c1 training thru Drivers Solutions in Indianapolis

My experience at C1 Training School in Indianapolis Indiana that was sponsored by Drivers Solutions was almost a complete disaster. I did get my cdl class A license, however, I basically already knew how to drive when I got there. The day I started was a Monday, in May, 2007.

The first day was ok, but very long. There was the drug testing and DOT physicals. There started with 39 people the first day, a few, one or two dropped off due to drug screens or physical reasons. I got to the C1 School on E Raymond Street at 6 am. I was given a binder full of training materials; it had all of the books you needed for Indiana BMV to gain you permits. We were also given a logbook to keep and we learned how to do that and the importance of the logbook. It was not until 7 pm that evening the classroom was allowed to leave. A woman named Karen, who calls herself "mamma bear", is the director of the program. She spent a good many hours telling us how the program works and repeating herself many times. I think the repetition was a tactic of sorts to drill into our heads how nice and friendly the place is and how successful they are. It really did seem like she was going overboard and trying to force people into the idea that she cares. She is the training director and her Husband Scott is a trainer. She would say the same thing 3 to 4 times in a row and I do not think she realizes she does this or it's a tactic, I am not sure. The first day was terribly hard, wasted with sitting time and listening to stories of how the staff members drove over the road for 20 or 30 years, telling jokes and being friendly. The feel of the staff was that several of them had something to prove, sort of showin' off or bragging was very common.

There is a woman named Tina, and she explained the contract to the group. It is $6,ooo thousand dollars for the training or a one-year commitment and we had until that Saturday (6 days) to walk away free of charge. We did not find out how the school really ran things until that next Monday. Tina was very nice and friendly. She was very helpful with documentation and paperwork. She also did the orientation for the companies Pam, USA Truck, Decker, Averrit, AFS, Choctaw and I think there is another one as well.

Days 1 thru 5 were spent in the classroom setting gaining the knowledge to pass Indiana Operators, Gen Knowledge, Combinations and Air Brakes. So, on Saturday we had not been out in the trucks and receive any hands on training yet. So, we did not know what the training was like and we had to leave the Port O Call Apartments before Saturday so we were not charged the full tuition bill and $400 for housing. So, I stayed, I had traveled several hundred miles and figured I would stay. See what would happen.

My class was off on most of Saturday and all that Sunday. That would have been days 6 and 7. That Saturday the class went in at 7 am or noon, depending if you had your permit in hand or not.

Day 8, Monday, out on the parking lot driving range was started. The instructor was yelling at everyone, if you did not "get it" he would say to you "What is wrong with you? Do your eye balls work?" This was bordering verbal abuse; This trainer would say that you must be retarded, that he has trained thousands of people and something must be wrong with you If you do not "get it", he assured everyone that he is an excellent trainer. I am not sure why it was necessary to yell all of the time. There were 9 people in my group. 9 People for one truck. We took turns walking up and down and behind the truck to see the last person do the straight line backing. That was boring. I walked up and down next to the truck numerous times. I only got one turn in the truck that day. So did everyone else. Each person was allowed 30 to 45 minutes to do the strait line backing. We started at 6 am and had a break at 8.30 to 9 am. Then lunch from 10.3o to 11.30 then another break at 1.30 to 2.00 o'clock, the day ran until 4 pm. I was along hot day. There is no shelter from the sun; I did wear a hat, sunglasses and lots of sun block. There was lots of watching the other person driving and learn from them and their mistakes so when you got behind the wheel you would not make the same mistake they did. This is what the instructors said.

Day 9, Tuesday, was for off side parking. My group did not change; there were still 9 people for the truck. Each person was allowed 30 to 45 minutes to do the offside parking. We started at 6 am and had a break at 8.30 to 9 am. Then lunch from 10.30 to 11.30 then another break at 1.30 to 2.00 o'clock, the day ran until 4 pm. It was along hot day, thunderstorms scattered thru the day. You see, when someone else is behind the wheel, the truck is only in 1st, a rolling gear, so that is why the instructors had us walk along so, we could watch and gain experience. We could "visualize" ourselves behind the wheel and be learning the turns and so forth.

Day 10, Wednesday, as for the parallel parking. The routine was the same as the other two days; with the breaks the same and now there were 8 people for the truck. One guy quit due to license/documentation and background problems. Each person was allowed 45 minutes to do the parallel. Same thin applies, a lot of walking and following the truck.

Days 11, was a Thursday and day 12 was a Friday, we practice all three procedures on both of those days. Each person was allowed to do the procedure all the way thru from strait line to parallel and then the rest of us walked along side of the truck, only in 1st gear watching as they put turns in and watched the tires move and so forth. There were still 8 people for the truck in my group. It was very difficult learning the process while just watching and not doing.

