Quality Drivers School - Celadon Trucking - Indianapolis, IN - 2013

Sounds good so far, but any other idea if/when they do UA or follicle outside/after first week?

 

Once you get your dot physical and drug screen,your good to go.
haven't heard of anyone getting a follicle test.
Some goof balls were ready to test out and had a few drinks in the parking lot,and were busted and sent home.
I imagine an accident of any kind might change the scenario.
In this day and age,drinking and drugs,will do nothing but get you into trouble,and it will follow you for a lifetime.
Just not worth it.

 

Well I hope they take me. I'm supposed to hear from a recruiter tomorrow. Thanks for all the info. It's hard finding someone will to help out instead of just bashing me for a mistake I already regret making. Thanks again! Wish me luck.

 

Hi there. I am currently a student here at Quality Drivers. My brother has ten years' experience and hired on at Celedon the week after I got here. There is some misinformation here on the last few pages which I do not think is intentional that I wanted to help clear up. I was part of an apparently failed attempt at holding additional classroom training alongside road and range time. These classes were run by the Operations manager from Celedon HQ along with his staff, so the information passed along by them is essentially official. I still have the documents they passed out during these classes. The program is as follows:

There are three types of students here:

1. New Students - people who have never been behind the wheel of a truck and who will therefore go through the entire program. This category also includes drivers who let their CDLs lapse. More on the new student program below.

2. Five Day Refreshers - people who have their CDLs but who have little or no driving experience. These people go through paperwork and physicals on the first day like most experienced drivers do at orientation. The rest of their days are absorbed in practicing for and passing the Celedon road test. From there, they go to operations to wait for a trainer. After the training period, they go through orientation and officially become Celedon drivers. These guys are not required to sign an initial contract like new students who graduate are.

3. Two Day Refreshers - people who are experienced drivers who have not driven in the previous year. These people usually test out right after physicals and paperwork and usually do not require the training time afterward.

The actual training course is as follows:

1. A forty hour (five eight hour days) class period where you go over the manuals and take your written exams for your learner's permit. New classes start each Monday, and testing begins on Wednesday. If you fail any test on the first day, then you are required to ride the shuttle to whichever licensing branch is the least busy to retest. You can retest up to two weeks beyond the first if you are not from the state of Indiana. This is because Indiana state law only allows temporary residency documents for eight days, and you can only get two of them before you have to wait thirty days to try again. Note that the licensing branches are not open on Monday.

2. A series of backing ranges which operate in two separate locations. The first range is designed to teach students how to put the truck in gear and how to back straight up. The second range teaches the full maneuver needed for the backing portion of the license test. The third range is a largely unsupervised practice range. The fourth range is the test prep range. The fifth range is the range used by those who are scheduled for testing. The final range is the 90 (or alley dock) range, which is a maneuver required to pass the Celedon test but not the licensing test. This last range is usually not done until after earning your CDL.

3. Road training, which is four students at a time assigned to go on a drive with an experienced trainer. The trainer will take you to an empty parking lot if you need to learn how to shift and double clutch. Otherwise, road training is generally conducted on the streets of East Indianapolis.

The school uses a 1-5 scoring range. You must score at least one 4 before you can move on to the next range, and must score all 4s or better on a road training drive to advance to range four and above.

Once you have acquired your CDL and passed the Celedon test, you are shipped off to Celedon orientation down the street. From there, you begin driving with a trainer. Celedon does not use periods of time to measure experience with, but rather hub miles driven. Therefore, you are required to drive 10,000 miles (rather than the four to six weeks stated above) with your trainer before you can move on to the next phase. The phases break down as follows:

1. The initial 5000 mile period is spent solo driving with your trainer in the passenger seat. The trainer does not drive except as the difference between his eleven and fourteen hour clocks, or from the point at which he deems you unsafe to continue or you take yourself out of the seat for the day. The truck is dispatched as a solo. The trainer may take home time at any time, but the trainee may not. Instead, you are put up in a hotel while the trainer is at home.

