My new, final resting place

There must be a reason this is posted...

 

Orientation is done. The last day was a 12-hour day and tomorrow begins three days of load securement training. After that, it's a week with a flatbed trainer to put it all together.

We learned today the company will be an all-auto company in a couple of years; all newly purchased trucks are auto shift because of the fuel economy...the manual fleet averages about 6.5 mpg and the autos already average better than 8.0 mpg. It means they spend about $30 million less per year on fuel; it's that fuel savings that allowed the company give the flatbed drivers a 07 cpm raise and accelerate the purchase of new trucks.

 

In my class, there are drivers whose experience levels range from three students just out of school to several who have been truckers for years but who, like you, have been out of trucking for many years. They go through Western's Refresher course; because I'm not in it, I don't know the details of it.

FB drivers start at 37 cpm.

 

First day of Load Securement completed. Honestly, it was tough, considering that it was all lecture with no hands-on relationship. That all begins tomorrow. We tear down and rebuild loads of all kinds, including the dreaded coils.

But I did pass the (worthless?) Alabama Coil Test, so I'm now certified to carry coils in...oh, wait. Nobody uses that anymore!

 

They do and it's something I'll look into as I move forward. They just started it last year and right now all lease trucks are taken.

 

I am SO planning on that. The training system they used here is kind of backwards, using lots of negative learning ("Don't do it this way...") before we throw any chain of strap on anything. The instructor is new to teaching and goes very fast plus the room is almost completely dark, so writing notes is difficult. They all use slang terms that I'm sure every experienced flatbedder understands, but that are unfamiliar to most of us without explaining what it means.

And then there is the super trucker employee who is sitting in on the class because he has some time while his truck is in the shop. He wants to pipe in on EVERY. SINGLE. POINT. I've told him to shut up, others have told him to shut up, and the instructor even asked him, but does he? No.