New drivers

Once you complete CDL school; then 10 days of training with your first company is plenty.

 

i went down to cedar hill, TX for C.R England. people that dont have cdl's have two days of studying before they take their cdl general knowledge !!!!!! then 7 or 8 days of practicing range and road.

im thankful i have my cdl but no job yet though. i didnt have to go thru that tho.

they disqualified me the day after the physical because of using xanax for panic attacks legally. it's precribed.

so in other words, they want me to have a panic attack and lose my head, wreck the truck and KILL EVERYONE ! they said come back in 3 months and get a letter from your doctor saying your not on it anymore.

they gave me a ticket home, if they didnt, i was gunna rip that #### place apart no joke i dont care if i end up in jail.

i expressed how much i thought it was ######## and that was it.

 

And some people wonder why trucking companies refuse to take drivers who take Xanax or have panic disorders...

 

absolutely not. you will, for the first few months, go through many days where you wonder how in gods name you grew gills, and agonize over the fact that you can no longer breath in the blasted oxygen atmosphere. the best advice i can give is make sure you realize what a short time it is. too short. get in as much as you can during that time. do NOT let any question you have go unasked. do not avoid any opportunity to practice and get feedback on your skills. dont act like everythings okay, and that you are confident in your skills. be confident, yes. but admit your fears and inhibitions. when you are alone in that first solo truck, thats it, game over. as nervous as you will feel doing some things, you will be expected to handle it as a professional, trained driver. it will be daunting at times, but most people find they can handle it.

but ANYONE who tells you that, during the first 6 months as a solo driver, they at no time felt as if they were unequipped for the situation is a liar. we ALL had days that were an absolute mess, or at least where we were an absolute mess.

 

Watkins does have a program where they send you out with a mentor for a few weeks if you feel you are not ready to go solo, I highly recommend it. Seems like only about 20% of new drivers make it to 6 months.

 

10 days is enough time to have you lose your license after an accident. Get with somebody and get as much training as you can. Trying to hurry up through training will only hurt in the long run. 1 accident could keep you from decent employment for the rest of your career. Companies don't even like hiring people who had recent accidents and most will let you go for a simple backing accident. I have heard of some of the places W&S deliver to, and even with 14 years experience. I would pass. Yes being in a truck with a stranger is not easy to do, but 2 heads are better then one. Even if the guy who is training you only has a year experience. Now if you are a fast learner go right ahead, but putting a few hundreds miles under your belt before you are thrown to the wolves. Will add a few years to your career if you are a safe driver.

 

Ill say this much.
Our trainers, in Montana and Conover are fantastic at what they do, and can pick up easily on ANYONE who's is not ready for the road. It's not often at all that hear about a brand new driver having and accident, and over the years iv noticed that the major wrecks are by drivers that have 10+ years expierence.
Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying that the newbs are not having any.
They will NOT let you on your own if they don't feel confident that you can not safley operate the equipment.
Yes, many MANY expierenced drivers with over 10 years exp won't go to many of the places that we go, but that does not mean you have too.
Some may say Watkins is forced dispatched, negative! They are not. It's Extreamly frown upon to turn any load down, but not forced.
I like challange and never once turned down a single load if I could hel it, and it took an extream amount hurdles for me to have ever turn one down.
Ray, the owner was head of The American Trucking Accossiation at one point in time, and while he held that position had the same exact 10 day training program that runs the same to this day.
A lot of our drivers are friendly, and very helpful, it wouldn't be so bad being in a truck with someone here for a few weeks.

And in response to the " two heads are better then one"
i can't count how many times I was parked at truck stops, or on a docks and seen new drivers hit other trucks, property and find out that TWO ppeople were in the truck! Rare to see a solo backing and hitting stuff.

 

im sorry...there is WAY too much wrong with this post. the major wrecks do not have an over abundance of veteran drivers with 10+ years under their belt. that just plain lunacy. id need to see actual statistics to convince me otherwise, and by the sound of this post, soon2be has not seen any. hes seen a few accident news reports, and came to this silly conclusion based on no facts, just his anecdotal evidence.

its rare to see a solo driver backing and hitting stuff......seriously? since backing accidents happen all over, all the time, and the number of solo drivers FAR exceeds teams, this silliness outs itself.

if you are new, please take what soon2be has to say about HIS company somewhat to heart...as for the rest, please disregard...he is COMPLETELY full of it.

 

Some need a trainer, some don't. You'll have to decide which you are.

Many WS drivers have been successful without the aid of a trainer.