Trucking co with good trainers

I took a greyhound. They didnt teach me anything besides that taking a greyhound sucks and unreliable.

 

Old Dominion Freight Line - hires new Evansville cdl grads for local & line haul. You will have to attend a private cdl school though. Best to call and ask which private schools they hire from in your area.
Click here for more information > Apply On Company Site

• High School Degree or equivalent preferred
• Must have the ability to read, write, speak English and perform simple mathematical calculations with general mental abilities to handle receipts, read maps, road signs, maintain logs, etc.
• Must possess a valid commercial driver's license with hazmat, doubles and tanker endorsements.
• Must have 12 months previous tractor-trailer driving experience and/or be a graduate of a State Certified, Licensed and Safety Department approved driving school, and/or have satisfactorily completed the Old Dominion Truck Driver Training school
• Must be at least 22 years old.

 

The biggest thing about training to consider is making sure your so-called "trainer" doesn't get you hurt or killed.

You will have two separate training issues to contend with;

1. Initial training to get your CDL (Truck Driving School)
2. Company training after you get your CDL to get to a level where you can do the job safely on your own while you continue to get experience and learn

As trucking companies grow ever more desperate to fill thousands of empty seats they continue to relax their standards and do things that defy common sense. Even some companies that I otherwise like, and that have been around a long time - and have decent opportunities (If you live long enough to learn enough to survive that is) - do things in their training programs that I strongly disagree with.

One thing is appointing "trainers" who themselves have no more than 90 days or even less of total time driving a truck themselves! That is beyond stupid to me - yet they do it every single day.

Despite the idiocy of doing it - and the serious risk to all involved - somehow MOST of the time people do survive. When they do and they get out in their own trucks eventually over time they accumulate enough experience to do fine. This is why so many companies continue to do it - because most of the time it works well enough to get new rookies up to a level they can go out on there own.

The problem is for those who do not survive the experience.

One that comes to mind was a "trainer" that was in the bunk sleeping while the trainee was behind the wheel in a mountainous area. The truck began picking up more and more speed coming down a long steep downgrade. He came to a curve that he couldn't make and lost it - both he and his trainer died violently and instantly...

So sad - but it is what it is - and it should never have happened.

If the trainer was experienced AND a good trainer he would never have been in the bunk sleeping while a rookie trainee with no more than a few days driving time was allowed to be at the controls alone to begin with. A good trainer in a decent training program would have been in the passenger seat where the trainer belongs - and he would have simply told the trainee to slow down and why as soon as he began to pick up excessive speed to begin with.

What some people call a "Training Program" in truth is little more than a cheap team operation.

I may anger some people for saying this (and I don't care either) but you can NOT be a trainer when you are still a trainee yourself, and any driver who has less than at least one full year of driving experience is still a TRAINEE. However MANY disagree with that and they are making anyone with a pulse that they can get to do the job into trainers these days. Got to fill them empty seats no matter what it takes!

To get your CDL I suggest going to a licensed truck driver training school. Usually 4 to 6 weeks or so and around $4500.00 (maybe a bit more or less depending on the school and where you are). You can go to your employment commission and ask about Work Force funding and other programs that may pay for most of it for you. Many trucking companies will also reimburse you at least part of your tuition over time too if you pay for it when you get your first job.

Then when you choose a trucking company to get your road training with ask them a couple of questions;

1. How much driving experience at a minimum do your trainers have?
2. Do you require or allow your trainers and trainees to run as a TEAM?

Then you have to make your own decision from there...

 

Freymiller - www.drive4freymiller.com - Click on "Recent Graduates" - will reimburse your cdl school tuition back to you if you attend a private cdl school.
This is an OTR company and one of the best refrigerated companies there is for new drivers.

 

Carter Express - has their own cdl school in Anderson, Indiana
Frequent Home Time
Our drivers are home as frequently as nightly, but guaranteed home two days per week.
Competitive Pay
Per Mile
At 44.5 cents per mile, experienced solo drivers can average $1,200/wk or more. Experienced team drivers make 56.5 cents per mile, averaging $3,400/wk.
Our CDL Truck Driver Training Terminals include:

• Anderson, Indiana

• Paragould, Arkansas

Carter Express offers a unique CDL truck driver training program to help qualified applicants earn their CDL. We partner with certified schools and can sponsor our students/trainees. This includes covering 100% of the tuition costs or offering a tuition reimbursement program. Once our trainees have secured their CDL, Carter Express has a six-week paid training program to prepare our trainees for their new career.

 

Jim Palmer Trucking - www.jimpalmertrucking.com - hires Indiana drivers.
CDL school in Springfield, Missouri and Missoula, Montana.
Transportation, meals, lodging provided.
This is a coast to coast refrigerated trucking company.

 

No offense to anybody from this place. However for reasons I will keep private when I was an active driver I told a load planner I would quit my job before I returned to this place or even pass through it . I'm serious, this place still to this day gives me nightmares!