USX Training Issues

Obviously that's not how it should be done. You should be doing all the work as if you were solo. He should be there to guide you through it and make sure nothing bad happens. This guy was just wanting someone to do the driving for him.

I had a co-driver who had a trainer like that. He was totally unprepared for the job. I met his trainer and asked him why he didn't train him at all. He said "He could drive the truck."

 

no offense H-D renegade but if both trainers didn't do their job then my guess is your not ready for the Upgrade i'm sure you're a good driver unfortunately there's more to just driving. i wish you luck and if you are a good safe driver i hope you stick with it and follow your dreams. i would drive a truck even if i won the lottery. i only do it for the money now because i need it to survive but i love driving a truck and the lifestyle. it's not a job it's a lifestyle and some make it most don't. thats why the turnover rate is so high. just remember it's not a job it's a lifestyle. Good luck!!!

 

If this joker is too self-centered to see or care about how his choice of entertainment and "mentoring skills" are affecting his trainee, get a pair of inexpensive headphones. Offer to let him use them, or just unplug his computer from your trucks radio auxillary jack and use the headphones yourself to listen to some soothing 'elevator music', or whatever helps you concentrate.

The way I look at it, the person in the left seat is the PIC (Pilot In Command), that's the way it is in aviation and its a #### good rule of thumb for truck drivers as well. The one behind the wheel is the one accountable to the DOT, the motoring public and the company "rule-minders". If something goes terribly wrong somewhere and the DOT, the company or a slick liability lawyer starts looking for someone to hang accountability on, its your biscuits that will be hanging in the wind! Nothing wrong with being the DIC (Driver In Command) when necessary. You don't need this guys permission to do a pre or post trip whenever you feel its called for. MANY others have had to deal with a similar situation as you are dealing with now. Consider it a blessing, because it is really just a glimpse of what is likely to come once you get a rig of your own.

 

I believe you should have been given a Student Handbook that has certain benchmarks that the trainer is supposed to fill out and transflow back to the company. Try asking him to put away his games for a few moments so the two of you can go over those things. Some folks will surprise us and rise above themselves when they see that others need them and are counting on them to step up. And then again, some folks just don't give a poop and probably never will.




Concerning the upgrade test, I posted this back in Feb regarding my own upgrade experience at Tunnel Hill a year before. Some of the particulars may have changed since then, but I'm sure others will offer corrections where they see fit.

• BACKING SKILLS TEST: We went to the dirt lot accross the street from the terminal. Tony, the examiner, demonstrated each back first (talk about being helpful!) then instructed me to simply do the same. We did a straight back, an offset back, a 45' back, and then drove around a row of parked trailers to set up and do a 90' back. There was a trailer on one side of the slot and cones on the other. But Tony was adamant that we treat the cones as if it were a trailer. Of coarse, we did a pre-trip on both the tractor and the trailer before beginning.
• ROAD TEST: Again, I had my check ride with Tony. We quickly found the Interstate and drove that for 5 or 10 miles, and then worked our way back to the term via mostly back roads that included a few things like low bridges and unusual intersections with roads feeding into them from a variety of angles. Expect to be quizzed on road signs both before and after you pass them. A pleasant drive and really not too stressful at all. During the test drive conversation revolved around a drivers life at USX, including what challenges and opportunities one could expect to look forward to.
• E-LOGS: Two parts to this one. First part was a class given in a room dedicated to teaching e-logs. There were 6-8 in the class and I was the only one there for an up-grade, the others were company drivers making the transition from paper to electronic logs. A most informative and worthwhile class taught by an excellent instructor who began by explaining procedures step by step, then had us work a series of problems, and finally had us transfer our prior 7 or 8 days of paper logs into the e-log system. (Remember to have your logbook with you and up to date.) The second part of this section of up-grade was a fairly lengthy exam where we had to solve a number of problems involving various e-log scenarios. One fellow had been there for several days taking the test over and over again until he made a passing score. I was impressed that the staff kept working with him until it all "sank in" and he finally got it...he probably left there knowing e-logs better than any of the rest of us!
• WRITTEN TEST: This caught me a little off guard. There were 60 questions, all taken word for word from the student training manual. To pass, one could not miss more than 12 points, each question being worth 1 point. Since all of the questions are taken verbatim from the student handbook it should have been simple enough. The multiple choice questions were easy, but the rub comes in being able to remember word perfectly (or VERY close to it) the answers EXACTLY as they are written in the book. Well, on my first attempt I lost 13.5 pts. They will allow one additional attempt, but only one here and that on a test with different questions but still covering the same material. By this point I was really "sweatin' bullets", I spent the night in the Motel and really boned-up on the written answers and got a perfect score the next day. The final part of the written test involves trip planning. If one knows their way around a Rand McNalley MCRA, then this part is not too difficult.
• DRIVING SIMULATOR: Getting a passing score on this one was not required to complete the up-grade process, so the pressure is off here. This would be a gamer's dream if he also liked semi's. We were given 4 or 5 scenarios involving weather, city traffic, backing situations, etc. I suspect they were looking mostly to see how one reacts to situations not easily duplicated at the terminal or surrounding area. This one wasn't graded but everone had to do it anyway.

On the written test they were quite strict about having the written, essay type answers being very close to word perfect as they are presented in the student manual. Start memorizing them now to make life less stressful at the upgrade.

 

Musicgal,,,I fully expected to hear some flak.. and knowing that if I did hear it from "Trainers" that they would be defending themselves... I commend you, you do seem to love what you do and if that is the case than you do care about how the new drivers are trained... I wish you the best.

 

This type of thing continues to happen because most students just want to get through it and get their own truck and move on...they feel the same way, I am sure, that you and I do..and Renegade..oh, and mtnmomma...LOL Most studenst are broke and just want to get to making money... Now when I was with a trainer, both times, I had to fill out a survey...well maybe most are too scared to make waves and just make the guy/gal out to be a great trainer... Just like filling out any survey,,most just mark "excellent" all the way down, even though they know darn well that isn't the truth...

I want all future students to know that those surveys are important to the safety of the public on the roadways.. We see everyday the people out there driving a big truck that should definetly not be driving anything, let alone a big truck!

Craig,,I completely understand what you are saying to Renegade and you didn't say NOT to turn the trainer in,,,so, that being said...your off the hook...LOL

 

Not to mention, HE is the one that is suppose to tell the Brandnew student driver what to practice and prepare for when it comes to the test... I know for a FACT that the trainer has a detailed lest of what the student is to be trained on...he should be going over that list daily... How is a student suppose to know what he/she will be tested on, unless they are told by the trainer? What is the trainers job? I already listed that...

You are fine Renegade.. I do agree that you are the Captain of the Ship when your in that seat.. You are the one that DOT is going to ticket if it comes to that... Don't drive if you have questions..when he realizes that the load might be late and that your not going anywhere till he puts down that computer, well than maybe he will start being a trainer...

 

Yes, 42k needs to be scaled. Anything over 37k USX will pay