LI Driving Schools

Here's an old post from September 2013.

#1
vanapaganLight Load Member

Messages:75Thanks Received:52Joined:Apr 29, 2013Location:Merrick, NY

ONTRA CDL Driver Training, Ronkonkoma, NY
Pros: Experienced real world truck drivers teaching CDL Class A students.
Cons: Limited equipment and instructor availability. No learner’s permit preparation.
I choose this CDL School after doing much research into CDL schools on Long Island, NY. I am a 50 year old male who is making a career change from a 30+ year career in information technology and have practical teaching experience on technical and safety topics. So I understand how hard it is to teach commercial driver training in a safe environment.


The training equipment is good. The tractor is a 1999 Freightliner with a 10-speed transmission with a 53 foot 1996 trailer (no ABS brakes on the trailer). There is no classroom for permit training. You are expected to obtain the CDL A learner permit on your own. If you read the NY CDL manual available from DMV you should have no problem passing the tests. The minimum you need for a CDL A learner’s permit are the general, combination and air brakes written tests.

There is also no “office” to speak of for this school. There is an office in Patchogue but students never go there. You meet your instructor at a vacant lot off of Portion Road (between Beech & Elm Streets) in Ronkonkoma. I believe they may have relocated to another vacant lot near the Long Island Expressway since I have seen the trailer parked there on recent trips out to Eastern Long Island.


The two main CDL instructors have full time jobs with local gasoline tanker companies and bring a wealth of information to the student. One plus is that the first lessons of the day are not totally rigid to time. If you and the instructor show up early the lesson starts early and ends at the designated time so not to short change the student after you on time. One minor problem is instructor availability. In the summer months, Steve, one of the owners of the school is mainly devoted to the sister motorcycle school. Dave the other owner of the school handles most of the CDL instruction with another instructor also named Dave as the alternate instructor. Lessons need to be scheduled around the two Dave’s work schedules and with the summer driving season and increased gasoline tanker deliveries the instructors work overtime at their tanker jobs thus limiting your lesson choices. Most of my lessons were at 8AM on Saturdays with Dave, the owner, with a couple of mid-morning lessons with the other Dave. This is a relatively new school (about 1 year of operation) so they are between the “doing it part-time” and having a full time dedicated instructors for the school. Additionally, also only having one truck limits the amount of training slots available to students.


First practice session is usually in one of the local multiplex theater parking lots near the lot and latter lessons on the various roads around Ronkonkoma, NY and the surrounding towns. You do get a varied exposure to different driving scenarios. The instructors also keep upping the challenges for the student with tight corners to maneuver around and other road hazards one may encounter.


I purchased the 16 hour package that consisted of eight 2-hour lessons. I got off to a slow start because I hadn’t driven a stick shift in over 30 years and the trucks have double clutches. I wound up learning to power shift instead.
The downside of my training was that I felt intimidated by the “owner” Dave during road lessons. It may have just been me but I did have several conversations about the intimidation factor. When driving with the “other Dave” lessons felt like a Sunday drive. Unfortunately, the next lesson would be enduring “owner Dave” un-teaching me the methods the “other Dave” had taught me from the lesson prior.


In the end, I wound up switching schools and going with a “so-called CDL Mill” in Brooklyn, NY (Ferrari/D. Pinto) to finish up my road test preparations and eventually obtaining my CDL Class A with a 40 foot trailer and a Mack 6 speed tractor. I felt continuing with ONTRA was counterproductive though I had learned a lot. Driving the congested streets of East New York, Brooklyn, NY was less stressful than any of my lessons with ONTRA. My “CDL Mill” instructor did much to alleviate any fears and hesitations I had while operating a truck. I felt so comfortable driving that not even driving my truck into a drug deal “gone wrong” on the streets by the Glenwood houses un-nerved me.

As a final grade I would give ONTRA a "B".

 

How many hours is the school? The old post doesn't have that.

 

That's probably ok for local box truck jobs. Most tractor trailer jobs want 160 hrs. If you can't swing the 160 hr. school then go ahead and get your cdl with the 16 hrs. and start looking from there. Several OTR companies will hire you with the 16 hrs. simply because you have the cdl, but they will further school you in their company school.
Millis Transfer is one of them I'm pretty sure.

 

That's a good list; I'd put OD at the top.

 

ABF has you working the docks for hourly pay while a driver trainee. I don't think the others have that.