How are you doing? Went in today to finish paperwork and start on Monday. Nervous and scared all at the same time. Hope its the last new job I have.
I spent 1 day watching videos. 3 1/2 days on the computer based education. 3 days riding with other drivers. They finally turned me loose last Friday. I'm heading in tonight to finish up my first full week on my own. I still have a lot to learn, but everyone has been very helpful. Don't be nervous and don't rush yourself. That's how mistakes happen. I'm not happy with being a vampire, but so far everything is going very well. We're bidding runs this week. It looks like I'm going to have a very short run with lots of dock time. Gotta pay those dues! Good luck on Monday!
Driver apprentice here almost a city driver Aka glorified dock worker The first few weeks is training on the computer. Hazmat videos/slides and plenty of stuff about safety they are big on that. Depends on your start time you might be able to drive the truck very soon or it might take a while. Most new guys like me at my terminal start at midnight and work on the dock for a while before we can drive anywhere. New guys start with taking container to the rail yard and come back or drive a set(doubles) to another terminal. My place is very busy now, everyday is 10 or 12 hours with volunteer overtime on Saturday. People are very friendly and willing to help, so don't be afraid to ask questions. Majority of drivers in my terminal have been here for a long time.
I will be doing the midnight start. A whole new beginning for me. Dock work ; thats ok for now as I hope to loose some weight!!
Thanks. Midnight start here too. I totally understand paying my dues. Well done for your first week solo.
I was able to stay on the extra board for this next bid. Hopefully more money than doing an Indy run (61 miles each way), working the dock, then back to our terminal. It also sounds like I'm not going to be the bottom guy for much longer. There are 5 in the driver apprentice program. 2 will be driving soon. That's good news for the next bid!
Are your hours consistent? From what I heard, I am the only driver apprentice starting this week. A few part timer dock workers. Awesome that it is going well.
Yes it's been consistent so far. I've started between 830 and 1000 every night this week. Being on the extra board there is the possibility of working days and nights. Flipping your sleep schedule around can be challenging, but so far I haven't had to.
You will have to complete Driver development course. 1st week is in the yard Backing, blind side, offset and sight side backing 2nd week is basic week driving in the city with a pup and 48 ft. Van 3rd week is advanced week driving with doubles and backing van to the dock. You need to do drop and hook with doubles in no more than 30 minutes in order to move on to coaching week.
