to drive a truck, but it takes a special individual to be a truck driver. I’ve been driving since 1982, so I’ve seen a lot. I’m still waiting for simulators to come out so drivers can learn how to handle a rig properly in winter weather, or any inclement weather for that matter. Good to hear that someone feels the way my husband and I do.
It takes about 3 years to really become a truck driver so where is the core of experience to train the next generation of drivers to be found. But we already know that driving a truck is unskilled labor and should be paid accordingly; the log book will keep you safe and the industry needs to be overhauled every year or so to give the pencil pushers something to play with (new toys for amusement). The truckers are such bad drivers that insurance companies have invented a gimmick that allows them to raise rates on car insurance whenever a trucker gets a ticket while driving a truck and they are laughing all the way to the bank. The odds are so increased against the truck driver anymore that to make a decent wage one must obey the log book to the detriment of anything else. Who are the idiots trying to keep experienced drivers off the road and WHY??? Social engineering is going to destroy this nation.
You have NO CLUE! I recently went through truck driver training and before you state that truck drivers are “UNSKILLED” , I dare YOU to try it for a week. It’s very far from unskilled.
Joanne, I believe that was a reference to truck driver classification. We are classified as an unskilled labor, everyone expects professionals.
True,but actually there is no such thing as unskilled. Some are more skilled or less skilled ,but it takes some type of skill to do anything.
JoAnn, Outlaw was refering (with a hefty dose of sarcasm) that to the rest of the working world, we are unskilled knuckle draggers… America has become so enamored with college degrees and cubicle living that those of us that actually have to do something besides move paper from pile “a” to pile “b” are no better than ditch diggers… because we don’t sit in an office pretending our contribution is life critical, we are not worthy of being in the same class as them… and i’ll tell ya, for him to be posting here with the substance of what he said, i’ll about guarantee that he went through driver training a long, long, long, long time ago, lol…
First of all, if diesel prices were cheaper….drivers could probably start to make enough money the first and second year to keep them driving. Most, but not all driver’s have no more than a high school education; hence, they drive. Despite what people write about or think…the prevelant horde of people drive, due to lack of viable $$ opportunity elsewhere or failure in other positions.
After driving for 6 -12 months, new drivers ‘see’ that this isn’t economically viable either. Companies like Roehl, Swift, etc…..don’t care about new drivers….They know that for every 25 drivers that start….in six months…..20+ will be gone by year’s end. So…they pay poorly and keep the “remaining drivers” going on “fumes for pay and a prayer”.
If we could produce 50% of our diesel as BioDiesel (it’s carbon neutral), this so something to keep costs stable. We have enough Bio “crap” out there to take care of our needs…when teamed up with algae biodiesel production; this could get us to 50% by 2025 without any problem….then there would be no “excuses” about the cost of diesel around the world. This is a big “reason” for companies claims of non-affordability to pay. End of science lesson.
The trucking industry has gone to hell in a hand basket. IV been driving trucks for over 38 yrs. I have done heavy haul most of that time, also van,refer and tanker. I have never hard a chargeable accident or a moving violation of any kind in well over 3 million miles. Anyway trucking companies say they want experienced drivers but they don’t want to pay for that experience or safety record. To these Mega companies a driver in the seat seems to be all that they are interested in. I been told by more then one company that I’m no more valuable to them then a new recruite. I could not buy a good job. Age probably had something to do with it as I am 60. Of course they can’t tell you that. I did take a job hauling food grade tanker. Good company but still don’t pay for experience. I’m making the same base as someone just out of school. The bonus comes from knowing how to play the game, and that can add a couple hundred $$$ week to the trucks revenue. O was making more $$$$ 20 years ago. I gave up the heavy haul because it just got so bad with DOT BS. The sees flashing lights and over size signs as $$$$ signs. Sad but true.. The government has basicly castrated the trucking industry with all the rules and regs to put the $$$$ in there pockets and out of ours. Its no wonder there are drivers that are leaving this industry faster then new can be trained properly
Well, I think most have a general idea as to what and why but the variances from actual is quite concerning. What I am talking about is rates;
1, the megacarriers hold about 70% of all major lanes.
2, they have alot of vehicles that produce income to spread the losses across, unfortunately for us small carriers, a loss hits us hard and we dont have 100 trucks running in the black for every truck running in the red like they do.
3, they have new unexperienced drivers and they get to pay them a low rate.
4, back to the high amount of trucks, they can afford to take key lanes at a loss, as again their numbers are averaging that they have more than double the equipment running in the black than they do in the red which at the end of the year profit is profit and the losses incurred throughout the year so long as they meet there margines are OK to them.
