Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Let me first say that Johnboy was not one of my trainers.

There were instances where I found that things my trainer was doing, or telling me to do were incorrect. Not even from a truck driving perspective, but just driving and roadcraft in general. It would never cross my mind to tell the trainer he was wrong, though I did discreetly ignore his instructions on a few occasions.

Its important to understand the dynamic. As a trainee, you need the trainer's approval to advance. Creating tension or conflict with that trainer isnt going to help you, and to be honest, isnt going to make the trainer change his ways, so why do it?.

Keep your head down, mouth shut and get through it as quickly as possible.

 

A good trainer can make or break you in this world. First company I was with-horrible trainer. She was really just a driver. One who had co-driven with her then ex-husband for 10 years, been out of the business for 10 years, and then had come back for just a year. We ran team from the get-go. Actually, first trip out, we had both been up all day and she ran her log book, my log book and part of hers again before we ever stopped. Great introduction into trucking, huh?
Second company-terrific trainer. Let me make mistakes and see what I did wrong once I got past the first week (as long as it wasn't life or property threatening). She was always in the jump seat for the first 2 1/2 weeks and even after, all I had to do was ask and she was right there (although she made me THINK my way out of situations instead of just telling me what to do). We did not run team. We did do some super solo stuff towards the end and in 21 days, I was off her truck and shoved into one of my own with no clue and no lifelines.
IMO, if you are in training, you should not be driving as a true team. Super solo, sure. But you, as the trainee, have ZERO experience driving these behemoths down the road and your trainer has the responsibility to teach you to do so safely. How can that be done if the trainer is sleeping because you're running team? A month is a short time, so why not let the trainee get the most of it by having the trainer right there? Of course, some people shouldn't be trainers in the first place and if a company truly cares about turning out professional drivers and not just bodies in a seat, those bad trainers should be weeded out of the training program, just as trainees who don't cut it are.
Trainees these days, too, are more likely a product of that coddled, entitled generation. You know it all, done it all. Yada, yada, yada. Rinse, repeat. Not all of them, just enough to give the rest a bad name (just like those pin heads who dump their trash and piss bottles in the parking lot). This is definitely not a job for the average person. My son, at one point before he got engaged, said he was thinking about being a driver. I told him no, it's not for you. He likes structure and this job is not it. Period. Could he do a local job? Sure. But we all know how hard those are to come by, even for experienced drivers. The ones that pay pretty decently and don't have you working 14-16 hours a day so that you can actually have a home life. Trust me when I say, if/when I find that, I'm out of here.

 

Jesus! That was long. Sorry.

 

My very first day on the trainer's truck I drove my full 11hrs. Trainer drove us from Richmond to Wytheville, we swapped there and by the time we got past Knoxville he had hopped in the bunk. Didn't take the wheel again until I was out of hours.

Previous to that day, my only tractor trailer driving experience was the road test with Bill the day before and CDL school 21 years earlier.

We ran team the whole time I was on his truck. The only concession towards me being a trainee was that he wouldnt let me drive the night shift.

 

The lack of structure or even just a schedule is what I struggle with most doing OTR. Living in a truck for months at a time is a non issue, but its not knowing where you are going next and the jacked up hours you wind up running that I hate. Luckily I don't need a lot of sleep to function, but it still sucks driving tired.

 

One of my first trainers his Nick name was "Santa Claus" (I'm not kidding) and he look like Santa Claus. BUT! The guy had many problems... Like if he was driving down the road he would literally SNAP and start screaming, cursing, finger signal to other drivers and he was a racist!
One week later I decided to get out of his truck!
To me this "Santa Claus" needed to be put in the "NAUTY LIST' ... Permanently!

 

And thats the problem here,the traings more team driving,and abilene promotes it.

When I first startef in thiis business,had a trainer named Joe,stayed in the jumpseat while I dtove.

You cant train from a bunk.

 

Is everyone getting the latest news from Abilene HQ. Qualcomm systems are down! They can't track us!

 

Hammer down!!!

 

BRB stopping at the porn store in Pliny, WV.