School only does 20 hours

cdl school? the best drivers i know never went to a cdl school.

 

That’s 17 more hours then I got.

 

When I think of driving schools in regard to this post I am reminded of two things. Chess and taking flying lessons. I can teach someone how to move the chess pieces and the basic outline of the game in a few hours. But that is just the basics. You then spend a lifetime mastering the game. The same can be said about aviation. The CFI that taught me how to fly told me once what his job really was. To teach me the basics and stay in that right seat to protect both myself and that aircraft while I master how to land it. Trucking is much like this. If I could still drive I could spend enough time with someone and teach them the basics. Backing, mirror usage, and how to hook and unhook a trailer. Depending on the student I could do this within a few weeks. However, the mistake here is this driver is not ready to go alone until they get with someone for a longer period of time mastering this job. 20 hours of intense training might get you a CDL, but it is far from enough time to master this job, which takes several years of doing it!

 

...i am one of them ...you dont wanna hear how i started ...i was lucky to start with pick up truck and move to the class 8 later

 

I could also argue that some of the worst never went to a trucking school either. Gotta remimber not all of us have/had access to a trailer and pickup. Much less a CMV to learn on and did what we had to do to get our CDLs.

Being a good driver is all about having that rarest of combinations. Basic sense+problem solveing abilitys. Not how you learned to drive.

 

Diesel Driving School Sun Prairie Wi , was 16 weeks long in 1985 , cost 16,000$ dollars that included housing sharing a hotel room.
Hired right out of school , i took the first job offer and headed for Chicago solo , how can they train anyone in 20 hrs or 3 weeks , to jump in with a trainer and drive , sounds borderline dangerous , especially in the winter coming down Lookout.
Reminds me of the TA in Lamar Pa were the driver forgot to set his brakes got out of truck and truck rolled away side swiping a dozen trucks before it finally stopped.

 

that is exactly my point.

there are 2 classes of driver:

people who drive trucks
truck drivers

a cdl school is not going to make a truck driver out of someone who doesn't have the inherent desire or ability.

otherwise, if one cannot get into a highly regarded school for driving, i say save your money and educate yourself.

 

Thanks for another dose of your wisdom Moose1958. I, for one, appreciate your ability to post thoughtful and common sense points of view.