Now what does this mean for the little guys like us, well I have 5 trucks and my turnover is negligable at best. This is about the same for most honest small carriers. I also pay the max I can afford to pay the driver within the rates that are available to us that as of the last two years has kept me on a thin line of breaking even or losing money, in other words most small carriers are not making anything at this present time, its been this way for too many years and I for one would like to see it change. Now to our advantage, we treat our drivers like family vs. being a number and because of strict insurance regs, most of us have to hire experienced drivers to keep our coverage affordable if you can call it that.
The trends we are seeing is going to be huge for us if things stay relatively as they are at the moment. What I am talking about is a driver shortage. Some of the mega companies are already starting to experience this shortage or are actually trying to prepare for it by opening up their internal load boards to outside small carriers. I personally have seen available rates jump over $1.00 per mile in several lanes, not changing the price to the shipper mind you but what the mega carrier is willing to pay to get it covered to satisfy their contract. Now I have not touched any of them at this time as I feel the reason rates are so low is due to the mega carriers keeping them down trying to force us little guys out, not for our customers but for our drivers because we can and do retain our drivers 100X better than they can.
I will wrap this up, my point being with the several things I stated is a driver shortage is not looming, it has already happened. It was not notinced last year due to the amount of shipped goods fell off relative to the number of available drivers. Shippers are going to hope that when we go into this produce season and rates naturally spike due to supply and demand, that we will interprit it as such. This is where we need to stay on top of things to get the rates to hold. As I pointed earlier the writing is on the wall, we just need to be aware that it is happening and get the rates up. I personally think and feel that rates should start to average out at $3.25 a mile as a base line and driver pay should be at least $1.00 per mile. This alone would actually bring the inflation compensation rates to us that for some reason our industry has passed over for the last 25 years and gave away to the consumer.
Thank you Snowman, I could not have said it better…
Driver shortage may not be the best term. There is however a shortage of driving jobs that pay an amount decent enough to attract and keep those who might not have been interested at first. Practically all new drivers do not know what they are getting into,and by the time the low pay and ridiculous demands of the industry manifest themselves ,it’s usually to late to convince one if he or she sticks it out long enough it will be better. However,if trucking companies paid and treated drivers as human beings at the outset,he or she would be more encouraged to stick with it.
I agree with you 110%. 40 year driver here. I do not even recognize trucking anymore. It has totally turned into a money grabbing, dog eat dog industry. Glad Im out of it and very sorry that I gave 40 years of my life to it.
They are no longer concerned about anything other than money and I certainly hope anyone who gets a chance to sue them, does just that, and wins big off of it. Of course, no matter how much they win, it will probably cost them a loved one because these trucking companies put someone in their truck they shouldn’t have, an inexperienced driver, while booting experienced drivers to the curb because they don’t want to pay for experience.
Insurance Companies are just as much to blame because they insure these inexperienced drivers and refuse to insure experienced ones. The Government is also to blame in that it holds drivers to much higher standards than it does any other industry in this country. You almost have to be an attorney to drive a truck anymore with all of the regulations.
You want to drive a truck? Don’t say you wasn’t warned. Better stay in College and get you a good job. That’s what I would have done 40 years ago if I knew then what I know now. If you’re still determined to take the plunge, I wish you well and hope you don’t end up being just another statistic in trucking company records.
They say its safer now than it was then? Its easy to say that sitting behind a desk. Granted, equipment may be safer but trucking is much more dangerous because it is being driven by the bottom line and the Mega Carriers relentless pursuit to put the smaller competition out of business.
Then your motor would be junk after 200,000 miles. Priced one of those lately? Detroit recommends 15% max bio for its engine
What a joke. Ooida already knows a company in they’re state that has driver trainers who have only been driving for 3 months. I know as I worked for the company. Right now that company has a critical safety rating and is losing freight accounts so fast it’s crazy. Yeah you know the one, they advertise $1.75 a mile revenue. Trust me it’s no where near that, more like .95 and that includes the fuel surcharge. That company will stay around a long time filling empty seats with clueless and unsafe drivers, why because they line the right pockets of government officials. They’re safety officer has about 7-8 dwi’s and still has a drivers license. Safety is great but when the big companies spread the money officials look the other way.
thats for on the road training i assume, well here is one for the records, i work for a tractor training school in ct and they hired an instructor that has only 2 month on the road..now what does he know and how does he know how to teach the stucdent?
I have been driving for about one year now. My background was in law enforcement and real estate. I believe all trainers need to be judged individually. There is not perfect time frame for a driver to learn all there is to know about trucking before becoming a trainer. If legitimate, qualified drivers are ready to start training other new drivers then why make them wait?
