FFE Class of August 15, 2011

i dont even know. when i woke up we was getting ready to flip over. i didnt break any bones or anything but i do have bruises and soreness all over...

 

Heard about it today on the Lockridge Report. They state the driver was 24 years old and had only been with Greyhound for 5 months.

Glad you're OK, but that doesn't help your situation any.

 

That's where you are WRONG.

During the 72 hour deal a few weeks back, I ran 3200 miles for the week and was pulled in for inspection a grand total of ZERO times.

I have not been pulled in other than to roll across scale in over 60,000 miles, since 1st of march.
And I run CA, MO, TN, TX, OH quite regularly.

Before you ASSume something, maybe you should get the real facts.
Those driver fitness violatons were for driving with a "photocopy" of CDL and expired license, and the physical card violations were just expired as well.
Plenty is being done to correct the problem.

And to clear something up crystal like.....
The "company" has absolutely NO CONTROL over a driver who is not physically AT the terminal... and limited control there.
The very idea that someone in a cubicle can "control" a driver 1000 miles away is just fools folly.
Sure.
It's easy to bash a company when you see a small percentage doing things wrong, but the blame STILL rests squarely on the ADULT who made the mistake... not the company.

I see many WORSE drivers for other companies every day.
This is not a "driver problem".
It is a "new breed WHEELHOLDER" problem, and like a cancerous tumor it needs to be cut out and discarded.

 

Things have been great here, but really busy and intense. There are 18 in this class and we are off to DPS in the am to take our Permit testing. It has only been 2 days, but I can tell you that the amount of information I have been given and hopefully retained is intense. Don't know what happened to the others that were supposed to be attending this class except for Joshua and now AwholeWEIRDO, but I'm the only one here from the forum that was supposed to be here. Will try to update as I can, but am having a great time and am really impressed with the academy so far.

 

Three questions, then, since FFE is still "on my list."

1. You say "plenty is being done to correct the problem." I assume you're referring to the very high negatives, so please tell us what is being done. I really want to know.

2. If the "company has no control over a driver not physically at a terminal, why are FFE's numbers so much higher than other much larger companies? Even Swift, with more than 16,000 "wheel holders" (as you call them) all over the country, has no numbers as high as FFE's.

3. If the company has no control over its drivers, why are the numbers so high? Do they hire "bad" drivers, train them badly, then let them do "bad" all by themselves with no oversight?

They pay well, so I really would like good answers.

 

"The board and original owner's family Stubbs get a 10K training break for each student, and they are not about to change their ways with the money rolling into their pockets."-CVN##

I've read numerous posts about this 10k from the government for each student. The amount differs from 5 to 10k. I cannot find any info anywhere about the government "subsidizing" or "granting" trucking companies money to train students. Where did you find this information? Direct links to the government websites that clearly state the nature and intent of the "grants" would be greatly appreciated.

 

Well I'm here (first day) at the FFE driving academy. I'm sure for some students it was slow and possibly even a tad boring doing "straight line backing" for most of the day. But everyone's getting the idea. The two instructors Connie and Candy, are thorough-going pros and it shows. The dorm is full, so some of us are at the hotel and that's a bonus. More later

 

Was 106 degrees here today, but they provided us sunscreen and plenty of ice water so, everyone survived it very well. The repetitions are great as we are getting a chance to develop muscle memory and I totally agree with the professionalism of Connie and Kandi. Everyone on the range had the opportunity to practice and work out their issues. Still loving it here!

 

I didn't post on Wednesday night, but had no problems passing all 5 of the CDL permit exams. One of the DPS testing administrators told me that FFE was very well respected by them and their Troopers for their academy. Really made me feel more confident about my decision.