Werner Trainer's

You do know and I hope that your husband knows that he could have removed those guys from the truck if they are not up to his par. The truck is the trainer's truck, not the trainee's. Also, if a trainee cant read or write-he's off the truck. PERIOD! The FMCSR states that a driver MUST know how to write, speak and communicate with ENGLISH, and if he doesnt than he should not have been able to get his CDL, and the company that he went to work for should have done their job, as far as that goes, that part is not up to the trainer--but it is up to the trainer to enforce that and have him/her removed from the truck. If some of these supposed trainers would speak up and start taking charge of their trucks(like both the job and the law requires them to)we would have a lot better caliber of new drivers entering into this industry, some of these trainers have no rules and then cant understand why they have problems on their truck with their trainees. There are company rules and there are truck rules--when a trainee comes on your truck, he should be signing off on your rules also..But too many of them(trainers) take the idea that the trainee is another body to drive an extra 2500 miles a week and hey, I get paid for every mile the truck rolls, so, send them on, they can drive and my wallet can get fat---WRONG ATTITUDE! If your attitude is that as a trainer, and your company's attitude is that for training trucks--it is HIGH TIME for you to either move on to something else instaed of a trainer or move on to another company! If you are a trainer and you are there hoping to get rich(like many are), you need to re-assess why you are a trainer. If you are training so you can truly train new drivers and get them in the feild then that is noble--if you are training so you can make your mileage for 5000+miles a week while your trainee suffers at like $500 a week or less(at most companies) then here is a bit of advise--GET OUT OF THE TRAINING BUSINESS, because you dont have a clue what it should be to be a trainer and you should not be in the training business.

The very first company that I drove for--I got $350 a week as a trainee, my trainer only got $.02($.31, non-trainers made $.29) more a mile for me being there--our truck averaged 4200 miles a week for the 6 weeks that I was there, we werent out there trying to make anybody rich or bust out the miles, we were there trying to get me used to the road and used to the job. But the company didnt mind, they let the trainer run the truck as he saw fit. If you figure out the mileage with my trainer that he got with me there you will find that it is only about $450(max)more a week for me being there. The company had that figured at $300, so he actually made a little more, but some of these companies actually admit that the trainer(or mentor) is actually bringing down some $98,000+ a year. Which I dont doubt, but I will put my trainees up against his any day and we will see who has learned more and has a better feel for the industry--something makes me think that it may not be the high pay driver's trainees.

 

It seems to be that way...And if a woman driver has any type of "problems" with her ..uh...equipment (not to be crude about it or anything), the situation of odors in the truck tend to deteriorate pretty quickly.

I've met some female drivers who are just rank....There's no excuse for it.

 

yes, he does know that, and has put a few off, even before they pulled out on the road .
But why the rant on me? My dh is a good trainer. he has to put off some of the men, he gets.
the one that couldn't read a thing was from Ohio, born and raised.
he could drive, and handle the truck, just couldn't read, so my dh taught him how to read road signs. and made sure the company knew he could not read.
my dh doesn't get the miles or the money your talking about . i guess you just felt like ranting, and i was the one. MY dh is a good trainer.
sorry you felt like taking it out on me.
But ,my dh really like driving for Werner, and being a mentor driver. Werner ,has always treated him right.

 

Well, I am happy to hear finally some god things about treining at Werner. I finished orientation on 13th and was told that have to wait in motel for treiner for few days, had emegency call from home so I took LOA. Now I am going back on 1st of Dec. and I am in process of changing career in my 54( after 14 years as inventory control I was laidof)- that is not easy, beleive me, I am not used to do this but I like driving! The only thing I am afraid of is bad or lets say not good treiner which can do really bad for both. I am ready to listen (who am I- begginer!), I am in truck beacause I need to learn this job. I hope I will get good and reasonable person.

 

Im not even gonna dignify this with an answer.

 

I'm supposed to be in the saddle today (as a student) for the first time. I just graduated from an outside school that has a deservedly good reputation. I plan to do things the way I was taught, legal and by the book. I will be a model student and do what I'm told, and learn everything I can. I'm very easy to get along with and take instruction well. I was a military brat and worked in the oilfield for about 1.5 years, so I know about paying your dues, listening, comprehending and showing respect.

What I WON'T do, is run illegal on my logbook, drive an unsafe truck or be denied access to the bathroom or basic hygiene.

There is two sides to every story, for every bad trainer out there, there's a bad trainee. A schoolmate of mine just started with Werner in the beginning of Nov and he just called me to tell me he was switching trainers after two weeks. He said the truck was dirty, the guy's English was very bad and he had my friend driving while he slept almost right away. He didn't want my friend pretripping the truck, as my friend found problems that were ignored. The final straw was the last trailer they picked up had no brakes and he took it anyway down some grades. My friend said they toasted the tractor's brakes, so when he got into Fontana this weekend, he requested a swap.

 

This is one of the trainers that I have been talking about. One that just wants another person so he can make his wallet fat. This is wrong and this is why these type of people should not be trainers and this is why the company should not have let him be so. The company has dropped the ball on this, and they need to be called on the carpet on it. Werner (especially) has tons of trainers that should not be in the truck as either trainers or even drivers, but Werner will take anybody who gets by their evals, no matter where they are from or how bad a driver they are, and then in less than 6 months you can be a trainer. 6 months! Kinda like the blind leading the blind! So to be honest, these stories that I hear about both Werner trainers and drivers are not really that suprising. One of my freinds from driving school went to Werner(back when everybody went to Omaha)there were 227 NEW drivers in the orientation! Like I told him back then, you know that is a driver-mill, most likely(according to stats) only about 40 will actually complete the program and be driving for Werner 6 months from now. Best advice to you is -if Werner hired you then get your training out of the way, complete your 6 months to a year or whatever and move on to a company where you can actually get the respect and pay that you should get, and where you are treated as a person and not as a driver ID.

 

Swift also allows drivers to become trainers after 6 months. I know this for fact because that is exactly how much time my first trainer had been driving. This is something I have never thought is right.

Werner and the other companies do have good trainers that actually care about turning out good drivers if the material (meaning the trainee) is there to work with. My hubby started with Werner, and had a very good trainer. His trainer has been with Werner for years, and still is. He is very happy there. My hubby on the other hand moved on from Werner because they weren't the right fit for him.

 

When I trained (25+ drivers over 4 years) I always made "less" with a student because I took 4 hours a day set aside to let them practice docking / and parking in deserted lots at shippers or in daytime truck stop lots (usually sparse).

I also had a large radio controlled rig (about 2' long) that I used to demonstrate different things.

The big thing good trainers have to do is allow students to learn some things on their own - and to allow mistakes (then correct immediately).

the big things students have to do is keep in mind the investment towards a rewarding career - and to remember that time with a trainer - even a bad one - goes quickly.

 

I'll be starting with Swift, so I'm hoping I get a good one. I met a rehire/former mentor in my orientation and he seems to be really cool. I wouldn't mind having him, but he won't be a mentor for a bit, which will be too late for me. Swift seemed to be very thorough about safety in the orientation, so it looks promising.