no training use common sense

Six is right. Anybody that will eventually make a good driver could get the truck to the dock, even if they had never sat in a truck before.

Most all the current schools make robots, with all this mess about teaching them step by step how to back up and such. People that can think for themselves and solve problems to get things done.

I've pulled just about everything you could think of, up to 20' wide and 250K gross. Never had one bit of formal training. Sure, I'd take pointers from people that have "been there, done that" but most of it was figure it out and go.

 

Is this the new / latest rendition of 'The Good 'Ole Boys Club'?........ Slapping backs and letting everyone know how awesome we are...... Sure am getting that flavor on my tongue.

Edit: But nevermind me. I drag tank. I know little of your biz. *disclaimer*

2nd edit: I enjoy the stories. They're great. But let's not let our confidence surpass our skill. And OP - there is no such thing as 'common sense'. You're born ####ting your diaper & you carry that on for a few more years. End the myth. Anything you're good at is because you learned something and quickly learned to associate it to something else you'd already learned. That isn't 'common sense' - that's associative learning. A-B-C, A-C-D, C-D-E.... Unfortunately not everyone is aware that it's a bad idea to drop a plugged in toaster into the bath while you're in it..... in some cases, that actually is a good thing they don't know that. But yeah, the point: common sense is a myth. You're born knowing nothing & having no platform from which to get a footing. People learn as they are shown or as they experience. Some slow, some quickly. But nobody comes into this place having a clue. Guaranteed.

 

Well it very well might be the "good ole boys club" but I would much rather hang out with back slapping self proclaimed awesome guys that make it happen instead of make excuses as opposed to lazy bums that aren't interested in helping themselves. The OP's original question although worded flatbed specific really isn't so spare me the self deprecating I pull a tank not a flat bs, nobody here looks down on you for that. There's idiots in every field just as there are excellent drivers pulling every trailer imaginable.

As far as common sense I disagree with your sentiment, everyone has life experiences but some (many ?) don't apply those experiences in the future. It's no different than any other skill, your a sports fan so I'll equate it to that. Take a star division 1 quarterback vs a division 3 3 string quarterback. Both played and loved football all their life, it's even possible that the division 3 player knows the game better he just doesn't have the natural ability. They both started our pooping their pants and went from there. I know PLENTY of intelligent people that grew up in very similar environments to me that have no common sense, they're intelligent reasonable people that just can't grasp simple things. I'm just like most of these guys here, I was thrown to the wolves so to speak and I've thrived. I've seen many that just couldn't get it no matter how many times they were shown, why? No common sense.

 

The operative word here is 'shown'. If you're shown time, time, time & time again and still don't get it - to me that doesn't indicate a lack of common sense. Rather, it shows me your thinker is broken.

I agree with the notion about folks having experiences but not applying them *to other similar situations*.... An example, as a farmers son myself & yourself having had some similar history - we both know not to touch the electric fence, why? Well, I don't know about you, but I did it. I learned that day that having voltage running thru you ##### hurts. Now I can draw from the experience - don't wiz on it, water and electricity don't mix, don't put the fork in the outlet, specific what's / whatnots with power lines, I came to understand being grounded.... But that's all derived from an experience after I was made curious about why the hell the first round hurt so badly and what I should do to avoid being electrified. I didn't know that - and i had to make some associations A-B, B-C along the way.

I wonder about the first caveman who used wet wood to heat his home. After getting smoked out of the place, you think his neighbors said 'You should have used your common sense, Bill.'?

Have you looked at some stupid laws in certain States? VT - It is illegal to tether your giraffe to a telephone pole. Now, stricken with curiosity.... Who had a giraffe in VT? Why? The circus come to town?.... Anyway, let's face it, it happened somewhere, somehow, otherwise there wouldn't be a law for it. But that aside, having had been here long enough, from ASSOCIATIVE thinking & deduction i could pose a good guess as to why you wouldn't tether a giraffe to a power pole.

One last point: The government makes sure there's a sticker affixed to every hazard we have now. Maybe this is their attempt to instill 'common sense' into the masses?

I still am not convinced that 'common sense' is real.

