Safety Coordinator Going to CDL School

In other words your company is taking two guys, neither of which has any real experience in truck driving, running them through a shake and bake driver school after which they'll be put in charge of new drivers?
What could possibly go wrong with a plan like that?

 

"I have no idea how to do your job, but the book says you're doing it wrong."

 

CDL can't hurt...

 

Not sure what the negative replies are all about... we all complain when we get a safety guy who has never even driven a truck, but at least these guys are trying. Gotta start somewhere!

 

Good point. But you know as well as I do that a CDL in and of itself doesn't mean much. Like a lot of other certificates it means you showed up often enough to remember the answers to the tests you got the minimum passing grade on. I just hope that the OP realizes that the CDL is just a starting point. If he makes a big deal out of getting that license his drivers may not be quite as impressed with him as he is with himself.
I also hope that his company isn't going to use him and the other guy as lightning rods for any flak the company might get in case of an accident or other liability.
Most really large corporations keep a couple of middle management types around so they have somebody to throw under the bus when things ugly. He seems like a decent guy and I can only hope that 23 years as a LEO taught him somethin g.

 

For what you're trying to do, it would be best if you could spend at least a few months actually hauling freight. Maybe your company would even let you do it part-time and alternate between driving and your safety duties for a while. That will certainly give you a better perspective of what the drivers go through. CDL schools teach nothing but how to pass the test. Trying to make a connection with an experienced driver based on your having a CDL with no experience will just make you look that much more condescending.

 

CDL schools only teach what is necessary to pass the CDL exam. There is a lot that you won't learn unless you spend a few weeks on the road with a good trainer.

But if you have any specific questions I'll be happy to help.

 

Tip: If the school offers both automatics and manuals, always get on the manual truck.