When I hired onto my current carrier I was already training my former classmates over the phone because their trainers (experienced and had been driving for 3 or more years) failed to teach or explain some simple procedures. I was forced to wait 9 months before I was allowed to become a trainer. To be continued…
I remember the days when I went to a trucking school. But the most important thing, and I’ll never forget that, is the reason I went to trucking. Because I love trucks and trucking. So, took 4 months, 12 hours a day, 5 days a week to become a … baby truck driver. I’ve learned how to drive safe, for fuel economy, to fix my truck on the road, to be aware of the incoming problems during a trip, how to secure different type of freight, how to give first help to injured people, how to deal with papers, borders crossing, how to be organized and one more important thing : to respect the people involved in this industry.
Old times, old times… they are gone. I’m an immigrant who drove trucks 8 years all over Europe and another 4 years I spent behind the wheel in Nord America. When I came into Canada, looking to obtain my CDL, I was absolutely shocked how easy you can get a driving licence but the thing who made me to think twice before (and still does each given morning) I get behind the wheel was about truck driving instructors. Without false modesty, I’ve meet so called instructors, trainers, teachers (you name it) who knew less then I knew at that time. When I shared my thoughts to some truck drivers, one of them told me : “Here, in North America you will not become a trucking trainer only if you don’t want to”. I have to mention the guy is a very successful owner operator from BC and we are still good friends today.
I’m a person who really believes in education. Because I know everything comes from there : our performance, our attitude, our capacity to face problems along your single and short life. Every time I’m hearing these bureaucrats talking about safety, I’m wondering why we are not starting where we should start. Education!!!
I cannot understand why big carriers are allowed to have their own truck driving schools. That is against the interest for safety. We all know the CEOs of these companies are interested only about the money, there is no doubt. We know they will put monkeys into the driver’s seat if the law will allow that. So, is there anybody who believes the big carriers has any interest for this industry or at least for the safety??! I don’t think so.
Into my opinion, all the problems we have nowadays are coming from the lack of training. And how can you give born to a good truck driver when the so called trainer knows next to nothing? What makes these bureaucrats to believe we will have safe drivers as long as the standards for trainers are so low? I mean, really low. I know real world cases where so called trainers are “teaching” new guys just to obtain the CDL. And I asked them : how can you sleep at night knowing you are putting behind the wheel so called drivers who knows nothing about trucks and trucking and they are just a disaster waiting to happen??” One of them had the impertinence to tell me : I don’t care as long as I’m paid to do that. Do I have to mention what a huge effort I’ve made to keep myself calm and not to beat the sh…. out of that guy??!!
I think it’s time to stop here, cause I can write a book about this problem. A book with hundreds of pages.
I trained at foodlink truck driving school for 18 weeks. I’m 19 yrs old, second of my class to get my A with zero strikes. I’m a better driver than everyone else in my class that are 25 yrs old and up. Once you get your “A” at foodlink, they let you get over the road experience with the actual company drivers. You get experience with up to 48 foot loaded reefer trailers and ten speed three axle rigs with sleepers, driving up to 500 miles per ride along.
Agree with this article, driver training for the new upstart driver is lacking. I’ve seen a couple of rookies from a school where I work and it’s true. I see them running over curbs, I see them trying to back into a dock that can only be described as one scary event.
Understand well, the truck mill company only knows one thing. They need a body in their many trucks. If a school says they can shift a truck without grinding the gears too much, well then they are supposedly qualified. This game has gotten so bad, that some truck companies have close affiliations with some schools. Even other truck companies claim to have their own school. Get a clue, the standard truck mill company will claim they are well qualified, but the truth is they only know one thing, if the tires aren’t moving then they aren’t making money. It’s all about making money in the pockets of the truck mill companies.
Honestly, I still miss the old days where my Dad taught me how to drive. Or a friend of my Dad would let me run with him. Eventually after three years I learned from actual road experience. Sad to see so many drivers leaving, and their replacement is rookie students. Oh yeah, be careful of the other driver out on the road. You never know, he could be a rookie student too. Try and be safe out there.
The trucking mega companys now treat thier drivers like slaves and will destroy your dac if you do not do as they ask. They do not care at all about the drivers and control how much a driver can make, keeping most drivers making just above poverty level and out away from thier homes. I am done. 11 years i have put up with this crap from different megacarriers. They are all the same. I am at home and staying at home. I will try and find something to do locally but am over the whole industry. Understand I played the game, even owned my own truck at one time. The mega carriers are killing the industry and do not care if they destroy peoples lives in the process. enough said
You can tell how bad it is getting out here.How many drivers speak English fluently enough to read the road signs(FMCSA RULE) but not interpret what they mean.How many drivers believe that they own the roads.Just watch and learn what I’m talking about.I don’t agree with everything the DOT does,but when drivers feel they should run as fast as the truck will go,and that’s where alot of the problem stems from in this industry,you’ll be a target for the police or DOT.
