Your training program

Sucks. As you are probably aware, I used to work for y'all a month ago (not anymore, no sirey). I'm here in Waynesville, NC at the Pilot where one of your van drivers hit a Swift truck while pulling into a parking spot. I've talked to him shortly after the incident (and he knows what he did wrong), and I can tell you its how he left training. Month and a half on the road, and when he came to Western he only had a week of on the road training before he was asked to recover a truck and then dispatch decided to start running him from there, and he was given a DM and out of training. A week. I've seen a few other van drivers screw up while I was with y'all, and from what I gather, it's due to a lack of training. If y'all want safe drivers, you need to give those who have less than three months of driving a required 1-2 month training program before letting them go solo. Those who have over 3 but less than six perhaps a 1 week eval before letting them go solo. And they have to finish this training no matter what, and shouldn't be allowed to drive solo no matter what till their training is complete. I hate to have to frown every time I see a Western Express as it reminds me of your bad policies. I always hoped to look back at Western Express as a good experience in my career as a trucker, but at this point, I just don't see that happening.

 

And problems aren't going to fix them selves with that 'welcome to trucking' attitude, and that's actually, why they don't get solved is because every time someone brings up an issue there's always someone to say 'WELCOME TO TRUCKING'. I guess your going to say, 'WELCOME TO LIFE' next right?

 

Yep. I was trained for 2 months when I first started. My first trainer was a 32 year vet. (maybe 34 can't remember). He was a very good trainer. My second one had 16 years, but he was more of the cowboy type and would repeatedly tell me he wasn't no professional, just a truck driver every time the term pro was thrown at him. He was good too, if you did something wrong, he'd show you how to do it right, etc. Before that I had about a week of classroom, something like that. I've seen a lot of bad ones too, where they don't want to train, they just want the miles.

 

My message was to the safety nuts that dwell on this forum. I know someone from safety dep from Western, that watches this board, or at least did anyways. Dispatch went through a loop hole to get said driver I'm talking about out of training and on the road, and they'll do this under their bosses nose when they aren't suppose to. If you want to share your stories of bad trip planning feel free but I've never had been forced to chose a ramp or an empty lot, unless I put it in my plan to do so. If I have to take a ####, I find a place even if that means the side of the road at a local gas station. I do not keep baby wipes at me cause 95% pct of the time I'm at a place with decent showers. I have split axles, I can't nor do I need ton worry abput moving tandems. The best tools that I keep with me are my load bar, and my hands. I make don with what I have and have no tools what so ever in this truck. If i need to tighten a screw. I use a knife or ask around for someone that has a screw driver I can borrow. And infer home .ost every weekend unless I choose otherwise. I plan a couple more loads and I will be home this weekend. Didn't get home this weekend cause dm found great load that even of i had a choice would not turn down, that and there just wasn't a load going towards the house.