 

I got started the same way, last january. I got a run down on straps, chains, edge protection, and tarp roll up. The owner is always a phone call away, and one dispatcher is a flatbedder willing to help over the phone too. The rest is common sense, though. I've only called for over the phone help maybe 3 times. I personally prefer this type of training, because it can reveal to the company and myself, the level of ability I have within me. Also develops and reveals character.

 

Call it what you want, but some people are idiots and will always be idiots, the world is full of them. Most of it is their own doing. The older you get, the harder it is to learn something, some people my have waited too long, but for some people there is still hope.

A idiot truck driver is somebody who climbs out of mom's basement one day and decides they want to drive a truck. They go to school and do the bare minimum to pass and get their CDL. Once they finally get a truck driving job, they drive the truck down the road and manage to hit the dock and nothing else. They rely heavily on their electronic log, and dispatch to plan out their every move. They also rely heavily on the shop or roadside service to fix even the very minor problems. Once their hours are up or any other time when they aren't getting paid, they are playing video games, hanging out at the bar, or whatever they do. They mainly have the attitude that I will do the bare minimum I can to keep from getting fired. If somebody says something about my "slacking", I'll just quit and go somewhere else. They are the same people that say they should be able to smoke dope and drink to their heart's content on their time off.

A good truck driver, more often than not, is somebody who does lots or research and learning before they ever go to get their CDL. They may not go to school but hire on somewhere as a flunky and fool with the trucks every chance they get, learning about them. They even stay after hours learning about trucks, watching the mechanics work on them, and asking questions when needed. They notice what other drivers do, learn from things, but constantly thinking on how they could do something better. They strive to be the best driver on the road, even if they are making less money. They also have a great work ethic.

I know lots of drivers that know mostly what they are supposed to do, but don't know why they are supposed to do it. You need to also know why if you what to be the top of your game. Take securement for instance, most flatbeders know the regs. If the regs say put a chain at X point, do you know why the regs say that or are you just doing it because that's what the regs say to do? If you don't know why, you need to figure it out. Sooner or later, you're going to run into a piece that is out of the norm, you're going to need to know the forces at play and what could happen to it get it tied down. If you just memorize the regs and just follow them step by step, you will eventually run into trouble when you get something out of the norm and either have to call for help or "wing it", which could either damage equipment, get somebody hurt, or both.

I'll admit, I have an advantage that most people don't. My grandfather owned trucks, my Dad owned trucks, and they both offered hands-on experience at a very young age. I was moving trucks around on the yard at 10 years old. I was driving trucks down the road on short runs at 14 (it was a different time back then). You remember how I said it's easier to learn when you are young, that is a big advantage for those that are fortunate to have it. I say all this, even though most of us are at least 18, is to get your kids involved. My 5 year old is already moving trucks around on the yard, sitting in my lap. He can't back worth a flip and doesn't comprehend having to swing wide to keep from hitting something with the trailer, but I'm letting him try and giving him pointers and he is listening.

 

To your sports analogy, I know people that can name darned near every NFL or collage football player, have their stats memorized, and know every play of their favorite teams, but yet barely get by at their jobs. If they worried more about learning their job than they did their football, they would be at the top of their profession. Nothing wrong with football, but unless you have a NFL team scouting you, you need aim more of your learning toward your profession if you want to be on top.

 

I wish I could thank this 10 times, it's spot on. I particularly like the loser from their moms basement analogy. That's done a great deal of damage to our industry, losers can't cut it anywhere else and someone tells them to get their cdl and they can make great money. You know anyone can drive a truck. I know a LOT of farmers and construction workers that transitioned to trucking and thrived, but most of them had common sense.

 

I agree, just the best analogy that came to mind.

 

LOL! Always been that way other than when I started out, but that was a dry van and they just wanted to know I could get around Chicago. My first flatbed gig, it was my truck and trailer, common sense and that little green JJ Keller DOT book. Never had any issues and hauled everything from coils to very high dollar robotics and controls along with LTL out the wazoo, never knew what I was walking in to. Oh, I had a Conestoga Wagon, more money in that.