2. The second 5000 mile period is spent driving as a true team. The truck is dispatched as a team, but is limited to 18 hours per day rather than 20 or 21. The trainee is still not allowed any home time.

You are paid 18 cents per mile during this training period. The operations manager openly pointed out that this was meant to approximate minimum wage. If you are kept on duty for a long time, you are paid minimum hourly wage to make up the difference, but you don't get credit for any miles not driven. Note that Celedon is increasingly sending trainees to various locations to drive local. Members of my class have been sent to Atlanta, Chicago, and Laredo for this duty, which is considered onerous by trainees. Not only does it typically take longer to complete the 10,000 miles, but you often spend hours sitting alone in the truck waiting for a dispatch while the trainer runs home.

Once you complete this phase, you move on to the final and most talked about phase, which is your contract. This is an initial contract to drive for Celedon, which is designed to cover the cost of your schooling by shorting you on pay. There are several options:

1. Drive team in the van division. This option includes a $1000 sign on bonus for each driver. You have four options for duration and pay:
a. 240,000 combined miles at 18 cents a mile each, with a possible 3 cents each per mile bonus for all miles if the truck drives over 17,000 miles in a month.
b. 120,000 combined miles at 15 cents a mile each, with the same bonus for driving over 17,000 miles.
c. 60,000 combined miles at 17 cents a mile plus 17,000 mile bonus if you qualify for WorkOne (Indiana residents only).
d. 120,000 combined miles at 20 cents a mile plus the 17,000 mile bonus if you qualify for WorkOne.

Note that each member of the team can be on different pay plans, or even one member on a veteran driver pay plan.

2. You can drive solo in the Refrigerated division. There are also four options here:
a. 120,000 solo miles at 29 cents a mile. There is a 3 cents a mile bonus on all miles for going over 11,000 miles in the month.
b. 60,000 solo miles at 27 cents a mile. The same 3 cent bonus also applies.
c. 60,000 solo miles at 31 cents a mile if you qualify for WorkOne (Indiana residents only). 3 cent bonus applies.
d. 30,000 solo miles at 29 cents a mile plus the potential 3 cent bonus if you qualify for WorkOne.

I hope this helps. I will answer any questions if anyone wants to know more.

 

I knew those goof balls. I was actually hanging out with them the night before. I don't know why the guard dog mentioned the parking lot, because they apparently didn't start drinking until after nine o'clock that night (when I last saw them) and didn't leave the building. They got caught when one of them stumbled back to his room. They were apparently too loud in the hallway and someone reported them. I think the guard dog actually busted them by checking his cameras, then checking their rooms.

Also, they were not ready to test. They had just been passed on to range four. They were a week or two from testing out.

 

My brother has ten years' experience at other companies and is only making 31 cents per mile. Celedon does have an accelerated pay raise program that allows you to boost pay by a penny per mile every 60,000 miles up to a maximum of 49 cents per mile, but I don't know why you would do this as an experienced driver when their are companies hiring out there that will do performance based pay raises just as high after only four months on the job, or else pay an experienced driver near the same high rate right out the gate unless you just really like the company you work for.

The new school building will not solve problems at the school. This is just an old Walmart being converted into additional dorm and range space. It will not suddenly bring in more instructors or restructure the program so that students are not stuck here for three months. The management does at least seem to be aware of the problems and is trying to do something about them.

You can solo in the refrigerated division as a company driver right from your first contract after your 10,000 mile training period.

 

I am starting school on the 15th in Indy. I will definitely go refrigerated. Thanks for the info. I have a few questions. If they put you in a hotel due to the dorms being full,will you have a roommate? Also im on a low carb diet, do there free meals have options for me,or will i be stuck eating pizza,and french fries etc.
Also If I stay in a hotel,what is the name of it. Thanks.

 

If your at the hotel you will have a room mate(from hell)
The dorm is the way to go.
All the instructors are good people,and treat you with respect.
I got my cdl in 4 weeks.
Looking forward to working here at Celadon.

 

Thanks for your honest post!!! I just left there and it is even worst than what you said!!!