Driving School for Dummies...

My personal opinion is Truck driving schools are in business to make money. They will tell you what you want to hear to put you in a class.

A great driving school will be up front with you and tell you if you have a shot of getting a good job or not. Most say they have job placement, but that doesn't mean you will have a job once you graduate. I believe Community Colleges, are the best bet, they dont promise job placement but usually are very well accredited.

With the economy the way it is, most decent companies have they're pick of good drivers. so if they are worth working for, they would probably take a driver with expirience over a Student, or new driver.

Again, this is just an opinion

 

The Ideal Truck Driving School huh? Well, here's how I'd do it.

The school would be affiliated with a Community College, course lasting a minimum of 3 months (longer if needed). No dang "simulators", everything real world.... weather and all. After week 1, learning about log books and such, no 9 to 5; you'll be coming in at odd hours (including 3 or 4 am) just like real trucking. You will keep log books and 14 hour days.

Everything is hands-on and get dirty. You'll spend a week crawling under and over a truck until you know exactly how each system works; air, electrical, braking, power dividers, the whole thing and you will be doing this until you get it right. Learning road repairs too.

Now you'll go out in the yard. You'll back, turn and maneuver until I know you can do it without killing somebody. However long it takes is up to you.

Only after you can do all that do you get out on the road. Daylight, night runs, pretrips, post trips, every thing you will do when you're doing it for real.

Ah Hell, you know this would never happen. Too many whiners out there looking for "special treatment" because of their skin color, sex or other "special considerations".

 

NO government funding unless there is a definite driver shortage . All schools would be required to finance tuition with payments to be deducted from the driving job the driver gets after graduation . No job , no obligation to pay .
All schools should have simulators . Don't send students with no experience out to play in traffic . Students need to learn how to react to situations they won't experience in regular school road time . Simulators will also weed out students that lack the aptitude to ever be a driver . No more schools taking thousands from a student that ends up being rejected at orientation because he can't pass the road test .

 

Reading this I first thought of the "trucker's school" in Wells, NV...you know the one, advertises on the CB...

Free coffee, free shower, free conversation...
NO OBLIGATION!

 

Well most people who get into trucking already know how to drive something. A truck is just bigger. I said "most" because schools do not check that out. Had a girl in my class who could not drive a manual. She never did learn. I can tell you one thing, none of the truckers on this forum were born driving a truck. Just about anyone can drive a truck in a straight line. It's turning and backing that'll get ya. That can only be learned from experience. There is no way to teach someone how to drive a truck without having them drive a truck. The only thing schools could do differently is to let people stay if they feel they aren't ready.

 

I guess the school I am in may be a little different from others I have heard of.

Its free for a start, 18 weeks long.

Drug tested third week, permit 4th week.

Been shown how to chain, strap down loads and adjust trailer brakes along with various other little gems which i haven't heard of other schools doing. Also get to work in the warehouse loading and unloading. All training trucks are 08 Freightliner triple axle day cabs.

I test on Tuesday and will then have 8 weeks of driving experience with the company drivers before i graduate, this equals about 10,000 miles for those who are willing to do it, this is the payback for the school being free along with some other minor warehouse duties.

Ex students drop by all the time and tell us what its like out there, they are fairly honest so nobody should still have the wool over their eyes.

I see a lot of positives in the approach the school takes, however negatives as well like large class size and some interesting personalities. My take is that someone with 10,000 miles experience is more hireable than someone with none, certainly hope that proves to be the case anyway

 

I hope they give you a day of "terminology"...I know your trucks they are 2 axle (drive axles are what you count...every truck should have a "steer axle" I hope)...tri-axle would be for heavy haul operations, and the "third" axle is usually a "tag" (other terms have been used depending on the region) meaning it isn't always down and engaged, it can be raised when not needed to displace weight...and in saying that it isn't an active drive axle...just for weight displacement.