New Drivers are only doing what they see being done by older drivers,after leaving their trainers side.It doesn’t matter how long they trained for.They hear it at the truckstop restaurants,”Bigger,Faster,Socially Accepted”.They don’t get the concept of how much fuel is wasted,how dangerous it is to run your steer tires beyond their speed ratings(per manufacturer),and the fact that the car infront of you,may not be your family,but somewhere around your hometown,another trucker is doing the exact same thing behind your Wife,girlfriend or even kids or grandkids.
Someone said 3 years to learn how to be a good trucker.I’ve been at it 26 years.Local and long distance and regional.The day you feel you stopped learning,BECAUSE YOU ARE THE PROFESSIONAL.is the day you become the problem!!
As far as training our replacements,not 1 person can answer the question,”When is a new driver ready to be cut loose.”We can only hope the person who trained him,got through to him the fact that everyday when you start that motor,you look at your own Family and act like its them your behind in traffic,or 2 state troopers are infront and behind you.
WE MAKE THE IMAGE,not the people in the 4 wheelers or insurance companies.Its our industry,not theirs.We provide the goods THEY NEED.It’s a two way street.Its time we remember this,and start acting like it!!
The problem is that the megacarriers are the only ones who will hire newbies fresh out of school. All of the good companies require two or more years experience before they will hire. So what do you expect people to do. They have to get a job somewhere, and the only people hiring are the bad ones.
Ridiculous
Being proactive is good. I do agree that Driver Trainers should have more than 6 months of experience. But 6 months with a Trainer? That is ridiculous. What’s the next thing they are going to ask for? A Bachelor’s Degree in driving trucks? Yes, being safe and professional is a big part of the job. But the world of logistics has no time to move slow! There are too many things in the industry that outweigh each other. The way I see it, this is an industry that outgrew the government expectations, by the time they started regulation it was already too late, so while they can keep trying to keep things under a certain control, there is only so much they can do.
If all drivers learned how to work close together instead of making it a competition, we could get more things accomplished. If it worked in Warner Robins, it could work industry-wide.
“Sorry sir, we are out of meat it’ll be 6 months before they can get a driver out here…”
whats’ the difference, you train with a trainer or ride as a co-driver with another driver. I have had trainees ride with me and I let them drive all the miles,I just sat back and observed and commented on the job they did. If they messed up I would let them know,for sure,what they did wrong and how to correct it. What can anyone with 6 months exp. at anything show another how to correct what they did when they don’t know how to correct it themselves.
I once had to help a CRST trainer (who had a student) into a space. This was not a tight space. I had three empty spaces next to me. It was a simple 90 degree that should’ve taken 30 seconds max. First, she tried to nose in. Then her student came out and asked me if I could help her trainer get it in. I told the trainer you are going to have to circle around and back it in. I watched her circle around and try to back it in. She was having all kinds of trouble. I actually had to teach this “trainer” the basic techniques to back this truck into this spot. I asked her how much experience she had…her answer: 90 days. Wow. 90 days experience and she is training a student. That is the blind leading the blind. How can she train this student when she needs to be trained herself?!
Here’s a view from someone wanting to make a career in trucking, but can’t. All the research I’ve done in my area (Maritimes) shows me about 3 companies here that would even hire a newly licensed driver. And this only after taking the $11,000 12 week course. It would appear that the only people taking these courses get assistance from E.I. to do so, which counts me out as I’ve been self employed.
In other words, the barrier to me starting on a new career mid-life, with a family and home already established, is money. Here I am, a mature person with a good attitude, but there’s just no way I can do it. The trucking industry has done this to itself as they downloaded absolutely all the responsibility to the “driver mill” schools for finding new drivers.
The solution is to offer on-the-job training instead. That would open up the doors to a whole pile of other candidates that otherwise can’t take up the profession because of the expensive schooling required, and would therefore also mean that trucking companies can be much more choosy about who their new drivers are, and look to creating long term employees instead of churning over drivers every year.
Hubert, if you are willing to pay $916.66 a week to learn how to drive a truck, perhaps you might want to consider being a politician. They are the ONLY people I know willing to spend more money on a job than the job pays! There ARE other “driving schools” out there. Have you considered JTPA, or any of the other relocation training offers? Those offers may not be everywhere, though. Anyway, good luck, and I would vote for you!
I am a novice-driver trainer working for a large company in Canada. I have 32 years experience and have been training drivers for 15 years. We do hire novices from driving schools but we don’t let them on their own for about 3-4 months, depending on the individual. We have two quarter-million dollar truck simulators, and the first week it in-class training. The second 3 weeks are split time between the simulators and with a dedicated trainer in cab (sometimes loaded and sometimes not), after this they spend more time with the in-cab trainer until the trainer feels the novice is ready for the next phase. Then it is jointly decided what the novice will haul (we haul almost everything) and the trainee will spend the next 2 months in-cab with a product trainer. We have a dedicated team of trainers on salary that make sure nothing is forgotten and the team is all experienced drivers. Not all companied take safety forgranted.
