passing ettiquette...does anyone teach this or do you just have to learn..

If the trainer does not train you how to pass properly then it is his fault !
It is about time that people start holding these so called trainers and everyone else in this industry responsible for doing the job right .

Saying it is not the trainers fault is a cop out .
Trainee's cannot learn the right way if they are not taught right .
If you are taught to ride the cruise no matter what then that is all you know how to do .
If you are taught to let off the cruise to let the other guy get out of the way then you do as you were taught to do .

As far as common sense goes if that was a requirement for a CDL then there would be allot more empty trucks out there than there is now .
If rookies need to think for themselves and not follow their trainers leads then there a lot of companies wasting time and money on their training programs .....LOL

The truth is there is very little training done on the truck driving side of the business and more training on the company paper work side of the business .

I have seen more untrained or under trained drivers in the last 10 years than I have seen just plain bad drivers . It is more of a case of having no clue than not giving a_______ fill in the blank here .
This all goes back to the fact that the new drivers do not interact with the old hands the way we did in the old days.
Being it sitting in the restaurant or handing out in the tv room or just hanging out in the parking lot shooting the breeze .
You just don't see drivers interacting with each other any more we lock ourselves in our cabs and pull the curtains.

It is not one thing by its self that has made it what it is today it allot of little things all added up that has changed the world we live in today and it is ALL of our faults.
But without training being done right the new guys will know how to do the job right to start with .

New drivers are like kids if you don't teach your children they don't know any better and drivers are they same way they just don not know any better and in the end we all suffer for failing in our jobs to train them properly !!

With that I will end my little training rant for the day !! LOL have safe day everyone .

 

Like Paul 1052, I also have an ungoverned truck and avoid like the plague the clumps of Swifts, Gordons and Knights trying to get all they can out their 61-63 mph rigs. I'll hang back for miles and miles while they duke it out unless the speed limit allows me to pull right on by, say, at least 65 mph. Then I'll use my extra kick to get by reasonably quickly when I do.

 

Safety and common sense.. I do the same thing if someone is passing me and they are a little faster, i'll back out a click or two then get back in it.

 

That is the number one thing I miss about being in an ungoverned truck, having that extra boost available to make quick and safe passes then getting back down to a fuel sipping speed once I'm clear.

 

Many fine trainers and many are not.Alot in trucking has to do with common since and no one should have to hold their hand every step of the way.If trainees cant make decisions out there then they shouldn't even be driving Who says trainers don't teach passing etiquette just because you see some bone head new driver acting like an idiot.Once trainees are done and become the captain of their own ship they do as they please.Its not just trainees either,ever see some of these veterans.

 

Good point when I started driving in 1985, was thrown in a truck and told to go. I made it but had been around my uncles that were drivers. They passed along lots of info and that helped out so much. And I was one of those persons that would walk up to someone and ask them if I did not know. Not act like there not anyone there that could teach me anything. These days I see so many that think I know it all and can't learn from that old man. Sad Sad.
Pete