What didn't you learn in driving school?

Do you really think you could sleep with a trainee pullin' their first all nighter?
I sure couldn't.
I prefer to be awake for nightmares.

 

I would have to say, pulling around 40+ around all day!

 

"Pulling 40+ around"?
40+ what?
Years?

 

AfterShock, my success is no fluke. I had wanted to become a trucker for a long time. I was going to go to a cdl mill company. But, through the advice here, I thought it best not to. So, I began looking, researching and visiting all the schools in and near my area, there were 5 that I was looking at, and choose the one I went to because it was the best (in my area)
I figured after school I would go with werner because I live near Omaha, but again, advice here steered me away. I decided I would make the big companies my last option, and began applying with the smaller companies. With the smaller companies, I realized that applying online, even if available with a small company, was not my best option. I got up, got dressed, and walked in the doors to apply. Small companies are not always hiring, and especially graduates, but I was learning a great deal with each attempt, and finding out about other small companies I didn't know about. I was at one company that wasn't hiring, but, I must of made the right impression, because, he made a phone a call, set up an appointment for me the next day with another company, wrote down the address and name of the guy to talk to and told me to be there at 7:30 am.
I got there at 6:45am, no one was there, finally at 8:00am a guy showed up, I told him who I was and all. He told me that the office staff should be there around 9am, but he would show me around until then. He did, we spent about an hour #### chatting and all. He asked me about school, why I wanted to be a trucker, we went through the yard and he should me different trucks. Finally, we went back, the office staff was there. I filled out an app. and then they took me to the CEO's office for an interview. The CEO, was the guy who opened the yard, who took the chains off the gate, turned on the lights, made the coffee, the same guy I had been #### chatting with, I had already been interviewed. He and I went back out in the yard and he handed me the keys to a truck and we were going on quick roadtest. I did well enough and got the job.
Small companies like the one I work for don't have the turn over, so they have good experienced drivers. With the exception of me, the rookie, all the othrer drivers have years of experience. It is a really good way for a rookie to go. Big companies have lot's of rookies and it is easy to get lost in the masses. I am the only rookie, dispatch know's it, all the other drivers, so they take good care of me. I have to do my part, work hard, be respectful and cooperative, understand that the company will get me loads, but I haven't earned the best loads yet, I do some of the grunt work, like sweep out a veterans trailer, but they help me and teach me things. I am the rookie so sure I have layovers, but I don't complain about it, I know dispatch will get me a load, so I make the most of my wait. Two days ago, I was layed over, I saw an O/O working on his truck, I put on my covies and went to learn and help. His fuel filter was clogging and he was changing it and some of his lines as well. I am small and it was easier for me to get to some of the lines, crawling under the truck and stuff, he talked me through it, checked my work of course and I learned how to change a fuel filter and some lines. Then an hour later I got to help a flatbedder check and tighten his load securement.
I believe that is how it use to be, before the masses of newbies, and newbies who think they should be treated like the experienced drivers. I know I am a rookie with a lot to learn so I try to learn whatever I can whenever I can, by helping and doing grunt work. I am buildning a good network of experienced drivers and friends who are able to help me and give me the advice I need to succeed.
So just so you know, if you are working on your truck and see a woman approaching, I am not a lot lizard, I am a rookie who wants to help and learn.

 

AllowMe I agree with you and like your idea of the perfect school.
One thing I noticed about school and wish they would change. Is you have a group of students start on the same day and try to herd them through at he same pace. Only, that is not realistic. For exampe, I was told to have read and studied the cdl manual before the 1st day of class. I did, but there was a guy who hadn't, and the other guy looked through it. They gave us a cdl pre test, only I passed. Well, they had to catch the others up so we could all go get our permits. Although I was ready the 1st day of class had to wait till the next day. Well, we went to the dmv, only I passed and got a permit, more working with the others, took one guy 4 times to pass and get his permit, and more struggles with the endorsement tests. It was like that all through school. We were given homework, they would show up with it not finished and had to be given time to finish it.
It was the same in the field, some students took longer to catch on to something, so more time had to be spent with them.

Now for the big cdl mills they just over book, let students fail, send them home and bill them for the tuition and costs.
But for a school that keeps it numbers low, maybe only 3 to 5 students, they feel somewhat obligated to work with each student.

Then you have the WIA issue. The worst student in our class was being sent via WIA. The school has to work them and get them through to the end. This is how it works and the reason why it is a problem.

I paid my own way through school. Had I not been able to keep up, the school could boot me out and charge me for the portion of school I completed. So if I failed out or dropped out the 1st week I owed $1000, the second week $2,500, after the 2nd week the full tuition.
Well, the WIA is all or nothing, there is no partial payment. If the school doesn't get the student through to the end they don't get paid if it is the school that called it quits, if it is the student who quits the school gets paid in full.

I am not implying that all who go through the WIA program are poor students, I know that there are those who were above average students who utilized the WIA program.
I am saying that for those who are not the schools hands are tied.

Student gets a cdl the school gets paid, the student doesn't get a cdl the school gets nothing for it's efforts, no partial payments. If the student drops out, the school gets paid in full and the gov. goes after the student for the money.

So that has created a situaton where schools are keeping poor performing students in shcool, having to take the extra time and affort to get them through at the cost of the other students.

 

To be honest, i didnt learn how to DRIVE. I am actually considering suing them. 168 hours of training and i got behind the wheel for...less than 10. including in the yard. total cdl mill. I never paid except for the road test and the collection agency is sending threatening letters. Im thinking about suing.

Also didnt learn how to scale loads. Slide tandems. Slide fifthwheels. use jakebrakes. No skid pad training, which non cdl mills do, and i feel is very important.

I was scammed by them and the company that supposedly paid them $4500 for my training and lost everything i owned to the results of the scam. Sigh.

Edit: Some 40 of those hours were for "classroom training" which is nonsense and can be done at home by reading a book provided by the state. all they did was read the book to us. But other than that, they were pretty much all standing around in a yard or riding in a truck and not driving.

 

The school I went to didn't allow you to use jakebrakes at first, once the instructor felt you were ready it was at his/her disgression to let you use them at all.

 

Where I went we never used them, ever. We were told we would learn how to use them when we were trainees for whatever company we went with.
Not much "real world" just get the CDL.

 

At least you try to help new people. Thank you.