U2's Trainer thread

I'll take a PSD graduate over an outside school grad in an instant if given the choice. Guess which one ends up quitting or getting sent home the most?

Best advice: Read the Prime fuel book. Its alot more than just fuel stops and washout locations.

 

They try and pair you up with the best availabale instructor. Preferbaly someone that lives in an area near you.

If the instructor only instructs then it doesnt matter where you live. You'll test out and be given to a trainer before you even get hometime in that situation.

smokers, age gap, geography are some of the factors... however if you are not a smoker you cant be forced to go with a smoker. Some guys dont care. My experiance has been the guys that dont care are smokers who say they have quit but eventually start smoking again mid training.

If something doesnt seem right, or you instantly dont like your instructor/trainer at your first talk, you can ask for another one. If there is a wait you go to the end of the line. Meanwhile you arent making any money. The choice is yours. They arent going to force you on anyone however they are not going to pay for you to be picky.

Its not a dating service to find the instructor you are in love with. (figuratively)

 

GPS is great. I tell every student over and over that they are not to be trusted. Doesnt matter how many times I say it, eventually I find ourselves somehwere I wasnt expecting and the excuse is "the GPS said to go this way"

QC instructions can be trusted to a point. However I have found on the rare occasion of highways running parallel and the QC routing conviently leaving out a very short connecting highway (Baltimore/DC area involving US29 caught me by suprise one time). Some of you may have even seen the dreaded "local road" instruction that gives you neither name or number (happend on a WV load once).

Map book, QC, GPS, State Map, Google Maps, Sattelite views, State DOT websites, and telephone calls can get you where you need to go... Its up to the trainer to make sure they know how to verify through these sources the correct legal route to take.

I have a hobby of picking up the free state maps that some states offer in the rest area. PA probably has the best trucking map out there. It should be the model for every state map.

I show them how to use the GPS as a guide, and eventually they forget and we end up where we are not supposed to be. Its a simple concept of knowing where you need to go, what routes and signs to be looking for, and simply allowing the GPS to clue you in on most of these plans. However, I try and drum it into their brains that if they know their route they dont need the GPS. However the GPS is very helpful if you know how to use it, while at the same time not trusting it.

 

$500 bonus to me this week. "Training completion bonus" on my paycheck. Coincides with my trainee upgrading this week

Thats new, I didnt know about it. Its been over a year since I had a trainee, so who knows when they started this.

Not gonna turn it down.