Stevens Transport aviary

Isn't that the truth!

 

Thank you Dryver. I know I first addressed the question to mistermino because his comments about miles kept weighing on my mind, but it is actually addressed to all the trainers that frequent the Aviary & the Forum in general. We have dozens of Grad drivers out here that have no idea what they are doing because all they learned on their trainers truck was how to drive, drive, drive.

 

I've run into them myself. One Grad student who was out for a month didn't even have an air pressure gauge. His steers were at 70psi!

The trainer is only responsible for the student until they are off the truck then it is up to the student to then carry on with what they have learned.

You've noticed that Stevens will hire ANYONE that can pass a DOT physical, right? lol

 

Having met quite a few the last couple months I can honestly say that I've only run into 1 that I feel didn't have the students best interests in mind. I'll agree that a lot use the student for miles and simple truth to that is that there were only 2 out of the 12 in my training classes that were not on Alliance...

Nothing wrong with that as they are honestly just making a good business decision, lol...

 

Impressive answer.

 

Its not all the trainers fault. There are some bad trainers for sure, but there are even more bad students. Guys that just dont give a crap and dont listen or pay attention. We can only try to teach. We cant make them listen.

 

Surely the trainers have some say in whether a student passes or fails their training.

 

Some yes. But when you run into a driver on the road and they are to lazy to use their meat lock. Doesnt use the correct amount of load locks. Doesnt scale the load etc ... , dont just assume the trainer didnt teach these things. I can show them what to do, but once they are on their own theres nothing I can do.

 

Unfortunately, no they don't. Stevens simply wants to collect the Government money they get from training the students, so they put them on the road whether the trainer passes them or not. If they don't complete training, Stevens doesn't get paid. They only have to pass Stevens 'final' driving test, which is 'spoon-fed' to them.

 

Sorry. That's not true. A trainer must sign off on the student before they leave their truck. If they don't, it's up to the training department to give addional training or drop the student. I have had three students I refused to sign off. They weren't ready for prime time. All three were sent out with other trainers that eventually signed off. As well, I received two students that needed additional training. In both cases I signed off. Sometimes it's the chemistry of the two. Others, I think the student realizes it's time to get their merde together and be serious about it all. I have known several students that simply gave up and left when the trainer refused to sign off.
The company will not let a student progress if the trainer won't sign off. It's a major legal liability.