What about APtitude?

Aptitude is the primary ingredient that is missing in many of the "driving school pros" on the road today.
Most of them lack the basic life skills that are required to do this job correctly.
Things like the ability to discipline yourself to get the job done without constant supervision, The mechanical aptitutde to be able to figure out the most basic problems that may occur in a truck.

Part of the aptitude could be related to basic people skills...Something sadly lacking in many of these new "drivers" (and quite a large number of older hands too).

There are many facets of aptitude required to do this job correctly...

 

Dude... it takes a lot of tude to succeed out here... you need aptitude, positive attitude, gratitude, fortitude, and a few more tudes as well... LOL

I also happen to agree with Blackw900....

 

Good post Blackw900

 

If they gave aptitude test's there really would be drive shortage!!!

You can say what you want but there are some folks that will never be a good driver (big truck or four wheeler) !!!

That is one of many reasons why the turn over rate is what it is . Not to mention all the lies and hidden truths

 

I have to tell you I was shocked at how many people in my school didn't know an alternator from an air compressor. One guy had blisters on his hands just from practicing backing skills. He had never worked any manual labor. There was one couple, the wife had never driven a manual. She always complained about the clutches. She ended up glued to the one and only auto on the range. I told her she shouldn't even think about using that truck, but she wouldn't listen. They left there thinking they would get to pick an auto at whatever company they got hired on at.

 

Aptitude is all part of being a professional. Some think that since they get paid to drive it makes them a professional but not in my book. Knowing yourself,the equipment, and the rules and regulations are the basics. Knowing that you can never know it all is also a fundamental aptitude part of the job.

 

You said a multitude !

 

I think for me it would of been better had I never driven a manual transmission car before. LOL When I first started driving a manual transmission (car) was second nature, but you can drive the truck lke a car. In the begining I would want to feather the clutch and throttle, easing in on the throttle as I let out the clutch like you do in a car or on a motorcycle. Well, that made things bumpy LOL.

I agree if they came up with an aptitude test it would thin things out. I too am also amazed that most don't try it out first before they make the jump and investment. I found an OO who took me out on the road with him for a few weeks before I put my money down for school. I got to see first hand what I was getting into, what it was really like instead of what I imagined it to be like, what I would need on the road to eat, sleep, shower and all, and if liked it as much as I thought I would. I am glad I did that, because I foud out that it really is different than you think it will be. For me, I still wanted to make the jump and get ino it.

However, all of that goes back to what has been stated, you have to have life skills, you have to have aptitude and all of it.

The ones that just jump in are also the one who me a snap poor choice and lose their job or ruin their trucking career or they are the first to bail because it wasn't what they thought it would be. I am sure if you looked over their past before trucking you would see the same pattern in their lives.

I also liked what GasHauler said. There are some that come in and believe they already know enough and that little bit of knowledge causes some big problems.

 

Yeah , them bad boys with know it all attitudes get time out from dispatchers . After they sit a while they might figure out they have a lot to learn .