Driving with a friend for experience

. Thanks for the laughs . CDL mills train students to get a CDL - that's it . Why is it that schools accept students with DUI's , felonies , and poor driving records ? They know very well these students won't get hired . The states give them a license to steal .
Prehires ? . ALMOST everybody here knows what a joke they are . You and a few students must be the exception .
Who would hire an inexperienced driver with no training ? Better companies than the "major carriers " with high turnover that hire CDL mill graduates because no sensible experienced drivers will go to work for them .

 

I think most people misunderstand what a CDL school is all about.
They are not there to teach you to drive. They are there to assist you getting a license.
Period.
Anyone that expects a graduate from the school to be a qualified or nearly qualified driver is terribly naive.
That's what training companies, what some of you call bottom feeders, are all about.
Some companies want experienced drivers only. Two years of experience or more.
Some will take a license graduate and TRAIN them to be a driver.
What has developed here over the last few years is a new education industry, but this one is cloaked in the garb of a trucking company.
Think of the training companies as another college. The university of Swift, or U of Prime or Stevens or whomever.
Would you chastise Harvard because few of their students last longer than 4 years? Would you consider them a 'bottom feeder' because they charge thousands to turn out a green graduate?
Then why chastise a trucking company, whose business model is to turn out trained drivers?
After two years at (name of company here) most drivers are fairly competent.
But before getting to that two year mark, the highway is littered with the bones of many wannabes that found out trucking isn't for them.
It's a hard business that requires hard work, and let's face it...most people don't want to put the effort out or the requirements of the job (long hours, extended time away from home, etc) are more than they want to deal with.
Like it or not, the industry has changed.
Insurance companies, lobbied by training companies, have instituted policies that require new driver candidates have 168 hours of formal training at an accredited CDL school.
Now I know many of you think this is a waste of time, but think about all the reqirements of drivers today that weren't around 30 or 40 years ago.
Think of things like CSA or pre/post trips.
How many of us had a basic understanding of what a brake chamber is or what a slack adjuster is?
These schools teach the students all these basics, plus the rules of the road, and JUST ENOUGH driving experience to pass the test.
NOW they are ready to begin learning how to be a driver.
And that's what starter companies are all about.
I think we get a much better grade of beginner these days out of the CDL 'mills' than 40 years ago when I started.
The problem as I see it is how this has become a gravy train for government dollars to train people for a job they are not qualified for, nor inclined.
But unemployed sit around watching TV ads late at night or during the daytime with lines like: "Be a Big Rig operator and start earning YOUR share of the big Dollars!"
If there wasn't all this government money around for the training companies, these beginner companies would be vetting potential candidates much better.
Without a steady stream of new candidates from the schools, they'd have to change their business model.
And the companies who only hire drivers with two years or more experience would have to find a new stream of 'newly experienced' drivers, without which they will neeed to pay more money.
So it's all about money.
Training new drivers is an industry that keeps bringing a whole new cadre of inexperienced drivers to the table, from which the companies can pay lower wages.

 

Im glad you got some laughs out of my post.

Now, on a more serious note, please......as I asked before, give us a better option. Rather than laugh at what I said and give us your opinion, please back it up with facts.

Consider a person that has absolutely no experience, never driven a truck before, doesnt have a family member or a friend with a truck but they still want to enter the transportation industry.

Please tell me, with all of your vast experience and knowledge, give me a straight answer based on facts......whats the best way for that person to become a truck driver?



See, I went to a private school that screened me up front to ensure my record and MVR was clean and that I was illegible for job placement before they even let me enroll in school. They arranged easy financing with very little money down. I was pre-hired with the same company that I am working for to this day before I even started the class, I am making great money......the works hard, days long, but Im paying my bills and even getting ahead. The company Im working for is paying me back for my tuition and I am getting the experience I need under my belt to allow better opportunities in the future.

I had my class A already. A family member taught me how to take and pass the CDL exam. The problem was that everywhere I looked, no one would hire me because I didnt have experience and I didnt have training. After going to school, I was at orientation for my new employer within 3 days of graduating.

Oh, two of my classmates went to the same company, another went to Boyd Brothers and the other went to KLLM. Every one of my class mates got hired.

I dont know how you can ask more of a school.....but by all means, if you have a better solution, id love to hear it.

 

What more could I ask of a school ? They could be as selective hiring students as carriers are hiring drivers - no DUI's , no felonies , etc.
Have you ever heard of anyone failing a CDL school ? I worked for a company that would train inexperienced drivers . The worst driver I have ever seen in my life came from a school that had the best training and equipment . I called the school and really laid into them about sending us such an incompetent and reckless person . They admitted that student needed several tries to pass some testing .
I'm glad things are working for you but you are an exception . Why do you think the major carriers are constantly hiring inexperienced drivers ? It's not because of increasing business . Most of them have reduced the size of their fleets . They are constantly hiring because drivers are constantly quitting . That's a fact .
The real answer is somebody looking for a career should look elsewhere besides the trucking industry if they want any kind of opportunity . There is little chance of advancement in the trucking industry . Sure , a new driver starting out can advance from starting pay to the top rate but once you get there that's it . Rates aren't increasing and some drivers are taking pay cuts and losing benefits .
If people quit flocking to CDL mils and supplying major carriers with an oversupply of victims to chew up and spit out there might be some improvement .
You are also one of the few to whom a prehire had any meaning . Run a search on prehire here and see what comments others have made about them .

 

Certainly, I can't argue with you there. If a school is accepting students regardless of background that is shameless. They are being dishonest and tempting students with the hope of a job.

My school told me flat out and up front, the pre-hire letter issued by my carrier was a conditional offer only. That the employment offer was only good IF my application was accurate. IF I didnt omit any negative background info and IF I passed the school and got my CDL.

They told me that the carrier does NO background on the student until you show up to orientation. They accept your application at face value and assume you have told them the truth.

Of course if you withheld negative info they will not hire you.


As far as the trucking industry in general.....Im on par to make about $50,000 in my first year. I am averaging around 2500 miles per week. Im home most weekends, have a nice truck. The work is hard at times.....strapping and tarping is a pain and my back is sore on most days.

But I defy anyone to show me a job that pays $1000 a week straight out the gate with only 3 weeks of training.

 

sure won't....

 

never once have i been asked "have you ever been on a trip in a truck b4".nor have anyone i know....a company does'nt care either way about that.sure it sounds nice,but that is far from a factor for them.they hire people that has never even been behind the wheel of a standard trans.

only reason i bring this up is to keep the facts str8.so the one doing the ride alongs don't think they are gaining a perk to tell the company later.as if that would help them.i mean unless the guy just likes riding along and getting a personal feel for it.thats about all it's worth.

 

if you are on payroll and run a log book with the company he is leased under.then maybe so.but if he is an o/o running his own loads and you are just riding along or driving and he is 10/99'ing you or paying you himself or under the table, then i'd say no.

1 thing to be aware of is this,once out of school if you sit on your cdl for over a couple of months maybe less.the company may not accept you without a refresher course.

 

It will count as experience . The question is will it count as enough experience ?