Thinking of CR England... Advice?

I have never read a good thing about England. We just hired a woman that came from there. She was told one day that she had to run teams...no choice. They paired her with some guy from Washington state, she is from Michigan. She never got home was always stuck on the west coast ran solo when this guy went home....was sexually harassed by her teamie....just terrible story. She finally got another job but it went bye bye as england couldn't get her near the house in time> They finally got her to Cleveland where she was able to get home. what a bunch of D bags who dont care about drivers.

 

RUN DON't Walk!!! Don't stop till you have seen several of their TEAMS go by you... Take Care.

 

Hi Dan,welcome to the forum.There is a lot of good info on here.

I got my CDL through C.R.England in West Valley City Utah and dfrove for them for about 6 months in 2000.Here's my take on them.

The school wasn't all that good.There were way too many students and not enough instructors.It moved at a very fast pace.All they are really trying to do at the school is to get you your CDL learners permit and hammer in the basics of operating a truck.Basically all they want to get into your head there is to start, run and stop the truck.Just enough so that you can get in a truck for a month with a trainer.

It's your trainer who will really teach you how to drive.I lucked out and had a good one.Larry was near retirement after being on the road for over 30 years when I got in his truck.He was a cool guy,very skilled trucker,and a great teacher.He was by NO MEANS the typical England trainer. While I was there,it was not uncommon to hear about student being put with trainers would only had six months of driving experience themselves.To me, a person has no business training until they have at least five years under their belt.How can a ''trainer'' who has no winter driving experience himself,teach a student to safely operate a truck in extreme weather conditions? Too much guess work there to make me comfortable.

We ran a dedicated run from Gilroy,California hauling garlic to Edison,N.J.-From there we picked up a load of Altoids to take to the Bay area.I got some really good training in his truck in a wide variety of traffic and road conditions.

My problems with England started after I completed training and was given my own truck.For starters, my dispatcher was a very surly,butch lesbian who had problems communicating like a human.Your not going to talk to me like I'm an a-hole.Me and her went hats and bats almost immediately.I was eventually taken off her fleet after we almost got in a fistfight.She might have been able to beat my butt..lol

They will run the wheels off your truck.The problem is, they just don't pay worth a ####.After taxes,the loan payment for the school,the per diem scam,and the usual one or two mistakes about tolls or why am I being charged for lumpers type of things,many times I would only have a paycheck of 2-or three hundred bucks.Sometimes not even that.They seemed to have a real probelm gettin me home too,and once I was there they would be on the phone everyday wanting me to leave early.I finally quit answering phone calls from them while I was at the house.

They have a million and one stupid rules,and won't hesitate to fire you if they are broken.The thing is, they are a training company. If they didn't have a lot of these rules,they'd have even more wrecks than they already do.As it is now, they have LOTS of them..

They are a bottom feeder,meat grinder outfit of the first order.DO NOT get involved with ANY LEASE PURCHASE PROGRAM.They are always written to the companies advantage (at any company) and the driver has few, if any rights or legal recourse.England was dragged into court for screwing lease operators out of thousands of dollars.

If you can get on with Schneider,go with them.Their training is far superior to that of the average England driver.They have better freight, with more opportunities for a dedicated (same run all the time) positions.Their reputation in the general trucking ''community'' blows England out of the water..

If you can't get on with them, then one dirtbag carrier is as good as the next.Stick it out for as long as you can,ideally a year then bail to a better carrier.These days though, that may be easier said than done.Carriers that were good a few years ago have been in a race to the bottom.Marten Transport immediately comes to mind..

Best of luck, but to be honest with you,I really have a hard time recommeding trucking to any young person with a head on their shoulders.It's really not that good of a job.The hours suck, your never home, you give away 10-20 hours a week in unpaid time.The lifestyle,if not kept in check can easily lead to obesity,diabetes,and high blood pressure.Not to mention, you never really know if you'll be sitting in a truckstop for 2-3 days waiting on a load and only getting paid 100 bucks after 3 days of sitting.You sit the first day for free,everyday after that nets you usually about 50 bucks.It happens everyday in America.

I also know I'm unlikely to talk anyone out of it if they have their mind set on it.I'm just saying, consider any existing options.Have you thought about civil service? What about the firemans or police tests?

Good luck whatever you decide.I hope this was helpful to you..

 

Well how about a post from an England Driver on here....I have been back with England for 7 months now.I was here for 3 years the first time.Why did I come back you ask?Because I was successful here before,but had to get off the road due to personal obligations to my family.I returned with a positive attitude and experience under my belt leasing and went back to training new drivers.My 2 cents about being a new CDL holder and choosing a company:
Are you wanting to try this out or make a career in the trucking industry? This is a question you must ask yourself.Do you want to work for someone else all your life or be your own boss?I do not know of another company right now anywhere that will lease you a truck right out of school and you can own that truck within 3 years.You have many opportunities as a solo company driver at England if you don't mind dedicated runs.As a new lease operator you can take on a 2nd seat for a cost of .12 a mile and double to triple the miles you run every week.I personally make a 4 wk avg around 1800 every week.I know many drivers who are successful here.Its not the company that drives people away,its poor choices.If you are not interested in leasing/owning your own truck and making a great living and being a professional driver,don't come here.And lets be real here folks,people who have a good attitude,research their choices,train hard,strive to be professional on and off the road succeed in this industry;and MANY of the students who walk through the doors of a CDL school have NO buisness driving a truck.Not everyone is cut out for this industy.Why not ask for success stories instead of always asking about or relating the horror stories.ALL COMPANIES HAVE THEM!

 

I apperciate the positive feed back about England, how about keeping it coming. I get tired of reading England sucks with no facts to back up that statement. OTR isn't for me but enjoy reading about it.

 

Nice post Bullfrog! I rarely read the posts on the 'Bad Trucking Companies' board for this very reason. Every company has someone that will come on here and scream about how they were screwed. Yet at those same companies there are a lot of happy drivers making a good living. Thats why i think you have to take any post about a bad company with a grain of salt.

 

look into Millis Transfer..They pretty much are the best that i have found

 

Typical recruiter troll.

 

Need a little help? Been out of trucking for several years but always had a good driving record...............however could never find a d decent company other than a mail hauler.......but at the time I developed a heart condition and was pulled off the truck several times...........with surgery and the right drug..............I think I can go back .........out with a decent company.............but now here comes the .........refresher course bull ####.....................does anyone know of any company in N.C........................or anywhere that looks at the big picture.............

 

you may want to have a talk with voc rehab if you have high blood pressure and if you lost your job from layoffs you might qualify for training that they will pay for.

Keep in mind that only 15 percent of new drivers are still driving after one year.
you have a 15 percent chance of becoming one of the few and the retarded