What if you enroll in training when the weather is terrible?

In my opinion, you get better training. Now youve driven in "bad conditions" with a trainer.

 

That's very funny.

Do you think you will only be driving in a local area if you are OTR?

And being from sunny Cali, you may not even have experience driving 4-wheelies in bad weather.

Good luck!

 

My training threw me right into the suck man.

NYC first day driving.

Keep your cool. And from what I understand companies actually DON'T want you taking a "risk" and driving in crap that is too bad.

When you are saying "work the controls"... you KNOW how to drive right?
Or are you completely starting from scratch?

 

I live in Youngstown OHIO, my school went in to November.. so we had crap weather.. and then I started with BTC in December.. Trainer felt I was good enough to drive through crap.. so my first time driving a truck that wasn't in school was through snow storms.

 

In a ideal situation it would be great if the new drivers were exposed to as many real conditions there could be. But unfortunately most of the CDL schools do not take the time to teach their students to drive. Their main goal is to get that student his or her CDL and pass the problem. Then the under trained driver ends up at a company that feels they must give their inexperience driver trainers a new named to make them stand out as a "Mentor".

So a new driver gets the shaft at both ends. He or she pays all that money for training they do not receive and then the only companies that give them work do not have a good safe driver trainer program. If you're lucky and find one of those experienced drivers that is willing to take the time to teach you you've got to be thankful because that the best training there is.

 

You get cold and wet.....

 

If you are talking about when you are in school, then it is up to you when you start.
And where.
You will be driving in traffic, however, and whatever weather is out there.
The first few days that you drive it will be in a very controlled space, to let you get used to the controls.
But you will then go out on real roads with real other vehicles that you can smash up.

Just like learning to drive a car.
You might start out in a parking lot, but that can't last long.
You can only do so much in such an environment, after all. Can't get out of 1st or 2nd gear, can't learn to watch your mirrors, can't really get a feel for the vehicle.
You then take to the streets to get used to driving the speed limit with other vehicles and people around.

I started with Swift in December 2010, so I had some winter driving during my training period.

Good thing, I think, because it is better to be with someone experienced to teach you than it is to try and learn 'in the cold', so to speak.