Days 13 and 14 were Saturday and Sunday.

About the instructors. There were several instructors that showed me the set ups and how to drive Each instructor had his or her own way of doing things. Especially when it came to doing the set up for parking offside and parallel. One instructor would tell me this is how to do it and when and where to put the turns on and another would have a different way to put the turns in. It was very frustrating because when I learned it one way, the instructor would say that I got lucky and this is really how to do it. The did seem to be a lot of repetition as far as what the instructors would say, however the delivery of the information was sometime harsh. There was a lot of competition between the instructors and several of them just did not like working there period, however it was a local job with insurance that paid $30k a year and they were home every night so they stayed.

Day 15 was a Monday and that is when we started to get behind the wheel to drive. There were 3 people in my tuck plus the instructor for the am session and then in the pm after lunch at 11.30 I would go out to the backing up exercises. This was how it was done for that whole week. Each day I had 30 minutes of drive time, and one turn on the range for backing up. The drive time was ###### because by the time I got behind the wheel and got the mirrors adjusted and an explanation of what and where my turn was almost over. Then after I would get on the road I did learn how to clutch and turn. I drove an average of 7 to 10 miles each trip. I kept track of all my driving and off duty times in my logbook. At the end of each exercise or street performance I would have to sign a paper, it would have mileage and times of starting and stopping. For example, if I got behind the wheel at 2.50 pm the instructor wrote down 2.45 and then when I finished at 3.30 he would put down 3.45. So, on paper I had one hour behind the wheel. Each one of us were supposed to have one hour behind the wheel, however, none of us did and it was impossible for each one of us to be behind the wheel driving if we started at 12.30 pm, and got done at 3.30 pm. The instructors went off duty at 3.30 pm and they were sure to be back in the C1 school and have their paper work done by 3.30 so they could leave. This drive time between the three people was also wasted at the truck stop where the instructor would go get a soda or pop and then go to the restroom and say hi to the girl at the counter and so forth. . I drove the truck 4 times. Friday, the 19th day I was there I was evaluated and told I need more training. I was not able to pass the C1 School test, so therefore I could not pass the CDL State Examiner. There were some people who were able to pass the C1 test and then they were sent over to the CDL State examiner. A few people did pas on that day 13 and went home. The ones that did not pass were given 1 hour retraining and sent down again. If they did not pass they were sent down and given another 1 hour and then 2 hour training and the sent to re-test. After they passed the C1 test they were really sitting around waiting for the retraining whenever they could be fit it. Their formal training stopped after the C1 test. If they got lucky and passed C1, then went to the CDL State they were done being trained pass or fail, except those three hours that were offered after each time they failed the CDL: State. It was not three hours each time they failed, it was one hour after each time they failed, up to three more times. So, each time they failed they got allowed an hour and they only had three tests left. The CDL State lets you take the test 4 times.

Since I was not able to pass the C1 test I did resume my exercise and skills training. It was the same as the first week; I would get one turn in the truck on the range. This time it as very scattered and sporadic training because I was not scheduled in and had to be fit in somewhere. The instructors were frustrated because they had 8 people ######## about getting behind the wheel and only one truck. I did not go into the street too many times because my weakness was not driving it was the backing. There were several days, NOT COUNTING WEEKENDS that I did not drive or get behind the wheel because they had no room for me. The new classes start every Monday so when the new class started that Monday that I failed the CDL sate test; I got no time at all.

I was at the Port O Call apartments for 27 days. The housing accommodations were less than OK. They were not terrible. The Port O Call is a low income housing complex and the C1 School Rents of Leases 16 apartments for their out of town students. You would definitely have to keep your car doors locked and not go outside at nighttime, but during the day it was ok. At night and on the weekend there were always firecrackers being set off and homeboys up in the parking lot until 5 am. Each unit is a two bedroom with a common living room and a fridge, TV, some had cable, some did not. Each room has bunks beds. They house a total of 88 students at any time for the C1 School. The Port O Call is on Mickley Ave or Street, Right off of Rockville Road. There is a Wal-Mart, Sams, Lowes, Dicks, a Myers and access to shopping 5 miles or so up Rockville road. The C1 School is 16 miles from the port o call apartments. I had my own car there so people rode with me and gave me a few bucks for gas. The general attitude of all of the people I met was good. Most people were friendly and were all there for one reason, to get the job done.

