I had an epiphany this week too, about the state of driver training.

This is the kind of humor I like, we can keep this going forever.

Dude is about to be X1 infamous.

It;s good or bad depending on you're view.

Sirscrapntruckalot -

 

It was the yellow car!

 

Good too see ya buddy. How old was this kid testing you, ha ha ha. The kid has no idea how long you been out there, and how many miles you have under you. i dont think i could go through that. id tell the kid off. i have a short temper when someone thats been driving for a couple of years is going to tell ME HOW TOO DRIVE, ha ha ha, not going to happen. Heck, were probably older than his daddy.

 

Gotta disagree on this one - rather vehemently.

The top 10 most common things I say as a trainer it would look like:

1. Stop! Get Out and Look!
2. Slow down
3. Watch your trailer
4. Get your log up to date
5. Think about the coupling order
6. How close are we going to get?
7. Are you reading your signs? / Look ahead, see what's about to happen
8. You've missed something on the pretrip, take another lap and see if you can find it
9. Did you check your kingpin?
10. Cruise control should already be off

Sign reading is lower on the list, but it's there. I don't like playing "what did that sign say?", it's annoying for both of us - but some times its necessary to force a guy to build the habit.

You know how to read signs, interpret them, and react as necessary. New drivers do not. It is a skill that must be taught. Most guys will catch the speed limit signs, but not the curve speed suggestion signs, or signs warning of a junction, and they never see the construction detour signs. Or they see the sign but won't interpret the sign properly.


Most guys miss this sign on the first day. If they do see it, they tend to start moving from lane #1 to lane #3. Or they just see "Chicago" and start moving to the right, because that's all they remember about the route plan. They don't know that "keep left" and the vertical line on the I-190/I-90 sign indicates that extra lanes are going to add on or the right hand lane is going to split onto the exit. It's a good teachable moment.

A little further down the road I point out the signs for I-290 and I-88 and remark about how close those two interchanges are to each other and how it might get congested. Then I point to all the traffic crawling in the right hand lane on I-290 and say "all that traffic is coming into this road, that's a sign you want to move one lane to the left until after the merge point. Once traffic settles out, you'll need to move back to the right hand lane because you'll be the slowest vehicle again."

Again, you know all this, but a new driver doesn't.

This I agree with - the CDL test only checks comprehension, not competency. From the written permit test to the final road test there is no real check to see if the driver truly understands the theory behind the skills. It's not a problem of "teaching to the test is bad", it's a problem of "the test isn't good" - and that's by design.

Way back in 1996, FHWA found that truck driver training was inadequate . 8 years later, the courts mandated that FMCSA do something. FMCSA said "carriers will be responsible". Court responded "I said fix it, not pawn off your responsibility". 2007 FMCSA publishes a proposed rule, and EVERYONE threw their poop every where until FMCSA withdrew it in 2013 and started from scratch this time with "stake holder help". 5 years later, ELDT starting in 2019 is announced. In 2019 it's delayed until 2021. Four years later, the only impact I can see is that it's increased the cost of CDL training without actually increasing instruction.

This is why we see inadequate skills wreaking havoc. "Safety groups" make demands that are at best inane and most often counter productive while the various Industry associations resist any attempt to bring meaningful regulation into play. The megas design their training programs around liability avoidance and cost minimization, not best instructional practices. Small companies that hire inexperienced drivers tend to be '1099 share croppers'.

If we want to stop incompetent drivers from getting on the road, we need actual testing.

• For the written test -
  • no multiple guess on the written test, make the applicant write full sentences;
  • give the applicant a log grid and make them compute the hours available;
  • make the applicant do a trip plan including where they intend to overnight;
  • give the applicant scale tickets and make them describe how to get legal.
• Drop the classroom hours requirement and replace it with a mileage requirement 1,000 miles behind the wheel, 80% 'in town' -verified through log books.
• For the Vehicle Inspection -
  • no "memory aid" for the pre-trip test;
  • have 8 tires in a rack and make the applicant identify if the tire is legal, and if not, why;
  • have the ability to turn individual lights off on the test vehicle to see if the applicant is actually looking at the lights;
  • must both couple and uncouple (it blows my mind how many guys have a cdl and have never coupled/uncoupled until they got to us).
• For road tests -
  • all road tests will be done with a sleeper truck and a 53' trailer with the tandems at the furthers KPRA setting legal for the state (preferably a spread axle);
  • drop the failure threshold from 25 to 10 points;
  • increase the length of the drive (preferably 20 minute drive, do a back and repeat);
  • hitting a curb is an auto fail;
  • after the initial road skills are tested the applicant will be given a route back to the yard and must follow it without assistance.
• Backing -
  • unlimited pull ups, limited time;
  • sight side alley dock gets a 10 foot wide spot with 65 feet in front of the hole;
  • blind side alley dock gets a 12 foot wide spot with 70 feet in front;
  • sight side angle 11 foot wide spot, 50 feet in front;
  • each maneuver must be done 3 times.
• You want a doubles/triples endorsement? Build a set and take a road test.
• You want a tanker endorsement? Better be able to show you can climb on the tank, engage a pto, hook hoses, place spill protection, pump off, air off, etc.
• Let's add a flatbed endorsement where an applicant has to secure bricks/boards, shotgun coils, suicide coils, and a piece of equipment.

But none of that will happen because it's too expensive. The testing itself would be onerous because it would be an all day affair. The instruction needed to pass the test would bankrupt most cdl mills. Beyond that, it would drop the number of new cdl holders far below the industry turnover rate which would create an actual driver shortage in short order.