The company I work for hires new CDL grads as trainee’s. We take them out in the field for two to three months before we turn them loose. Our traineers have at least 4 yeard driving/operating and know company paper work and procedures, and LOGS. Our biggest complaint is the grads have NO IDEA about Logs, or CSA. IFTA? Forget it. Hold a wheel? maybe. As a driving school grad myself (1979 CVT) I understand how tough it can be. But better train is needed!
most of you guys are nothing but whiners, i am a driver for 5 years now, life is good, once a company man for 2 years with an annual salary of 38k and now an o/o @ 1.10 a mile. i have average around 75k after all deductions.. my trainers was a 10 yr career guy, i agree that most trainers should have at least 3-5 yrs before training someone..6 months is to short..but i really doubt companies are hiring people with only 2-3 months to train..lol
There are definitely companies with trainers straight off their trainer’s trucks after 2 mos.. I went to school with some who did that. All they had to do was lease a truck from the company to be a trainer. I have been driving for a year & 1/2 now & would still feel uncomfortable training someone else. I am a good, safe driver, but not a great one. I agree with the 3 years. I was given very little practice in backing from my trainer & still feel anxiety every time I do it.
Ummm. you are wrong as I posted, I have seen trainers with 3 months experience
I worked briefly for a national company that only runs team drivers. My OTR trainer was a nut case and I didn’t see much out there in the company to suggest it got any better anywhere else. We heard rumors about a trainer who was caught by his trainee smoking crack.
It gets worse. Because we only drive teams, the obstacle to getting loads in the company is having a co-driver. If you can’t get or keep a co-driver, then they won’t give you any loads. But if you have six months, you can be a trainer and every 28 days, you have a co-driver who must do what you tell them to do and not give you any problems in “your” truck. Not only that, but you get paid a little extra. Co-driver problem solved. Problem of training new truckers on the road — still outstanding.
Let’s see if FMCSA will do something constructive this time around
5 years in and its shocking how much you learn every year ,school was
good and so was trainer but those first five years over the road were priceless
I trained for about 8 and a half years at werner, I know most of the trainers they had were with a below 1 year experience, I came in with 10 years under my belt, I know its all about the money to those companies, they could care less about the occupants in the truck, I ended up quiting because they ran my truck like a team and I couldn’t do it anymore, I was basically beat up averaging less than 4 hrs of sleep a day becauze the students needed help with different things, I feel I was an above average trainer, my students ended up being pretty good at driving the truck, but it became a total arguement with werner because I started refusing to run my truck like a team, eventually causing me to quit, it a sad but true story, company,s just don’t care about their drivers and its too obvious.
The FMCSA is constantly making new regs for us, yet they havent a clue that drivers need proper training??? People making continuous regs, with a track record of no clue about what they are regulating. There is the real problem.
Yep, driver training sucks. It is like the military using privates to train privates. That doesn’t happen. Experienced soldiers train new recruits. But why do truck drivers want the FMCSA to get involved? We don’t like the regulations that come out now, especially regarding hours of service, so why would you look to government to fix the problem? Look at how well the government handles finances, banking and healthcare. Need I say more?
Our industry should police itself, just like many other trade industries do. If OOIDA, ATA, and TCA were to get together and establish training criteria for new drivers, hold their members accountable when hiring drivers and driver trainers, we may see some improvement. I heard Ann Ferra ask a driver about the increased cost of longer training and he suggested that the federal govenment pay for it! The government is broke.
But wait a minute. It cost about $5000 to put me through paramedic school in 2000 which required 18 months of classroom instruction, and 400 hours of clinical time spent riding ambulances and working the emergency room. Student truck drivers pay $3500 to $8500 to attend a three week CDL school. I think the CDL schools could extend their training to three to four months with that money. It doesn’t take $3500, $4500 or even $8000 to train a truck driver how to drive.
More importantly driver trainers should have at least five years accident free driving (500,000) miles and go through a certified train-the-trainer course. This would weed out many that are simply power hungry or irresponsible and may create a pool of professional instructors that improve safety and industry image.
the problem is that our industry refuses to police itself… $$$ are the number 1 motivator and anything worth being done right is not cheap in the short run, and so the major companies in this business that are operating on margin to begin with do not want to take the hit in the wallet for doing it right, especially since there is no room left to make up for it by taking it out of the drivers…
” they shouldn’t be allowing drivers with only 6 months experience to be training the next generation of drivers ”
This demonstrates perfectly the problem right here. The question to be asked is not ” Does the driver training or drivers driving trucks on the high way have 1yr. , 2 yrs. or more experience, but can the driver drive the truck ?
Start evaluating drivers based on their actual demonstrated driving abilities in the truck, NOT what they look like on paper. A driver can have 5 five years on a paper and still be a total disaster when behind the wheel. I’ve also seen it where a driver has only 6 months and does great behind the wheel. Start thinking outside the box and using commonsense people.
