Who needs trucking school.

gpsman , GasHauler said in the above post exactly what I would like to say , only I have a hard time sometimes putting my feelings on a keyboard. He hit all of the points that I wanted to.

 

No sir....When it comes to driving safely , I assume nothing. The folks that abuse drugs and alcohol or both while driving trucks have always been around and will continue to do so...they are accidents waiting to happen , and til someone shows they're aren't in a higher risk group than those drivers that don't , I'll stand by that. Rookies , for the most part , rely on what they've been taught by the schools they attended , or in some cases a friend or family member that owns one. Those that are "self " taught IMHO are in the highest risk group. By self taught I mean they either purchase/lease a truck&trailer and have at it alone.

As far as most OTR drivers having 1 crash or fewer IDK...I would say that the number is fairly low , if you figure all levels of experience together , but again , without the numbers I'll not even begin to guess.

Yes I can agree that a tail-gating truck , even one that isn't speeding is only a breath away from being involved in a terrible , possibly life threatening accident.

 

To be fair, that's all they offer to teach. And, the basics of truck driving are included in basic Driver's Ed. The states assume motorists will have enough regard for their own safety they can take their education from there. Instead, they get motorists who teach themselves by experience what they can get away with, and to measure a 20 mile/30 minute trip in seconds and feet if not fractions thereof.

Let me tell you about the typical CDL mill student IME. They arrive overconfident, naturally, but many expect to teach the class, and more than a few expect to teach the instructors. If I had a nickel for every time I was told "I just need to learn to log, shift and back", and that student deliberately learned no more than that than was absolutely necessary, I'd have a lot of nickels.

 

Agreed...lots of wannabes , think that logging , shifting and backing are all there is to trucking. Once they get out into the real world , they tend to get their feelings hurt. One reason for the high turn-over rate....trucking no matter what kind you do is WORK..some of the most physically and emotionally demanding work you'll try a hand at.

 

1. There's nothing other than a paycheck to suggest the typical truck driver is a professional. The typical truck driver has no crashes. It seems safe to assume few to none on the road today have 2 crashes for insurance reasons.

2. How on earth can you look out your windshield and conclude those people are cautiously avoiding crashing? How can you examine your own internal monologue and not conclude the natural state of the motorist is "distracted"?

The unavoidable crashes; animal strike, being rear-ended, the unavoidable L-turn across the nose crash. That's how luck enters as a factor. Seems significant to me.

 

Let us assume they have no more than 1 crash, since they're still insurable.

Let us assume they have no more than 1 crash, since they're still insurable.

That's not what I wrote. "Can we not agree the truck that is not speeding and following too closely will be... ASAP?"

I'm saying if they're not speeding and following too closely it's only because they can't at the moment.

 

Let us agree on something. I grew up on a farm, did 7 years in combat arms, maintained 2 MOSs (11B/13F). Truck driving is the hardest job I've ever had.

 

Thanks for your service....As did I sir....Max Meadows Va. (dairy farm). Helped my uncle. Taught to drive by him also. Into Vietnam in '68 , wounded in Nov. '69. (11B) Back home , began as dump driver..then on to OTR , then the last 33 years delivering Big Mac's.....We look at this differently sir...we'll agree to disagree on all points.

Not saying you're opinions are wrong , not at all. Just different. Again said with all due respect. TTTD....