Failed Tanker Pre-Screen, Need Advice on Contract....

I wanted to update everyone. I just started with today with the Dry Vans line at Schneider. I passed their physical and will be going over the road within a week or so I believe. I will post updates as I get them.

Thanks everyone for your help, well wishes, and most importantly your advice.

 

I started with my training with Schneider last Tuesday in their van lines as an over the road driver. We started off doing a slow maneuver course, backing in a trailer, and then going for drives on the road.

It was going well but my course instructor was leaving and that was her last week which complicated things and was distracting for her. She would take cell phone calls and was constantly checking her messages as she was starting a new career and leaving the trucking industry behind. I failed the initial driving test as I was nervous and she would yell a lot at me which only caused more problems. However I spoke with some of their training staff and voiced my concerns about the initial lack of training as I had not driven a truck or even a stick shift in almost two months.

That day they arranged for me to get a little one on one time with one of the instructors and it helped me immensely. He actually said that it is very rare to see such an improvement from a student in comparison to the observations of the other teachers write up of my driving. He taught me how to skip shift up and down as I was not taught that at my Truck driving school. It helped me a lot and learning the speeds at which to downshift the truck was also a huge blessing as that was another thing I was not really taught well on. He also helped me back the truck up and told me that it

So we went on the road and I enjoyed the experience but I did get frustrated quite a bit. My training engineer (TE for short) was an experienced truck driver. However he was a poor teacher and he would scream and curse when I was not understanding something or having trouble. I was having trouble with backing the truck up for a simple coupling and it would take me awhile as I was afraid of damaging the truck or trailer as I got to do this twice in my CDL school and once prior during the week of Schneider training. He said it was taking to long for me to couple and drop and hook and that we needed to get a move on. I was getting frustrated and that only made the problem worse.

He would yell that he didn't understand what I didn't understand about the procedure and that we needed to line the truck up so we could see the lines. The problem was that it took me a while and eventually I started to get it for the coupling. However backing up a truck and trailer was quite difficult for me and I would get out and look quite a bit as I was terrified of hitting a person or the other trailer or the customers property. I would constantly get berated and talked down to which only frustrated me and angered me. I thought of calling my dispatcher (called a DBL at Schneider) and telling them I refused to get into the truck with him as I had no more patience for it.

I also got annoyed when he yelled at me for not doing the air brake tests correctly as they give you a pamphlet to use which you are allowed to use during the test. I just got nervous again as I know how to do them but it had been awhile. What also frustrated me was that I was told not to do them during the Pre-Trip and Post-Trip inspections when at the truck stop because other truckers were sleeping. I understood that but at the same time how can I get more practice with them if I am not allowed to do them?

I also was constantly getting yelled at for not putting the truck into first gear when parking it because I was taught to put it into neutral and then park it at the CDL school. I also was told that to ensure I was in Neutral I should give the stick a shake as if it was in gear it would not bounce off the spring. This is not the Schneider way, which requires flicking the selector switch up and down when you believe the truck to be in neutral. I was explained why they do it that way and I started to adapt to that procedure. However my point is that I was constantly told that we have to be safe, follow company procedure, and to not take short cuts because it compromises safety.

I felt like skipping the air brake tests violated all three of those maxims, skipping post trip reports and just marking them in the Qualcomm as done is the same. I was told to write in my paper practice log to show them however on the Qualcomm we sat in the truck for "what a reasonable amount of time is to do one" and show it so my TE could smoke or eat some chips or what else.

Another incident that comes to mind regarding policy is when we had dropped an empty trailer off and were supposed to pick up a load at around 4:00. We dropped the empty off and were told our load would now be read at 5:10. My TE said we shouldn't hang around the property as the customer did not like it so we needed to bobtail somewhere. We had passed a little empty cull de sac where we saw other drivers bobtailing while most likely waiting for their loads. It got awkward as I decided to eat my lunch on the little grassy field next to us (I had a Subway Sandwich) and then he looked at me like I was crazy for not wanting to eat in the truck. After I finished my sandwich I went back up into the drivers seat he asked me to leave. He said he hated it when his stomach was gurgling and acting up. He then asked me to wait outside and I believe he had a bowel movement into the garbage bag. It just weirded me out as he could have used the rest room at the previous site but didn't want to sit in their lot.

I was told that I have two options. I can call my CDL school and see if they will let me come back for a little more training and practice with regards to my backing and my road time. My other option is that I come in and take another SQT (Skills Qualification Test or driving test) with one of the instructors. If I pass I will be sent on the road with another TE for 5-10 days and proceed to the third week of their training where I learn trip planning, the Qualcomm, and fill out more paperwork. When I asked about more time with their instructors and to learn their procedures training like they gave me the first three days I arrived I was told that since I already passed an SQT that I could not have any more time to work my skills. When I asked about trying an automatic truck, since the TE said it would probably clean up a lot of my problems, I was told that they would not give me an automatic truck simply because I asked for it. I understand that the 10 Speed truck is the basic truck but I was hoping for a little leeway.

I am very frustrated and upset right now for letting the TE get to my head and affect my driving. I was told that I am still under contract with them because of the tankers. However when I asked the recruiter at the operating center about it she transferred me to my recruiter who said she would send me an updated contract or a new contract (I can't remember as this was like ten or eleven days ago). I will not sign anything if they send me a new contract and I am skeptical about being able to change a contract at will as I will be reviewing mine more thoroughly. But if they send a new contract, doesn't that mean the old one is void?

I am not sure what will happen and will let everyone know. Thanks for all the support. I would like to stay with Schneider but I don't want to end up owing them and not having a job when I put forth a lot of effort for them.

 

What do you mean? I'm still very much a newbie to all this stuff. The flicking of the selector switch indicates that you are in neutral because you can hear it when the engine is not running at least in Schneider trucks.

I'm not sure if you meant that or the moving the stick against the spring. Either way it is frustrating being taught one thing then being told it's wrong and you should know the correct way.