You forget that driving 6 months you have hardly experienced anything. If you driven six months during the summer months how do you tell a student how to drive in ice in Calumet, MI when the snow is taller than your truck? In six months do you know how to use time management to get the most miles available and to get the load there on time every time? Do you know what to do when a steer goes out? Do you know what to do when you lose traction on ice? Have you driven in the five boroughs? These are some of the things you experience in time. Someone with six months experience does NOT have much time. Someone with 30 years will admit that they don’t know everything and they learn new stuff everyday. How do you expect someone with six months that barely knows anything other than driving in good road conditions to teach a student?
It all comes down to the way the mega-corp trucking companys treat the drivers and or Owner/Operators.
Pay em right/treat em right, and it won’t be problem keeping good people.
Simple as that!!
If they spent less money in recruiting they could pay drivers more, hence better retention, better safety ratings, more experience.
See if you can see where there could be some improvements here…
I just completed my training about 6 months ago. My trainer had 6 months experience before he became a trainer. He became a trainer so he didn’t have to go to Canada or New York and it pays more to be a trainer. I was able to become a trainer in 6 months. I found out what he showed me was a DOT and company violation. It cost me my job. I was lucky it didn’t go on my dac report nor was caught by dot officer. Anyways, companies receive government funds for training. I was told by another company, 55% of people won’t make it after being hired on within 6 months. Where I was trained, they taught me straight back-up and 45 deg backup. You get about 5 tries in 2 days. None of us did very good at 45 degree backup. I had 13 days “school training”. 30 – 45 minutes each day behind wheel. During my 2 week “on road training” I did straight backup once and that’s it. I drove about 700 intrastate miles total in two weeks with trainer. He did the rest of the driving. I passed all there test. I was hired on and assigned a truck. They had 2 cameras inside my truck one for outside view and one for in cab. No privacy unless you were in bunk with curtains pulled. I was called into office about a couple violations they saw on camera. I requested to go back out with another trainer to overcome my weak areas that I was concerned about. Company doesn’t get grant money to continue training someone. All I asked for is one week with someone to recognize what I can do to make things better. I didn’t do anything different than what my trainer did. They sent me home for evaluation and think things over. We departed our ways. I continued with someone with 37 years experience. I feel much better now. He was impressed in how well I did. Just needed to work out some weaknesses/concerns I had. Before, I was petrified being out there on my own knowing my weaknesses especially when I was about to confront snow and ice. I was lucky I didn’t take nobodies fenders off. No I didn’t wreck the truck nor slide off road or any such thing. I sure did draw an audience in backing up to the docks. 🙂 I was glad they sent me home considering the situation.
I was in tears when I saw on the news about the pileup up north (semi’s) due to snow and ice. I was suppose to be their at that time and place. They had me rerouted come into the terminal to talk about these issues.
Does anyone relate to this? Do you see a problem here?
WOW!!! so many comments, but the answer not easy is it? we all have our own idea of the fix, is anybody really lisening, I dout it, were all special in our own mind, a true proffesional never stops leaning, to many varriables dictate your actions in day to day life why should driving be any differant, I’ve see so called experienced drivers with 20-30 years behinde the wheel act no better than a inexperienced driver at 6 months, I’m no angel I’ve done many stupid things and made many bad choices, I’m my own worst cridict, to deride other for lack of expeience is insulting you started some where, I was lucky enough to start out in an indepenant contrctors household I was born into it, give’em a dam brake, teach’em do’nt insult’em.
“Driver Training Schools” are a joke at best. They don’t train people to drive trucks … most “instructors” will freely admit it. They hold your hand in a study group designed to simply pass a test that’s it. They get money from the Fed for every “student” they “graduate” and place with a carrier they are in bed with and move on. This puppy mill method is not only killing the industry, but killing people as well. And they wonder why there is such a high turnover rate when these new folks get paid .25 a mile to start, and the carrier could care less if they can afford to support a family and eat.
Nevermind being forced to do things that are unsafe or illegal for the sake of the freight because the carrier knows they are new and don’t know these things.
If they do stick it out long enough to start learning and questioning things, then they get “forced” out as being too much of a hassle by getting miles cut, not getting loads, etc. in favor of the new sheep that will do whatever they are told out of ignorance.
A new driver starves out and quits ? no problem. 15 more are “graduating” next week to fill that seat and the guy/gal that quits gets sued for 7-10k worth of “training”.
It’s a money game like every damn thing else has become and no one cares about the human aspect any longer. A driver gets killed, no matter the reason why, so what, there are 15 more coming in next week that are cheaper anyway.
After reading some of the comments about mega-companies, training procedures, and trucking being unskilled labor I felt compelled to leave my thoughts.
