Do they really not teach u how to backup these days ?

From the rediculous behavior I see out here, they may demonstrate backing techniques, but it doesn't stick very well. What they don't teach is not to park on ramps overnight, do not block tge fuel isles, how to merge onto highways, allowing another truck back over after he had the certousy to let you in. Apparently parking on the shoulder for "emergency purposes only" is a thing in the pass and when and how to put out triangles.

They no longer teach how to drive manual transmission because of the inability to comprehend in the new generation. The trucking industry has gotten very unprofessional and no one gives a crap anymore.

 

If you have seen up close, interacted one on one with some of these new drivers, were able to ask them questions about why they did something or didn’t do something you would wonder if they teach anyone anything at all!

A couple hours of training with extremely generous distances between the cones, not ensuring they have a complete understanding and hopping they get lucky and pass the test is not my Idea of teaching someone how to back!

 

The people are right in that the CDL school teaches you to pass the state exam. Unfortunately a lot of the rest boils down to how good of a trainer you get. I got very lucky there...he was a former army DI (I was navy) and right away it was "I've played this game before." I know some folks don't react well to having their rear end chewed (and there were times I wanted to yell back and bit my tongue) but it's serious business when you're operating a such a massive machine on public roadways. The message always sunk in and I was ready when I went out alone.

Many don't get this lucky though...I hear a lot about bad trainers.

Also, enforcement only seems to be a thing in some places. I think it has been proven over and over that parking on the shoulder is very dangerous, yet you frequently see it with no triangles and no flashers. At night even. Seems like the smokeys should be stopping to check that kind of thing out but they really don't seem to care.

 

Almost all CDL schools have only ever taught just how to pass the state exam, maybe community college or state Vo-Tech schools did more, but not much more. That's all my CDL school did when I got my CDL in the mid 1990s. That's all I wanted them to do. You learn 95% of this job working at your first employer and most of them pair you with a one-on-one trainer when you are hired for a couple of months before sending you solo.

 

It's not the schools or the industry that are the problem. They are symptoms of the problem, and make the problem worse, but they are not the root cause of why people can't back into a spot.

The problem is the CDL tests are comprehension based not competency based.

From the start with the multiple guess general knowledge tests a potential driver doesn't need to understand the question or the answer, they just need to identify the correct answer from a list of 4 options. Thus they never have to understand WHY the question is being asked in the first place and HOW the answer is relevant to them. Without relevancy the learner will never internalize the information.

That sets the tone for the "hard skills". The pretrip test has the student looking at fully functioning equipment, memorizing location and parroting off "securely mounted, not bent or broken". I would LOVE to take a lugnut off of a wheel of the trailer in our pretrip station and see if anyone finds it.

Then we move on to backing. Regardless of the quality of the school, the backing test is flawed so the method of instruction will be flawed as well. 12 foot wide hole with a 70 x 70 area in front of the hole (if memory serves) to work with, unlimited time but limited pull ups. That is the opposite of how things really work. We have limited space in front of the hole, 10.5-11 foot spots, and a hoard of impatient drivers/dock workers waiting on us. New drivers are taught to force it in the hole instead of pulling back up and taking another bite at it. They are taught to push past vertical and then make one BIG pull up instead of two small one so they smash the front of the trailer into the mirror of the guy on their blindside. And the thing that pisses me off the most - they get taught to move, stop, steer, then move again. These are all good strategies to pass the test but horrible at teaching the underlying mechanics/theory of backing.

The next problem is the hours requirement. I don't care how many hours of instruction a guy has- I care about how many skill attempts he has. Last week I spent an hour working on backing at the truck stop with my idiot. He did half of one back. I just finished an hour of backing with my guy. He backed into 3 spots and I did one demo. Yet according to the ELDT requirements they both received the same amount of instruction.

The CDL test should be an all day affair. Do the pretrip and take a 15 miles drive, sight side back into a 10.5 hole with 60 feet in front - unlimited pull ups, 10 minute time limit. Then back on the road for another 15 mile drive, blind side back into a 12 foot hole with 60 feet in front. 15 mile drive, sight side angle back. Take a half hour for lunch where they are given the "load" paramenters before lunch they have 30 minutes after lunch to come up with a vuable trip plan, 15 mile drive blind side angle back. Gets given a scale ticket and must "adjust" the tandems to get legal, 15 mile drive, parallel park. 15 mile drive, pull thru spot. Post trip with the trester making the applicant put hands on parts on a random order and explain what that part does.

You want doubles/triples? Better be able to put together and break down a set.

You want a tanker endorsement? Better be able to hook hoses, turn on a pto, air off, etc.

Want to go flatbedding? That's a day of strapping and tarping - coils, suicide coils, shotgun coils, Lumber, big pipes, little pipes.

Change the test requirements and watch how quickly schools and companies increase the quality of their instruction.

 

Totally with you! After straight line I spent much time on serpentines and modified serpentines with side boundries. Then the test maneuvers tend to fall in place.

 

That is correct

 

From one extreme to another. Both equally ridiculous.

It’s true that CDL schools are a scam. When one graduates they do so with little useable knowledge. No one backs into an ally the way it’s taught. About a year after graduating I stopped by my school and asked my instructor why they taught it the way they did since it’s never done that way. He said it’s because that’s the way the Feds require it be taught.

The class was broken up into groups of either 3 or 4 per. One group would practice straight line backing, offset backing and ally backing. The other group would take turns driving on the road. Even though class officially started at 7 AM the instructors never unassed a chair before 8. So on a given day each student got about 35-45 minutes behind the wheel on the road and 2 or if lucky 3 cycles of backing.

Technically the school was 160 hours. But, I was finished about 122 hours into it. Here’s why. The first week was classroom. Weeks 2 and 3 was practicals. Testing began on Monday of week 4. I was the first to test. I passed on my first attempt. As soon as my scores were uploaded into the state system I went to the DMV and got my permit converted to an actual CDL. Since I was at that point official there was absolutely no reason for me to go back.

Then someone mentioned going to school for six months and being with a trainer for six months. That’s equally ridiculous. Some people could spend a lifetime being trained and in my opinion they would never be qualified to drive a rig. On the other hand, many, many people can become proficient in much less time. Doesn’t mean they will be masters, but they will certainly have the required skill set to needed to perform at a reasonable level.

In reality schools do what they are designed to do. They teach a person the bare assed minimal skill set required to pass the CDL test. After that it’s the carrier’s responsibility to teach proficiency. There is no magic number that can cut like a cookie. Yes there should be a minimum time spent with a trainer. I rode with mine for 2 months. By the time I got cut loose we were ready to kill each other and we had been friends for 35 years. But, once a new driver has demonstrated proficiency in all areas required he should be cut loose, period.

Another problem that’s the 800 pound gorilla in the room is the people some carriers use for trainers. Was friends with a driver who had been a trainer for Swift. She told me she became a mentor which is what Swift calls trainers six months after she had been cut loose from her trainer. Is it any wonder why people talk about Swift drivers the way they do?

Just my two cents. YMMV.

 

Idk if this counts , but i checked out Roehl's website and they had a '' 50 question test your general knowledge . '' it was multiple choice and i had no context to alot of questions . I got 42 out of 50 right , because it was multiple choice , i guessed at several , like how far apart the emergency cones should be behind the truck, i got right, a guess . What is the cause of most tire fires , i said hot brakes , wrong . Im just saying , like 1 poster , if i had to write correct answer without multiple choice, i would've bombed out .

 

Did you read the basic drivers manual for commercial licensing?