Time compression in cdl school?

Is time recorded a different way at cdl school? The school I'm looking at says the course is 160 hours. This would be driving and class hours. But it's a 6 week course, 8 hours each Saturday. I'm looking at weekends because I'm already employed. That would only be 48 hours. Are they fudging numbers or maybe I'm just missing something.

 

You’re probably missing something. Probably, maybe 6 months long because 48 hours won’t get you anywhere.
What school and what state?

I did a full time course that wasn’t exactly 160 because they figured in some hours you’d be studying at home. Something like 150 hours actually in school and 10 hours home studying for example.

 

Some of their time is computer based study... But over 100 hours? I think they are fudging numbers

 

Nah, you’re missing something.

 

Call or email the school and ask them to break down the 160 hours for you.
See what schools are listed here for your area.


This is one example.
Course Length
7.5 weeks

How Many Hours Do Students Spend In The Truck?
225 hours

How Many Hours Do Students Spend Driving? (Direct Control, Not Observing)
50 hours (approx.)

 

I did a 10 week program at a tech school m through thursday. I worked nights so it didnt interfere with my job at the time. Logged 1000 miles behind the wheel. we drove 2 days and the other 2 days was working on the pad.

 

I called and they explained that it's not 160 physical hours. It's "credit hours" like college credit.

 

The example I used in post #5 is 300 hrs. 7.5 weeks full time or 15 weeks part time as it is 20 hrs instruction on the weekends. 225hrs in the truck leaves 75 hours or about 2 weeks of classroom time. A student can get 16hrs of college credit from them as it is a community college. Of course this excludes any study time on your own. 20 students per class. 4 students per instructor. “30+ companies recruit from our program.”

You need to read more on this site. You will read that you should pick a carrier first. Some carriers will not hire from the weaker schools. So going to a bare minimum school may not even get you a job, maybe a CDL. Ask more questions of the school. How many in a class? How many students per truck? How many hours of driving time per student? How many hours, NOT credits, of instruction. Credits don't mean squat if one is not seeking some type of degree. Some schools have as little as 15 or 20 hrs of driving time.

Look at the recommended schools on Truckers Report. Click on all the schools for your state and look at the details. 48 hours over 6 weeks seems minimal.

 

When they said "credit hours" I think that was not literal. Because those hours can't apply anywhere else. I was told there is no real hour requirement. I don't see any way that 48 hours would make me a truck driver. You have to figure maybe half of that is behind the wheel. That's nothing. I think I might be better off getting a free CDL with a big carrier. I know they will put me behind the wheel.

 

I don't want to reveal the location because I don't want anyone to view this as me trashing them. I'm sure some of the course is done online and that's fine with me. I can learn with online classes.