Werner Orientation in Allentown PA 4/2011

August 16 2011





Hello Everybody:


I just got my DAC report back from Hirerite.com and there was nothing negative of any kind on It. It listed Werner Enterprises and FFE and the numbers of reported accidents and just employment time frames. It indicated with both companys that I had either quit or retired and that I had 0 accidents.
There was not anything more than that on their review pages.
They had done a whole series of criminal background checks etc. and It found nothing of a negative nature as well.

I am pleasantly surprised with all of this right and truthfull and positive information.

 

September 17 2011





Hello Mr. V. and the Group:


I Hope that they still like me over there at Swift. I got a prehire and a date for their Orientation, but You never know with these things sometimes. It seems like a nice company. I have been to one of their Orientation centers in Lancaster Texas, right across from the Headquarters FFE Terminal there and It was really neat and clean and nicely arranged in a community college like atmosphere. I liked it as soon as I saw It and I had the chance to talk to a few Swift Mentors and a few Swift students (a lot of them were older) and they were quite professional.

My only Hope is that there is'nt some kind of a popularity contest going on around them and the people who promote me to them.

Smith and Solomon is really cool and even George helped me out a lot last weekend with the 45 deg. backing and gave me 4 hours of individual instruction on It with Manny. Other than those people though, I know that I don't have too many people in the Industry who could be my work references.

Yes, computers can get people like me sometimes, if some cyberbully calls them up trying to talk me down, who knows? That's why I did'nt mention it until the last minute when the company had me completely checked out for the work.

Tom, can You do me a favor sometime, if You can and search for my name on Linkedin (linked in) .com and write down a positive line or two? I am going to try to get Manny and Maybe George to write in their short opinion of me on their page. LINKEDIN is one of the things that Career Link uses to promote resumes to companys.

I will definitely write a Good opinion of You if You will write on for me on there. It may be just the edge that we need one day.

 

August 17 2011





Hello RCA 1802 and the Group:


Well, I still believe in Cyberbullys or nonsense in general from certain elements of the community and it extends to all areas of life if You let it start taking them seriously so I don't choose to do that particular thing.

Making the Youtube videos was a lot of fun and I think that It has had It's purpose and that was in my world to just show the community that I am a Good person and that I care and my work is rewarding and easy. There are some people who just don't like driving or driving an 18 wheeler very much at all, but I like it so much that I choose to blog about It sometimes. I like to watch other people's Youtube videos on the same subjects I do as well so who am I to judge?

It is just another part of my life and I believe that the Triuck companys have seen my Youtube Videos as well as my chronicles here because the subject of them was discussed in the past with me. The best way to say It is the way one of the Student safety managers at Werner, Tim said It when he said "they can mean one thing or they can mean something else to whoever watches them". I would never start making any Youtube videos if I did'nt like to make them or if I did'nt think that I was teaching the public about how to do the things that I like to get into. That's all there really is to know about me and my chosen profession.

My view is that my Youtube videos have never prevented me from finding work in Truck driving at all and I had two recruiters at Werner tell me that they saw one of my Videos as well and they liked It. I really think that It was my determination and the work that I did by Itself that has earned me the privilege of being in these big companys for as long as I was there.

I have read here on the Forum before that all of the companys read the Posts that we write on here and that all of the recruiters read Your facebook page and watch Your videos as well as checking everything else for their own criteria.

The companys that I worked for largely run on student labor and have a high turnover rate and anyway so that's all that there is to say. They probably accept what I would be willing to accept and that is You just have to get Your hours of experience in this particular field of work to learn about safe operations.

It's like doing any other job, "the more You do the better It gets" and there's no other way to do It just like any other career. Truck driving is just one of those things that can only be done by doing It. I am very gratefull for all of the Truck companys that have offered me training and my company sponsored practical and Online training.

It would have been nice If I was a in a position to really get a fulltime job out of those places where I have already been but most people starting out have to just get their training and experience in first and then move on to other companys or to local Truck driving from those particular starting companys.

I have never seen anybody with no Class A driving experience at all, like me get a Solo job at one of the companys that I have worked for while I was employed at those particular companys. It may be true that the starter companys only hire people with 6 Months to a Year and a half of experience. They like I say seem to run mainly on student labor. It seemed to me that every student in the last (2) companys that I worked for had some driving experience with another company and It was not usually a pleasant experience.

Student drivers and entry level drivers are two different kinds of people to the companys, I suppose. I don't think that either one of them are experienced enough to impress anyone by themselves. FFE made it clear in one of their E-Mails for recruiting that "an OTR driver with six Months experience" is an experienced driver. I could agree with that statement as long as that driver was Safe. It has been my humble experience to have been carefull and safe myself so I may have something that they are looking for once I get that level of experience.

Truck driving has a lot of opportunities for enjoyment and employment and Is'nt that hard to be a part of It so I am not going to worry about cyberbullys right now. They are going to fall on their own swords I think someday. The (2) things that I Love the most about Trucking is the availability of employment or the "employment security" and the Brotherhood among Truck drivers. They will usually generalize about making progress in learning to do Trucking and in the career opportunity's in the Trucking business so I really owe everybody else the same.

 

August 19 2011





Hello RCA 1802 and the Group:



I have no doubts at all that I am just fine in whatever It is that I have been doing.

I just think that I have been doing just fine in being a personable Youtube actor.

One of my Instructors at Smith and Solomon said that everybody should get a Class A license before they apply for any other drivers license so I don't see where It's any kind of a difficult issue to be able to operate a Big Truck safely.

