OK, so what's your solution, then?

I had crappy training, 14 hours of behind the wheel and 2 sixty mile round trips with another driver and I have been on my own since. Now I have18 months of local driving with no tickets, accidents or incidents. You can do it if you pay attention to what you are doing and for God's sake get out and look. If people complain about how long it takes you to back or something that is why you were born with middle fingers.

 

My biggest issue with these knuckleheads is the incessant electronic gadget usage while driving and the most ignorant flat out retarded lane choices. SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT!

One doesn't need "training" to handle these two key issues.

 

That's the good kind of training you were under no illusions to how good your driving was so you were dang careful right?

 

Increase driver pay to get more experience back in field. It needs to be a more worth it to do it occupation like it once was.

Make much needed changes to the Electronic logging rules as they are today.

 

I agree that we should "start with the cars". My take on it is that being able to drive a vehicle is perceived as a Right rather than a Privilege.

I drove through Houston today and it was fairly rare to see anyone drive as if they are looking out for the well being of folks around them. For example, if I am in the right lane approaching an on ramp filled with cars trying to merge onto the freeway I slow down to make plenty of space for AS MANY VEHICLES AS POSSIBLE to merge...

...(GASP!!!)...

...in FRONT OF ME!?????

That's not the behavior of the average motoring public. They rush in to prevent people from merging.

"Well it's THEIR responsibility to merge, NOT MINE". I even hear this attitude from "professional" drivers (with the small "p"). If you are a Professional Driver your responsibility is to be the shepard of the road. Your job is to make sure everybody around you gets home safely today. There is no other priority.

Perhaps before we grant ANY drivers license we should offer a free quart of Vaseline. Liberally applied to the chin, base of the skull, and around your neck, it makes it easier to pull your head out of your ###.

 

Its happened to me , thats called life. Problems happen in life. I have made mistakes myself. I paid for my mistakes and apologized for making them. Thats called learning and experience. Keep on truckin brother better days and better lays for all of us are on the way.

 

I went to a 2 week school to learn to pass the tests to get the CDL then out with a trainer for 4 weeks.
I learned a lot in that time.

 

If intial training isn't the issue why do 1 out of every 3 drivers Schneider brings into orientation not make it to the end? Why do I spend their week on the road working on remeadial skills instead of trip planning, load securement, etc.?

As @TripleSix said its starts with the class d license. No multiple guess tests, driving test with license renewal, etc.

For the cdl the whole testing process needs to be redone. All written test are short answer and if the exaniner can't understand your answer the first time they read it, the answer is marked wrong.

Before the cdl road test the applicant must show the last 8 days logs.

All cdl tests must be taken with a sleeper truck and 53 foot van with the tandems at the max length for the state. For the backing test there should be a perpendicular spot, an angle spot, and a parallel spot. Unlimited pullups, but a time limit. Space akin to the average loves or pilot. Add a slow maneuver course. Have a pretrip test vehicle where they can shut off lights, introduce air leaks, remove inspection stickers et to make the applicant prove they know what they are looking at and ACTUALLY LOOK AT IT. Add a map reading test.

Want a tanket endorsement? New road test with a 1/2 full smooth bore which you loaded and then unload after the test.

Doubles/triples? Road test with putting together and breaking apart a set.

Flatbed - load securment test. Coils, suicide coils, boards, pipe, equipment.

If all that happens BEFORE a driver gets a cdl then most of the guys who I have to teach not to eat paint won't ever get on the road.

 

Airline pilots communicating with air traffic control world wide have to speak English. I’ve got no issues with that.

Drivers ED when I was kid said nothing about the inherent danger of 80,000lb vehicles. One of the bigger changes if things haven’t changed would be adding question to the 4-wheeler DMV tests to ensure they have a working understanding of the physics.

When a truck is an accident with a 4 wheeler why does the media seem to place the blame on the trucker. It’s like “ya the truck leaped out of nowhere like a scared cat, then the truck stopped on a dime, rotated and slammed his lively hood vehicle (phrasing?) into my beat down f-over Kia. Suuuure.

Before any of you get the wrong idea about my speak English comment. I am a proud democrat, but I’m old school in that I think I can be diametrically opposed to someone politically and still feel good about having a drink with them even if it leads to a few punches and a conservative buying the next round with a black eye.

 

I never had to take a driving test I was grandfathered in from a chauffeur licence. .... but I should have been able to pass it maybe lol. ...... never had to go to truck driving school and never had to go out with a trainer .... but my dad never bought me a cell phone, a video game or anything like that when I was young so that evens