Good lord, have I got some bad habits!!!!

JustSonny · Dec 9, 2009

TripleSix said: ↑

Welcome to Moron Trucking. You have experienced the joyful pleasure of having sunshine blown up your posterior by our wonderful recruiters. However, now reality sets in. Enjoy the feeling of cattle heading to slaughter for the rest of your stay at Moron Trucking.

How many tractors does this "Moron Company" have? And how do I go about getting in touch with them. I have a good feeling about getting on with them!

From what Ive seen:
You go into orientation. At a bottom feeder company, there will be 30 others just like you waiting to get started every week.

Aaah, Trip, I thought I was gonna be special! No, huh?

You sit there for a couple days watching company propaganda films and stupifying safety films. While you are watching films, you notice that the size of the class has shrunk.
Be late to class, youre out.
Lie about accidents or work history, youre out.
Fail the drug test, youre out.
Even if you have a DOT card, theyre going to make you do a DOT physical. Fail the physical, youre out.
You will take a quick, super easy driving test. If you cant find the gears, youre out. If you jump a curb, youre out. Stall the truck more than once, youre out. "My truck in truckdriving school had a ______ transmission and so I dont know how to shift this one" isnt going to cut it. Either you can drive or you cant.

I can't think of a clever retort for the above. Guess I'll just have to mind my Ps and Qs.

(For flatbedders) After they issue the doorslammers their trainers, you will have to take a tiedown class that usually lasts 2 days. Then they will put you with a trainer. If you cant figure out how to get along with the trainer, theres a good chance youre out.

This deal of training with someone who doesn't have very much experience still scares the bejeesus out of me. It's not necessarily their inexperience driving that's the problem; it's their inexperience with the industry as a whole.

Upon completion of your 6 weeks with the trainer, they will issue the doorslammers their very own "state of the art" fleet truck. Flatbedders will have to take a tiedown test and pass before they are issued their gear.

Maybe I'm just overly cautious but 6 weeks just doesn't seem like enough time. I guess the carriers have it figured out though.

Do something really stupid as a rookie, and your entire driving career is in jeapardy.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot TripleSix!

Oldnew....

JustSonny · Dec 9, 2009

notarps4me said: ↑

Yeah; most don't mind lying to you, but don't dare lie to them. They can overlook one party lying, but two will break the camels back...
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Two party lying - that's got to be confusing for both parties!

JustSonny · Dec 9, 2009

rwings said: ↑

Lying about anything on your application is definitely the *1 reason people are rejected, especially at company orientation. Companies have a constant flow of people looking for jobs, so why would they waist their time with someone who just lied to them.
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Why indeed!

JustSonny · Dec 9, 2009

Powder Joints said: ↑

unpaid tickets or to many tickets.
No it passing medical, you can take a DOT physical at most any industrial medical.
Do not lie on anything.
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1) No moving violations for nearly 20 years. I've never been arrested either. I'm not a "goody two shoes", I just don't want to go jail.
2) Got current DOT medical card in my wallet (I drive a school bus until driving school next summer),
3) This lying thing seems to be pervasive throughout much of wannabedom. I don't have any problem answering job-related questions, but the questioner will get a blank stare if the question is not job-related.

Thanks Powder Joints!

JustSonny · Dec 9, 2009

brinkj23 said: ↑

#1 is lying about employer info or accident and ticket info, this will get you kicked out so fast you never saw it coming. Another thing a lot of newbs these days have is that chip on their shoulder thinking they know everything it is to be a trucker and dont listen to the trainers and end up bringing down others around them. No one ever knows everything about trucking. Even these guys that have 1 or 2 million miles, trust me they are still learning new things and thas what makes a good trucker, heck a good anything. You have to be willing to learn and change habits and skills.
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At age 55, I've discovered that education never stops or at least it shouldn't. I don't want to know everything about trucking. I want to drive until I retire or die, whichever comes first, and if retirement comes first, I want to keep abreast of current events in trucking.

My dad (now 84) stills gets all tingly when the subject of hardware supplies comes up. He's an interesting old curmudgeon. He finished his 4 year college degree just after he turned 83 - and now he's going back for more!

txboy10 · Dec 10, 2009

How in depth do trucking companies go with your previous employers?? I have been in the Corporate America world for several years now making decent money, but I have jumped around some as well. I have had 2 layoffs in the past 4 years and have another 2 jobs that just didn't work out to what I thought was poor management with no room for growth, so I quit. On the resume, one may think that I'm a job hopper, but I've been in sales and it seems that a lot of sales peeps have moved around.

JustSonny · Dec 10, 2009

Oldnewbiegonnabe said: ↑

It's hit me like a ton of bricks---I'm embarking on a new career and if I'm to be successful, I gotta change some things before I get to school. I've read plenty of posts from newbies that have gotten to school or orientation only to be dismissed for one reason or another. I'm a realist and know that I will spend a lifetime changing - that's pretty much a given - but what I'd like to focus on now (6 months before I start driving school), is what I need to change so I don't get shut down before I even get started. We're all different but I think there might just be some common reasons for early failure in this career.

So, I guess my questions are these: 1) In your opinion, what has been a common problem that has resulted in dismissal from school or orientation?, and 2) What have you experienced drivers noticed that the majority of newbies do that could have been eliminated from the getgo by a simple change in habit or thinking?
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Just lo-jacking back to topic!

KO1927 · Dec 10, 2009

I'm driving a school bus too. Up here it's an adventure every day, that's for sure. I imagine that the southern children are unruly as well?

Back towards on topic now: interesting way of thinking, good luck!

JustSonny · Dec 10, 2009

KO1927 said: ↑

I'm driving a school bus too. Up here it's an adventure every day, that's for sure. I imagine that the southern children are unruly as well?

Back towards on topic now: interesting way of thinking, good luck!
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I'll have you know that my kids sit quietly, raise their hands if they wish to speak, and they make certain that they haven't left anything on the floor of the bus before they depart. They also thank me each day for a very pleasant ride. (I'm about to bust a gut just writing this ####!)

Good luck!

LavenderTrucker · Dec 10, 2009

The one thing I see too many rookies do over and over s they don't think through or seek advice before making a decision or taking some action. Then they post a long detailed post about all that lead up to them doing what they did, what horrible situation they are in because of it, and now wht advice on how to change things.
So many rookies ruin themselves with a truck abandoment because they got into some tit for tat with dispatch, decided to take the truck home for the weekend or whatever, sent a message on qualcom but forgot or didn't realize it hadn't been sent until too late and are bewildered that when they called on Monday they are out of a job.

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