I really do mean to say that for me, finding employment in the Transportation Industry has been easy and the only thing that really matters in doing so is to have a Safe previous driving history and a citation free history I suppose, and again, some basic training.

I Loved to take my CDL test in Mansfield PA, with their country roads and automatic F900 dump truck and 30 ft. construction trailer but I have had to take harder tests with the FFE and Werner in their Freightliner and Peterbuilt 10 speed Trucks with loaded 53 ft. trailers in urban enviornments. I have also had to be retested in Trucks like these before I started working for the Dollar General account at Werner, due to the riskier maneuvering enviornments.

I think that the public would have reported me by now for not having been a Good driver if they would have had any real concerns.

I get tested at every company School whenever I get a new Trainer at the beginning and at the end of each of my training sessions with them and I have mainly recieved positive reports.

I have gone out of my way to study for all of the possible endorsements available for a CDL and the Hazmat certification. I have also signed up for a TWIC card.

I am definitely Good at what I have been doing, in passing all of my tests in the field and Online and the Truck companys always ask for a driving test before hiring me and then will always retest me at each place of employment if they ever have any doubt about me at all. Basically, I have always passed with no criticism.

I don't really mind helping out any Truck company as a student if I think It is really a Professional and safe Trucking organization if I think that they can use my services. It is always up to them to accept my work and I will be there to serve them.

I know what I was trained to do and I stand for Quality and Safety in this line of work and I don't really see any reason to question my own capabilities and my Good intentions.

I was "cut out" for this line of work and more. No question about It. It never bothered me to think seriously about It in any way but in terms of It's positive values. I am not fearfull about it in the slightest manner. A Big Truck is just like my Class A mobile home and office.

I will have to agree with You that keeping employment is a Very Good idea and I am always in favor of supporting each and every company that I have ever worked for (and It has not been that many) but like I have said, finding employment in the field of Commercial Driving is not difficult for me at all.

Every Truck company School has It's Driving test and academic requirements for their driver Students to be accepted there and they have to be strict with the new Students due to the modern age of The FMCSR CSA and BASIC rules and the new enforcement through Information Technology. We also have DAC reporting.

We are of course also living in the age of portable telecommunications like cell phone based Qualcom Satellite monitoring systems and GPS technology. These devices monitor the Truck's performance, speed and position. Commercial Drivers have to be better at whatever they are doing than they have ever had to be.

I think that with the abundance of cellular phones in the general public that there is even more feedback given to the safety operations of the Trucking companys if there is ever a need for even more information.

Driving a truck is like second nature to me. I just Love to drive all kinds of Trucks because I know that I am Good at doing It. I have as much fun driving a truck as I do being at home.

I had a teacher from New Jersey, George Wagner who used Your phrase about there being two types of categorys that drivers fit into: Professional drivers and steering wheel holders and I was kind of wondering, since You are from NJ if You have any connection to this individual?

 

August 24 2011





Country Boy and the Group:


Here is Your Post:

"I was going to post a long post of point by points but just want to make it short. I get on here to read and post but by no means took the time in filling out any info accurately to deliberately make sure my posts are not tracked by companies. Next you have done nothing but provide a DISSERVICE to any company you worked for by the numbers of the cost of training, recruiting"

What I am reading here is that You are not Posting accurate and deliberate information?

Then You are actually saying that You beieve that Your Posts are tracked by the Trucking companys?

Where is It arrogant to provide not rookie, but "entry level driving services" to a company with a real high level of driver turnovers?

I have to work on any Video that I produce about my own experiences, much less to teach It, but sometimes I don't have the time to do them perfectly. I always try to get them going better the next time around, and maybe one day I will redo a few of them. I record them in MP4, something that I could'nt edit in my Windows programs with my first equipment.

I just like the way that I drive, and I don't do It distracted, and my (3) main rules are:

1. Speed management, no cruise control in heavy volume traffic, keeping the 7 second rule.

2. Space management, the 7 plus second rule again, (at night and in weather).

3. Courtesy on the road. I am not going to scare anybody entering and exiting the highway. Fair to say, and no apologys to the trainers on this whatsoever.

I Hope that my written contributions to Wiki answers.com on 45 deg. backing and Parallel parking will help some new people, but It is done in the same way that I am making my Videos, basically just to open up a discussion about these things.

I Love my Rules and I would'nt drive any other way. Thank God that I have some sense to make personal rules and I would'nt have them any other way.

I am not feeling like I have any serious issues with my health, but I will always take the time out to get (3) Diabetes and BP tests from my Doctor's office rather than just one if I am going to be going out on a leave. This is more accurate.

Well, and then my Mother is 88 Years old, and she needs some help around the property and when I am home on a break for my diabetes check ups, I will stay at home for a little while longer to help out there. I think that It is better for the company if I do this as a Student, while I still can, before I go on to a certified driver level, and can't get off on breaks, and need to put my Months or Years in for my experience.

There's nothing more important than employment security except being Safe and accurate, like in not having recorded DOT errors on my employment history but I do realize being there in the first place and doing the work is where It is most important as time goes on. I just think that at my level of experience at the present time that I can't blame myself for not being employed for any long periods of time at any one place. This is the nature of the Industry and I would be a fool not to keep trying to get in somewhere until I can get some steadier work.

I'll do whatever work that each company makes available to do, at Orientation, Online and in the practical sense, this will be my way of distinquishing myself.