Riding with a trainer

As a trainer, I'm used to it. The merry-go-round rarely stops. As others have stated, be respectful, but don't let your guard down. You're both out there to do a job. Make sure that gets accomplished first and foremost.

 

well i guess i will tell on myself...i went to truck driving school in 1991, from Jan til March. I graduated march 14 1991.
I wanted to drive a truck since i was a little girl. I didnt want to go to truck driving school, i wanted to be taught by a driver, but didnt know any.
So off i went, it was 1 other woman besides myself, and the rest were men and she was gonna team with her husband who was already a driver . I was single, and just turned 21....
Grades were...final yard 90.67, final road, 92.5, pre trip 100, couple/uncouple 95, dot test 88 log test 93.6 ( HAVE NEVER HAD A LOG VIOLATION 21 YRS LATER) other than my 1st wk... FINAL GPA 91.03...(yeah i still have my card..lol) ....
The company I went with right out of school is no longer in business. My first trainer was an older woman, who smoked like a train, and dressed like a hooker (I dont smoke)..We were in a cabover so i had no choice but to sleep in her bed when she drove.
The 1st week we were out, we had stopped at the Flying J in Lagrande OR....for me to take over. I was busy doing my logbook, and she told me to go, I told her "no, i need to do my book"...she told me, " i am your boss, and i said go".....well right then and there, i shoulda went inside and called the company....but i was young, like most of you are, and let her intimidate me...WRONG....do NOT let them do that to you..ITS YOUR LICENSE!!!!! so i started to pull out and there was a car coming...so i waited....she told me to go....i said no...she yelled at me...so i went ...WRONG...no wreck, but it was a cop!!!!! ( no i am not making this up)....so needless to say, i got a ticket for my log book not being done!!!!! (i asked for it). Anyway when we would get to the truckstops, she would LOCK me out of the truck, while she went and visited with the other drivers...in there truck i might add....i finally had enough and called the company and asked for another trainer....they ended up bringing me back to the yard and cutting me loose and put me with a partner to team with..
There are 2 points to this long rambling story...lol
1. DO NOT LET YOUR TRAINER PUSH YOU. DO NOT BREAK THE LAW. IT IS YOUR LICENSE.
2. I made it....so can you...LOL
I dont approve of truck driving schools, because they just run you thru and dont teach you anything...and there is nothing like hands on....no amount of time spent in school is going to prepare you for what it is actually like. Pay attention and dont take shortcuts on anything. if you dont know or understand something ,ASK...and dont come out of school or graduate from your trainer thinking you know it all, because trust me, you dont...and never will. some come out better than others...dont be a whiner, but if the circumstances involve your safety or health...i would say something to safety...its going to be a different environment for sure. you will be away from home, some away from family, new job, in a box with a stranger, have to adjust to several things at once...also new sleep schedule....so dont complain about every little thing...try to just calm down, take a deep breath and remember why you are there, to learn!!!! being a truck driver, peoples lives are at stake every single time you move that truck, even if you are only backing up....but esp. driving, take it serious, do your best and conduct yourself as a professional. Stay safe...

 

Though you may think it sucks, its time to man up! There are going to be a lot of things in this career you aren't going to be used to like driving all night, sleeping odd hours, not being home for long periods of time, public restrooms etc... This is not a career for people who cannot adjust.

You will find out riding with a trainer will be a life saver because when you are finished you will most likely be scared to be finally on your own. So enjoy having someone there to help you out of bad situations until you are prepared to handle them yourself.

 

The cramped comments always crack me up. You people don't know how good you have it in a standup condo. Try it in a single bunk cabover!

 

thats what i said...lol...had a guy in orientation once, CB and i were talking and said something about a cabover...and the guy looks at us and said...."whats a cabover?".....i about fell out of my chair laughing....and HE WAS SERIOUS

 

Good post Gigglesandcowboy!

Brings back memories! Also some very good points for the newbs! Your license is your bread and butter don't let some dumb ### trainer make you do anything that is illegal. Call safety immediately and let them know the situation. Even if you feel you aren't being trained properly, let someone know and get yourself a trainer that is going to benefit you and your career.

 

Well nowadays we don't have to worry much about log violations cause of elogs, my trainer also did that to me 'gigglesandcowboys' but since I knew the elog was the official thingamabob I chose not to take that stand. Sometimes you have to choose ure battles with trainers. But I agree with chompi, IF you can and can afford to wait for the next trainer, it'll benefit ure career to have someone who can go thru tough situations by your side like driving down 7% downgrades or going up on them, or backing into small docking areas ... you'll need to be guided in the right direction in this job cause if you're not it may be your life or even worse somebody else's

 

its giggles and COUNTRYBOY...not cowboy...lol, and my exp. was from 21 yrs ago....look in the upper corner of my posts...

 

i was just calling you what chombi called you - yeah but even if it was 21 yrs ago, trainers haven't changed much since!!