does CRST really do this? or am I reading too deep into something

No surprise. This is why minimum training standards should've been put into place along time ago, something the dimbulbs at FMCSA couldn't figure out even on their best days. Student/student teaming and student/trainer team driving should at least be banned or done away with, not used as cheap labor by these BFI training companies like CRST, Prime, England, and Schneider, or by lease purchase operators. Trainers should go through rigid qualification, have a minimum amount of experience, (at least 3 Years or 300k miles), and stricter monitoring of training to make sure these company trainers are actually teaching these students, not hopping into the sleeper and leaving that student to fend for themselves when a dangerous situation comes up, just because that trainer is more interested in making extra miles.

 

Absolutely agree. I "graduated" from phase 1 training with CR England and had spent a total of around 1 hour practicing backing during the 4 weeks I was on the trainer's truck. The only thing I really learned during training was how to hurry up, including bypassing weigh stations/ports of entry and skipping pre/post trip inspections and gundecking the associated Qualcomm reports. Got paired with a driver with two weeks less experience than I had for phase 2 and ended up quitting after two weeks on the truck where I was actually afraid to go to sleep because my co-driver was an awful driver and showed even worse judgment when behind the wheel.

 

I gave a yard Goat $20 once to back it into a super tite dock in Atlanta.

 

I will NEVER have someone else park my office/home. I have a certain level of pride in my trade.