I jumped off a tall building, the breeze is nice. Will it hurt when I land?

We were told to always log 5MPH below the speed limit. Since the DOT knew we could not average the speed limit. That's how it was with paper logs. You had to make it look reasonable but still get the most out of log book you could. Like they told me. If you're late 3 time you got fired so you better not be late.


Another one was if you called and said you were to sick to drive, their answer was go to hospital emergency room. You could not just say your sick they would say if you're sick enough to go to ER then you can stop the truck.

The don't tell you that when you sign up for the free training

 

When I first started the national speed limit was 55mph.. I always I mean ALWAYS.. logged 50 mph .. I got pulled over in Illinois once for speeding .. he wanted to be the normal dicks they are in Illinois and he looked over all my paper work and log book.. he called me out on that 50 mph avg.. Then told me that I couldn't avg. 50 mph all day..
I pointed out to him yes I can cause you just pulled me over for 68mph in a 55 mph .. I asked him so do I log this as my 15 min break or ON DUTY BUT NOT DRIVING .. that pissed him off even more.. then he called me out on only showing 15 mins to load & unload.. I said let me walk back back there and tug on that rope and you time how long it takes for those 74 calves to jump out.. bet its less than 10 mins.. .. that just pissed the a..hat off even more

 

Thanks for the reply. I, like you, fully understand the thinking behind the hit-and-run students. Most of them when they seek their second company with the first 30 days in trucking usually are quite open and explain their process. The ads for "free" CDL can't spend as much space explainaing the obligation as they do explaining the benefits. But the company makes it quite clear all along the process from inquiry to graduation they are not just giving away CDLs to anyone and everyone that wants one. YOU ARE GETTING THE CDL NOW FOR WORK LATER. IMO, the candidates that deliberately cheat the company are just continuing to make the same bad decisions that got them into the position where "free" training is their only option.

Cheating a trucking company out of the work you owe them AFTER they signed a contract is not going to make their future easier. Regardless of the non-compete agreement they may have signed, they are getting ANOTHER bad debt thrown into their already bad credit rating. They are volunteering for MORE bill collectors pursuing them by phone and mail, and they are putting a mark on their forehead to future employers, thus restricting themself to working at medium to low-quality employers for more years.

The time to think these issues over is BEFORE you make a decision and sign a contract. The trucking company has lawyers and bill collectors. If someone doesn't want a fish hook stuck in their mouth don't bite the worm. You have no right to complain about the hook if you take the bait. Company sponsored training can be a smart decision for the right people and the wrong decision for others. NOBODY cares more about any persons's future than the person making the decision. Trucking is not a job at McDonald's. There are not managers and supervisiors monitoring and providing everything plus giving advice.

 

You are stating MORE reasons why the candidate/student should do more research before making the decision to join a company. I grew up poor and other parts of the family were far from poor. I learned that poor people often make quick and bad decisions because they do not look even one step beyond right now/right here. When those decisions produce the results they could have discovered with a little research, it makes their life harder, and it was already hard. The big difference between some people that are poor for a lng time and people that are not poor, or nly poor for a short time, is the willingness or ability to make decisions for the long-term. "Free" training is not free. The company makes sure you know it's not "free" multiple times throughout the process, and you sign several documents indicating you know it's not "free". If you jump off the building the consequences are certain whether you want to accept them or not. "free" training is NOT jumping off of a building, but it's every students job to either research and find out it "free" training at ABC Trucking is a step-up or walking off a ledge.

This web site/message board exists to help find out the truth, or the best way to accomplish some goal in trucking. Too many first posts over the years I've been reading and responding is "Hi, I just signed a legal contract with ABC Trucking and I start class tomorrow to get my free CDL. Is ABC Trucking a good company to work for?" You've already jumped off the building. Enjoy the breeze, you are now obligated. Try and learn from your mistakes, nobody lives long enough to make them all again.

 

Hmmmm.......I for one, agree with honoring a contract. I want that to be established. That being said, if a new driver finds that this profession isn't a fit, or they are not happy being a trucker, they do not need to be there any longer than they should. A malcontent trucker, regardless of experience level, may very well be one of the most unsafe ordeals in our industry. I see a high probability for a driver to make mental errors on the road. To be a trucker, one has to actually want to do it, and be comfortable with the lifestyle. It's definitely not a sexy lifestyle. You give up pretty much everything. I don't see much purpose in a company holding onto someone who don't want work there, or be in the industry. Let em go and be ok with it. That said, the driver has to be ok with whatever litigation comes their way, or paying off what is owed. I wish there was a way for prospective drivers to talk to current drivers for a period of time before school, like a form of job shadowing. I think that'd ease some pressures and concerns. I wrestled with it for about a year before finally deciding to do it, and I don't have any regrets. Newbies get out here, and they're thrown into the fire. No way of easing into the industry. I think that may help some more if they could interact with truckers live time before enrolling in school.

 

And what I've noticed is there is a lot less newbies on TTR asking about those sorts of details and a lot of "I signed a 12 month contract with ABC Trucking and leave for orientation in the morning. Are they a good company?"

What if you neighbor said he was going to smoke and sell crack TODAY after all the things we ahev known and seen happen because of durg use and crime. Wouldn't he have a duty to have heard or seen the consequence for durg use and crime or would he be innocent since while he was playing video games for the last X years he never heard or saw anyone destroy their life by using/selling drugs.

Life is not working at McDonalds, where your boss is required to protect you, pay you, make you ready for a better job, and will supervse every decision you ever make. If a person will not even try to protect themself, the rest of the world can't make up for that.

 

Did the people signing up for "free" training never get sick even one day before they signed a contract with the trucking company? Or they did get sick and never bothered to ask anyone at the company or online or real life "what happens if I get sick?"

 

Somewhere on here someone said: "They lied about the job, an I lied about my experience." He called it even. Seems like a sound reason.

 

So then any truck driver that is unhappy shold be taken off the road because he might make a mistake and cause a crash. Being an adult is not a promise of being happy. Being an adult is approaching important decisions like the consequences will follow you, if nothing else. Trucking is a job where you can't find out everything you need to know until you start doing it. But there are precious few potential students that spend more than a day or week on this message board trying to find out about trucking. YouTube makes it easier to get some of the questions about lifestyle answered but only if you seek those answers and not just watch the thousands of "I just signed a lease-purchase agreeement with ABC Trucking so I should be a millionaire by next month" videos. Excuses are not causes. Signing a 12 month empoyment and school contract is a 12 month contract, not a "unless I'm not happy" contract. With all due respect.

 

Isn't it like signing up to go into the service in a round about way ? Uncle Sam doesn't let you say F ...it I quit because this is not as much fun as I thought it would be....
JMO .. but too many people get free passes on not finishing something they started or something that they agreed to do now days but didn't do it.. without having to pay a penalty
God hates a quitter