1. The public may look at the trucking industry as unskilled labor but the laws do not. Truck drivers are held at a higher standard. We can not take defensive driving for tickets and most accidents where a truck is involved is blamed on the trucker and we must go for post-accident drug screens where other automobile drivers do not. I can tell you a professional driver is anything but unskilled. That is not to say that there isn’t some very stupid truck drivers out there today.
I am an female instructor for a major trucking school. I have been an over the road driver for more than 10 years (drop in a bucket compared to some…my hats off to the veterans). I have been with some “trainers” in my introduction to this profession. Only my thoughts on the matter is the companies that put these so-called trainers into the position to train someone fresh out of trucking school are a joke. As I teach now about how to be defensive drivers, how to avoid possible life threatning accidents, how what they are driving is an 80,000 lb killing machine. I teach my students everything I know and remind them there is never a day that you can’t learn something new to keep it safe on the roadways. I am reminded about the trainers I had, absolutely a disaster with a capital letter D. No trainging to speak of, no backing training. just a total nightmare. And the trucking schools popping these students out not knowing anything about what happens in the real world. It’s sad to know an out of school driver can learn more in 30 minutes with a trainer than 3 weeks in school. What a shame.
The companies really need to monitor the people the have training these students. Most trainers use them for a paycheck and an extra logbook. We don’t need extra rules and regulations from the government, we have enough to deal with from them already. We need more companies stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility for the people they put into the training position to train new up coming drivers to become professionals in every since of the word.
I think that most of those drivers that complain about lack of training forgot their roots in the business. I am a certified cdl instructor and can only train so many in one year. Why don’t you guys get down off your high horse and join me and let’s make sure they are properly trained. Most trainers make better than average pay, that and the knowledge you are paying it forward should be enough reward to go the extra mile.
i was a trainer and have over 5 years and that is so true,the company i worked for didnt care if they were trained right so i fought all the time with them,one man coudnt even read the signs other had need more training and the company said just finish him i quit training and found a new company guys out of drive school only did 35 days befor getting there own truck no wonder the crash ratings are so high the companys like covenant,cr england,swift,ect need to be held up to a higher standerd.
One huge barrier to over come in any driver is the change of life style being on the road up to 3 weeks before having time off. Many challenges face new drivers, Knowing fuel stops, hwy’s and time management towards personal needs. Recognizing, driving laws of different states and learning familiar habits of other drivers.
Training of a driver not only starts with the trainer but with the hiring company and dispatch. Dispatch must play a key roll in the success of any driver. new drivers must communicate effectively before, during and after every dispatch. Driving may appear to be simple but can be brutal if your needs as a driver are not included with a dispatch.
The handling of a truck takes time and all senior drivers know this. Learning the truck, shifting, turning and backing. Between learning your truck, dispatcher, customers, highways and states. Trucking is more than a full time job. A new driver may take a year or more to begin to feel comfortable with driving a truck.
Anxiety and anger must be managed within each driver and this can be difficult based on the needs of driver and customer. Preparation of food and drink in the truck must be a goal before reaching any shipper! Learning to wait and be patient is a huge obstacle for many drivers that get detained by shippers who always have slow loading practices.
Shippers could do so much more by providing simple amenities for drivers, bathrooms and vending machines close to check in areas. Shippers should always provide real times for loading or unloading. These are hurdles for new drivers to come to terms with.
Totally agree!
another thing we all need to beware of is the lack of good backing up skills and highway driving the schools are pumping these students out every week and alot of the companys are make promises to own there own truck and saying that like i know of one who says we dont lease we sell to u on payments they lie just like the others and take ur hard earned money from you and the goverment lets them get away with this and they go right to the schools and lie and fog the mind of the new drivers and the instructors ont really tell them what to expect out on the road all these schools are interested in is money and the states issuing there lic should do a little better testing and make a ruling that the student should have at least 30 days of real time driving on the road before taking the final test
It is not so much the individual that receives the training it is more the school or trainer. I worked for a Junior College in Hobbs New Mexico that had a 72 year old instructor that had several safety infractions and was still able to teach, what a joke.Lets investigate who the schools are and get rid of the three week training courses that no more equip a student for driving than reading a self help book.
Well here’s a thought… I have been around a long time 42 years to be exact. What if it was required that a new driver (one with less than 1 year behind the wheel) have a yellow placard on the rear of their vehicle for the first year, such as rookie drivers in NASCAR have. We could then start policing or industry again. Experienced drivers would be able to give constructive advice to the new operators hitting the road today such as the NASCAR veterans do to their rookies. I already practice this in my life, especially in winter months. I learned and still learn by asking and listening. Yeah I know a lot of you are going to say there would be yellow placards on every truck on the road, so make it an assigned numbered one which can be attached to the truck they are in.
