What didn't you learn in driving school?

I think a lot of the truck driving schools are only into it for the $. They prepare you for all of nothing really. Take double clutching man I would not make it pass Chicago without knee surgery if I listened to them. They also don't stress blind side backing enough. And I gotta concur with trucker etiquette I to learn about that from mistakes at truck stops.

 

That's a pretty glaring ommision in my opinion...I see new drivers all the time stopped at the chain up areas looking utterly lost.

If I have time I'll usually help them out but I won't put them on for them.
What I usually do is tell them how to install the chains and give them pointers while THEY put them on.

That way they can at least have a clue about it next time!

 

I made up for it for you today....Chained up twice and I'll be chaining up in the morning to get to the customers yard.

 

Now that you mention it black, I was never taught in school how to chain. They only thing they taught us about chaining was, go with whatever your company requires.
Now my trainer taught me how to chain when it was 70 degrees and not a flake around. He showed me how to chain and then had me chain and unchain several times through out my training again when the weather was good.
He said it was better to learn when the weather was good and before you needed to chain than to try and figure it out in the cold and bad weather. It did take me a couple of times to get it down, get them tight enough. I am glad he took that time with me.

 

All we did at my school was blindside paralell and blindside backing, they hardly worked in any sight side at all.

 

He did you a great service by teaching you how...That was a good trainer. Sadly most of the six month wonders don't teach a student how to chain because they don't know how to chain!

They're philosophy is, and I quote " If the weather's bad enough to chain it's too bad to drive".

I pay the bills on my business and I like to make money and not sit in truckstops waiting for the weather to clear...So I chain!

It only takes a few minutes once you have your routine down so it's no big deal anyway.

 

They left out how to be truck drivers LOL... We covered pretrips, maps, backing, driving, drop/hook, and all the other maneuvers.. We were also taught how to slide the tandems, and fifth wheel.. They also had us, plan a trip, and map our routes. Plus how to fill out a log book. They covered a lot of stuff, but they also told us, that all our actual learning, will come when we start our first job..

 

I think schools can only teach driving skills and technique to a certain point. I think the school is supose to each you enough driving skills to pass the test.
when I left school I could shift pretty well, corner and back effeciently enough for a rookie. On the road is a better place to learn, practice and develope you driving skills.

I do think, the schools should teach you to chain. It is easier to learn that in the lot than on the side of the road under a load.
I think the school should teach students to read the map, trip plan, including time management and logging. Again, easier to learn in a class setting than on the road under a load.
I believe students should learn and practice sliding the tandems. They should also get an opportunity to drive and back the tuck with the tandems in different positions and understand how a truck will respond or drive with the tandems all the way back compared to when the tandems are slid all the way forward.
I believe students should learn and practice coupling and uncoupling of trailers.
I believe the should also learn some basic load securement. Not all companies are rop and hook.
With my company we often drop 1/2 a load and have to secure the remaining load. Well, while the docks may make you wait, once you are loaded or unloaded they want you gone, there is no time for training, it is "git er dun" watch and learn.
There are somethings you will only really be able to learn on he road, like driving, shifting, that takes time and practice. However, there are things that would be easier to learn when not on the road, under a load and under time restraints. I also think there are things that the school can teach to help prepare the graduate for the road and to succeed or at least survive.

 

I didn't get a six month wonder... I got a big old grumpy veteran O/O LOL. Thank God I knew how to shift and wasn't hard on his equipment.

I was very lucky and I am extreamly grateful for my trainer.
In school they also told us the "if the weather is bad enough for chains it is too bad to drive"
However, my first encounter with snow was just last night, and it started with a few flakes, then a few more, and then it got bad very quickly, there was a place good enough to stop and chain, but not stay the night.
It was my first snow and at night so I was not very confident, however, my company found me a veteran to follow 3 hours down the road to a better place to stop. Being a rookie I needed to not press it because that 3 hours wiped me out. It was such a relief to have him in front setting a safe pace and all.
I was already chained up when he arrived, he checked them, which I am glad he did. I had done a good job, especially for my first time putting chains on alone in the dark and while it was snowing. He tightened up one of them, but said he was impressed with how well I did for my first time putting them on in the snow.
I know I would not of been able to do that had it not been for my trainer teaching me and making me do it several times.
My trainer suggested that while I am a rookie, which according to him, will be my first 5 years, maybe even 10. That I practice putting my chains on in the fall before the snow every year. I think that is good advice and I plan on doing that.

 

Yeah same thing with my schooling, they never taught us a thing about chaining up or chain laws for that effect. They had chains in all the trucks but told us not to chain up because they'd rather us sit than try an drive in it. Now I went through Schneiders training academy in Green Bay, two week course. First two days was all paper work and trip planning and learning hours of service. The next 7 days was half day in the class working on trip planning, hos, and learning just about everything you needed to know. Things like planning your money on the road, eating healthy, planning trips and stops right, and things to know about truck stops. The other half of the day was in the truck, two people per truck 1 trainer. They would take us driving all around green bay, downtown, on the hwy, in the country. We would go to a parking lot they rented and did a lot of backing there, then we would head back to the yard and drop the trailer. The remaining 5 days was the entire day in the truck doing a lot of practicing on buttonhook turns and making tight turns throughout downtown Green Bay. They were a very good school and jammed a lot of information down your throat for 2 weeks. They had you learn how to do everything, from fueling, dropping an hooking, sliding the tandems, backing, load securment, pti's, city driving, and lots more. One thing someone else mentioned that they didnt do was learning what it was like backing a trailer with the tandems in different spots. I learned that the first month or two on my own, you gotta know that overhang in back with the tandems all the forward or you're gonna hit some stuff. Another thing I wish they would've done was had us practice backing between two trucks so you could get that fear out of the way. That was one thing I got nervous about the first couple weeks on my own was backing that thing in between 2 really nice petes after running your tail all day.