By the time I left C1 School I had 5 hours of actual behind the wheel driving time and had driven 46 miles total. I had been in the truck 13 times to do the straight line back and offside and parallel. That is thirteen times total, not for each process. 13 times backing up and 46 miles of driving was on 27 days. This school is a CDL Factory, they bring in anywhere from 30 to 50 people on a Monday. It is a high stress situation. It is physically demanding and you must have mental ability as well as learning ability. I drove a charter bus and many straight trucks and school buses in my younger days and have a lot of driving experience, and already knew the main concept of how to not hit anything watch my vehicle, tandems and in this case my trailer. That is the biggest concept when out there in a building on wheels. Managing space and stopping distances was already built in for me, so I just had to learn how to double clutch and park.

There were many issues from the instructor walking off the job to telling about how they took a vacation day and interviewed for a new job. After being there so long you click or get to know people, Especially the instructors that you end up walking the range with hour after hour watching the person in the truck put in their turns and back up. I did meet a lot of really nice people.

It is very clear that the C1 School is a very accelerated program. The Drivers Solutions people will not tell you that at you will not really know how accelerated it is until the 8th or 9th day you are there and the are wanting to give you the C1 test and send you ff to the state CDL Examiner. By the time you learn how accelerated the school is your are far beyond the 6th day and are bound to the contract you signed on day 1 with Tina.

There were 4 guys there that did pass on day 13. They were already experienced in some way with moving boat trailers and farm equipment and so on. The school really was a vehicle for them to pass their test with minimal instruction; they did it on their own skill and experience. I was not so lucky and really worked hard to get my license. I am glad I have it and will never let it go.

C1 School In Indianapolis Indiana is a highly accelerated, push, push, push program. If you are not able to with stand very high pressure and being told if you do this you will be failed or you do that on your test you will be failed. DON'T GO THERE. The recruiters will tell you whatever they need to say to get you there.

Out of the 39 people that started the day I did only 18 got their license. The rest either left because they failed on the 1st try or failed all 4 tests. Or their license was dirty in some way or failed pee tests.

If you leave the program and do not get dismissed for failure or documentation, and they have not told you to leave you owe the entire bill of $6,ooo. That is the final reason why I stayed. The training was horrible and I had to stay until I failed out or passed the test.

My overall experience was not great, it was not terrible. However I did go there for a job and a license. That is what I got. The school is high pressure and very limited for time.

Now for the over the road training program with Decker, that is where I went after I got my license at C1 School. That is the second part of the training.

There are some issues I would like to let you know:
#1 I got a scale overweight ticket my 3rd day on the truck. Never moved the tandems. The trainer said that Oh, we are fine, we just unloaded 44,000 at Jeff co Fibers in Hopedale Mass so, with the new load of 41,000 of the same material we were in good shape. THAT IS WHAT THE TRAINER SAID. I asked him several times, and he told me, No girl were good, I know I have done this a million times. Remember this is my 3rd day on the truck. I did not know how to slide or Gross vehicle weight or anything. I got the ticket in Maryland just after you get off of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. 1600lb over on the drives.

The otr training was really two people running teams. From day one you drive 11 hours a day if not more. Then "back up your log" . When I was too tired to drive my trainer would drive on my log for the rest of my hours then drive on his.

My trainer had a buddy in every town he went. The last run I was on went to Humble TX and turn back to Bayonne NJ. We got the run on wed; it did not need to be in Humble TX until Monday. Well we drove it HARD got there late thurs nite ear Friday AM. Then my trainer got out of the truck and went to his friends house, for all day Fri., Sat and Sunday, came back Monday hung over and told me to drive the rest of the way from Killeen to Humble. Now, I was sitting in a Wal-Mart distribution center parking lot, NOT a truck stop, no showers or food, except McDonalds. That was it, when I decided to leave Decker and pay my training bill, which I do have the option of paying for myself.

There is a bunch more BS I could tell you about this program. But I will stop here.

Good luck whatever you decide as far as training schools. You may wanna try a community college or something that is more long term.

I am now at CRST and it is not peaches and creme, and shOOOtty a lot of times, but ALSO good alot of times. Truckdriving is a 24/7/365 job. Its not nice alot of the time and you have to pay your dues to get experience, take the drit and garbage that is handed to you, but eventually it gets better. I now have 3 mos at Crst and it is getting better (SLOWLY). I will post alittle about my 28 days with a CRST trainer in a another thread.

 

Yep. I am getting my one year in with CRST. They ar enot the best BUT not the worst either.

I was lucky when I went down to Carlise PA to get my truck I got an almost new truck. It is an '06 with 100k on it and no body damage or repairs. It runs gtreat and shifts great. It also has a cd player and 4 d/c outlets. So, I guess I am lucky, I have heard lots of people getting dumpy breakdaown daily trucks.