May trainers! UNITE!

My point is that the Feds have determined 160 hrs of book/drive time is sufficient enough training to qualify for a Class A license.

With that license, one is supposedly experienced enough to get in a truck pulling a 53' trailer in New York city

What difference does it make (using the feds standard) whether a guy has one year or seven years experience as a trainer? My job as a trainer was to go over policies and procedures of the company with the new driver, not teach him how to drive.

 

ok....
never mind.
just come back to this thread in 2016 and read what you said posted to yourself out loud and then tell me what you think about training "company policies"

 

May hires new guys, Gordon seats some of those same guys on their trucks after 6 mos of otr driving...go figure

 

He has a great point. If you are not learning now, even as a trainer, you are not doing your job. You should always be trying to learn more about whatever it is you do in order to become better at it.

 

We as trainers with May should not have to teach someone to drive. If a student driver boards our truck, we teach them the best way we can how to do things the May way.

There is no way under May's training program that the student driver will get off the trainer's truck and know everything there is to know in this industry, no matter how long he was on the truck. Our job is to make sure we teach them skills that they can use to be successful at May Trucking.

Even if the training program were longer than what it is now, it would most likely change into what other new hire companies do and that is to exploit the new driver for as long as they can. Make the new hire and trainer drive team and pay the new driver peanuts for up to 3 months. How is having a team operation going when the trainer is in the bunk sleeping or not paying attention to what the new guy is doing? At least May requires the trainer to be on duty and in the seat while the student drives and that the truck cannot operate longer than 14 hours without the required break.

May not be perfect in its training program, but honestly what company is?

 

My point is not that the training is to short its that you guys with 3 years otr or LESS are unqualified to train.
As for the comment about Gordon, I don't get it. But I can say they hire from IITR here in the NW and they used to have standards in your scores. As for May I have no cluse what their standards are for hire but it is clear from you guys that their standards for training are looooooooowwwwwwwwww................in the experience area

 

I'm sure May would love to only have trainers as good as you are georgeandson. Unfortunately, most of the guys who have three yrs of experience don't want to train newer drivers, for whatever reason.

Longevity behind the wheel does not necessarily ensure a successful trainer either. My trainer had over 2 million miles experience and I can assure you that when a guy solo(ed) off my truck, he knew a hell of a lot more than I did when I got off my trainer's truck. I had only 150k miles behind the wheel too

 

I'm not talking about basic fundamentals of driving either. I mean company policies and procedures.

 

I can answer that.
You guys think you know everything about everything LOL
We don't want to waste our time teaching some one that thinks they already know everything.

Just remember this thread when your stuck in the snow on day in the mountains and your student looks at you and asks what do we do now? LOL But chains don't help.

 

Georgeandson -
In an effort to steer you to a meaningful conversation. About your straw man argument: Three years of experience is as arbitrary as picking 4 years, or 2 years, or...fill in the blank. I've seen/known/ridden with, drivers with little more than 1 year experience that I'd recommend as "qualified" to teach someone new to the industry the fundamentals of driving. I've also seen/known/ridden with drivers with 20+ years of "experience" that I'd not recommend someone new to the industry take any guidance from. The point is, in some cases, a number is only that. 20, one year experiences does not equal the same as 20 years of experience...that fact is solid regardless of what you change the number to. But rather than feed into your "point" any further, what specifically is your vision then for an industry that requires teaching of new hires with drivers having little experience (experience based on number of months/years only). Emphasis is on the "REQUIRES". This really isn't about May, or any of the other companies and their possibly minimal trainer tenure, rather, what is the industry to do given the sheer number of new hires needed to fill the seats of the companies? Make a vaild supportable argument solving for that, and you'll win friends and influence people. Cheers.
ps - I'm not a trainer at May, but I did start driving in 1981. Trailers were a little smaller then, but the trucks still were slow.