I count myself as one of the lucky few who got very good training from my megacarrier… but LUCKY is definately the operating word.
My trainer turned out to have 10 yrs of experience and worked with other trainers so I didn’t only have him to go off of… I spent 7 months with the man (not easy by any means) and now have 3 months on my own without even a serious close call thanks to his teaching me from his experience and demanding i treat the job with grave seriousness and awareness…
That being said tho… I was alarmed at the stories from my friends who had entered training at the same time…. and further disgusted when I got invited to become a trainer just a few days ago…
I turned it down immediately. But it blew me away….. its dangerous enugh out here- its flat reckless. Like having my five year old daughter teaching combat training at camp pendleton… stupid.
It won’t change unless laws are made and enforced (yuck) OR more of us enforce our own honor enough to wait a few years before we let our egos have enough room to let us think we can teach the life and ways… my thiughts anyway.
These 2 week CDL wonders are lacking in experience, to be certain. Most of the basics are not to run over people and things with the trailer wheels. Pre-trip, especially in the freezing snow, or 120 degree temps, might be done a little quicker than “usual”. Backing seems to be the MAJOR BIG item for newbies. Backing into a tight dock with very little room to maneuver is something that is learned by repetition – over and over again.
When I went to trucker buddy school, it was with a carrier training program. They had us sit in the class and try to learn all the crazy stuff about BINGO CARDS and apportioned decals, and fuel tax. “You better fuel up in this state, or else..”. (this was in the 70’s), back when the ICC was running amok.
We had to back up. We had to alley dock park. We had to parallel park – the entire rig, cab included. Nowadays these training schools just try to get the student to move the trailer into the area without bending cones. Tractor sticks out – so what, who cares.
I took my driving road test with the carrier on the city small lane roads and low bridges, and the highway. Today – nobody puts students out there on the highway. When was the last time you saw a big name school truck on the Interstate? 30 – 40 mph city traffic is only half the battle. Anyone can stomp on the brakes and light up the tires all the way up to the traffic light….
Schools can be thought as pre-training grounds. Not complete training. Training just enough to get a CDL, and go to a carrier. If you go to a carrier for school, be prepared to fork out $$, or sign a contract giving your life away for the next year or two.
I started out as a kid – went right into being an Owner Operator. I was working in a factory, night shift, one day, bought a cheap $5000 truck, and went up north to sign up with a carrier, and get my training through them.
Those were the days of the old CHAUFFEURS license.. recall those? Basically anyone with a car license who applied for one – got it, and was legally able to drive a rig – not CAPABLE, but able.
That’s when the rash of horrific accidents happened – and the public outcry for a CDL program, and drug testing, etc,etc, etc. Only thing left out today is that beloved LIE DETECTOR test that they wired us up for. I went through that too.
Bubba Trucker
I have found that most not all trainer treat there trainees as a team driver not giving any concern about there safety. And most larger carriers treat them as well so they can just push out more loads with more miles. And pay the trainee very little. There really should be standards in training some new drivers. I went to a company with 13 years on the road and this company made me go with this person that had 6 months on the road. I had to teach this this person how to backup a truck drive out west. This was to be my trainer I did most of the training and paid very little for it. I see the quality of drivers be sent out on these highways and I really makes me wonder how they get away with it.
It’s pretty scary out here on the highways today. Gee, I wonder why? The trucking industry is the single largest industry in this country and look at it. Yes, I am totally ashamed at times to admit that I’m a truckdriver. I remember as a kid the truckdriver was referred to as “the knight of the road”. Today, the general public looks at us as being the reckless hogs of the road. What has happened to our reputation? I got my Commercial Chauffeurs license in the late 1970’s because I was a diesel mechanic and needed one to do test drives. I didn’t pursue my driving career until the early 1990’s. Notice I said “career”. Many of today’s drivers have no care in the world about the industry, the company they work for or the truck they are presently driving. They are out here just to make a paycheck and that’s it. There is absolutely no pride in this industry anymore. It’s like every truck out here on the road is going to the same receiver and “I’m going to be the first one there” attitude. I never went to driving school so I don’t know what is being taught but it is obviously not a whole lot when you have to share the same roads with these new drivers. There are SO MANY problems that really need to be addressed here. We need better qualified drivers, more safe havens and a better educated motoring public sharing the roads with us just for starters. It’s getting to the point where no one wants trucks around anymore. “Please deliver your load driver and leave town”. There are some of us drivers trying to comply with DOT’s demands but when you have a cop come up to you and say “you can’t park here you have to park at the truckstop”. They don’t care if you’re on your 10 hour break and your truck has an EOBR. Anymore you can’t even park in a restarea without being harrassed by the DOT. So many states are broke and looking for revenue, what better way to collect money by going after the trucking industry. Everyone’s got their hand out.