My Trainer Isn't Letting Me Practice Backing

Talk to the manager above her. Tell them you need a new trainer because YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE BACKING and this one DOES NOT TRAIN IT.

 

What’s the company policy regarding training females? Do you have to have a female trainer or can you get a male?

 

Well, you've succeeded in allowing us to reinforce your opinion that you have a no good, stupid, obnoxious and lazy trainer... how can we argue? You've cast her in the worst possible light, amplified the negative and basically laid out an excuse trail that will lead back to her in your future failures ("my trainer sucked")


All i can say is that cultivating an adversarial relationship with your trainer will, at best, make for a miserable training experience and result in many missed opportunities for learning real world lessons.


At worst, it could doom your career before it begins. What you've exposed about her raises an eyebrow or two, but doesn't really rise to the level of ineptitude that would deem her as unworthy and useless and unable to introduce you to the trucking life. I'm sure she doesn't have a poop bucket simply to disgust you. There are several distasteful necessities on the road, and while you may be familiar with GOAL from the handbook and are clinging to it because it's something you already know, there are a hundred things that aren't in the handbook.


In a fantastically dangerous job, in an industry of many socially crippled narcissists, safety and professionalism are relative. Find some common ground, trust her experience, learn her story. If you're lucky, you'll make a friend who will be there when you call in a desperate moment. And there will be many desperate moments for you soon enough.


Even if you had the best trainer in the history of trucking, nothing fully prepares you for going solo. It's a trial by fire in a 24/7 blast furnace.

 

I do not want to become friends with this woman. She has already said some questionable and unprofessional remarks. She out of the blue started talking about her son's being molested as children. She said she told her son about me (her son is 20 and I'm 21) and her son asked for my number. That made me extremely uncomfortable. She also said Kamala Harris gives black women a bad name. I am a blk woman btw. I could care less about Kamala Harris, but to say she gives ALL black women a bad name is just wrong. Plus I have a male friend who's been in trucking for a few years of I ever need advice on something if I'm on the road. I ran out of driving hours so my trainer took over. I'm sitting in the passenger seat watching her. This woman is watching YouTube videos while driving. I kid you not. She's literally looking down at her phone and watching a video then looking up at the road.

 

I'm so tempted to because the last time I actually practice backing was 3 days ago. I ran out of driving hours so my trainer took over. I'm sitting in the passenger seat watching her. This woman is watching YouTube videos while driving. I kid you not. She's literally looking down at her phone and watching a video then looking up at the road. I literally can't. It's Saturday so I doubt there is any management in the office.

 

Fair enough. You need to get off that truck today. Ask her to stop at the next truck stop. Report her to safety and tell them they need to provide you with either immediate transportation or immediate shelter until they can retrieve you. If it's as bad as you say, take action. Posting on a social media site is not enough. Best luck to you.

 

It's Saturday so I'm not sure if anyone is in the office. I will call Training Management and if they answer I'll request a different trainer. If not, I'll let them know early Monday morning. We are on a 1700 mile trip from NJ to TX.

 

If you can gut it out til Monday, then your company will say you can gut it out til graduation. I understand how frustrating it is when words and opinions are uncomfortable and/or hostile. But watching tv while driving convinced me. If you are in danger, you need to get off the truck. Tell her you have to pee, grab your stuff, and get out of the truck. If no one is available at the office, uber to a hotel, pay yourself, and call Monday.

 

Getting my ### off this truck ASAP! We are in traffic on I-81 and I got a 25 second video of her on her phone! She literally didn't look at the road for 25 seconds!!! There is a Love's coming up, I'm getting off NOW!!!!

 

When you talk to your company, make it all about unsafe operation. Everything else is opinion, no matter how valid your opinion is.