The life of a "trucker" ?

[mike69mackman]

Truck driving was once a very noble profession, no longer the case today. The above mentioned co's are partly to blame for that. It burns my butt when the folks go through these so called driving schools and after only 3 weeks be handed a CDL and be called a PROFESSIONAL driver. Really?! These pro's are about as far from professional as you can get! Just walk into any truckstop and look around. Sweat pants, sandals, unclean etc. then these co's say they are trying to clean up the image of the industry. Oh I forgot to mention these three week driving school wonders can't drive either! I started with my class b permit and was on it 6 months total before my trainer(buddy) felt I was safe enough to take my test. I then drove mixers , dumps, for about 3 years before getting my permit to learn how to drive class a. Once again another 5-6 months before taking class a test. That experience over the course of all those months on a permit helped to make me the safe driver I am today. So I refuse to consider these three week wonders professionals. They are the furthest thing from it. And unfortunately its because of them that all of us have a bad reputation. I'm sorry if I offended anyone but its just how I feel. Insure those of you who earned your cdl's would mostly agree with my statement. If in any way I am wrong please tell me. Mike

[hatcity]

just answered an ad for CDL testing.

They are cert. 3 rd party testers.

Bring learners permit, med card, and $550. Plan about 3 hours.

They have two setups, 5 spd or 10. 48' or 20' trailer

Whay could go wrong? I might find out

[vision386]

Truck driving was once a very noble profession, no longer the case today. The above mentioned co's are partly to blame for that. It burns my butt when the folks go through these so called driving schools and after only 3 weeks be handed a CDL and be called a PROFESSIONAL driver. Really?! These pro's are about as far from professional as you can get! Just walk into any truckstop and look around. Sweat pants, sandals, unclean etc. then these co's say they are trying to clean up the image of the industry. Oh I forgot to mention these three week driving school wonders can't drive either! I started with my class b permit and was on it 6 months total before my trainer(buddy) felt I was safe enough to take my test. I then drove mixers , dumps, for about 3 years before getting my permit to learn how to drive class a. Once again another 5-6 months before taking class a test. That experience over the course of all those months on a permit helped to make me the safe driver I am today. So I refuse to consider these three week wonders professionals. They are the furthest thing from it. And unfortunately its because of them that all of us have a bad reputation. I'm sorry if I offended anyone but its just how I feel. Insure those of you who earned your cdl's would mostly agree with my statement. If in any way I am wrong please tell me. Mike

You hit the nail right on the head Mike,thats exactly the way i feel about it,don't get me wrong,i have no problem with someone trying to better their situation,or earn more money,but these fly by night "trucking schools" and carrier sponsered "training" are not the way to go. Look at all these carriers that offer "no money up front,paid training" they earn about 5.cpm to ride with a "qualified" trainer (that usually has not much more wheeltime than the student) and then get to "pay back" their free training with about 5 years of next to nothing wages,deductions,and just about any other crap they can think of! its no wonder so many of them give it up,are abandoned by the carriers,get put off the truck,with no chance of ever getting a decent job. You can't learn to do ANYTHING with any degree of skill in 2-3 weeks,i've been driving trucks since i was 16 years old,and try and learn something new every chance i get,never will know it all! don't claim to! but me personally,if someone came to me,wanted to learn how to truck,they'd have to ride with me for at least a year minimum,my way or the highway! and even then,if i did'nt think they could "cut the mustard" i surely would'nt turn them loose on the road! would'nt be able to sleep at night!...........................Mark

[Green Dash]

Someone on here made a few driving school cartoons that were well beyond hilarious.

Anyone know who or where to find them?

[vision386]

Someone on here made a few driving school cartoons that were well beyond hilarious.

Anyone know who or where to find them?

If i remember correctly,that was Ed (Hatcity) that made / posted those toons'...........................................Mark

[Green Dash]

If i remember correctly,that was Ed (Hatcity) that made / posted those toons'...........................................Mark

The last video won't upload. we will never learn how the saga ended.

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/15600-driver-ed/?hl=school#entry67439

[Green Dash]

One question, why would any young person today want to go into the trucking industry? It's not the same job it once was.

For some at least it's because they come from a family of truckers and can't imagine themselves doing anything else. There are still plenty good driving jobs available for those who want to give 100% and make a long term career out of driving.

[hatcity]

The last video won't upload. we will never learn how the saga ended.

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/15600-driver-ed/?hl=school#entry67439

Somebody had lots of time to research this gem

[Green Dash]

Somebody had lots of time to research this gem

Worth every second of it.

[hatcity]

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8143699/drivers-ed-again

[39 Baby Mack]

Ever change a tire in flip flops? Ever crawl under a truck in shorts? You didn't if your dressed that way! That's how these "steering wheel holders" get their name.

Back in the late seventies a guy applied for a driving job at our place and I was told to give him a road test. At that point in time, in our fleet, we only had two basic

types of transmissions Mack (duplex or triplex) or straight five speeds. When we took someone out for a road test my brother and I used to have the idea that if you could drive something hard then you could definitely drive something easy so we used to always take them out in one with a triplex in it.

When this guy came down to the garage for his road test he looked like a hippie, shoulder length black curly hair, mustache, earring, the whole bit.

To top it of he was wearing of all things clogs! I thought to myself this is going to be a regular laugh riot! and he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of working here!

I asked him if he had ever driven a truck with a triplex transmission in it and of course the answer was no. I said you climb up in the passenger side and I'll show you how to

drive it and off we went. After showing him for a few miles I asked him if he understood how to drive it and asked he was ready to try it, he said he was so we pulled over and we

switched seats. He didn't do to good and asked me if I wouldn't mind showing him again, I said I would and we pulled over again to switch seats. This time when he got back up in

the tractor, which was an "F" model, instead of sitting in the passenger seat he sat on the doghouse right next to me to watch what I was doing with the pedals!

I thought to myself what is with this guy, a little light in his loafers or what?

Second time around when he drove he did much better, wasn't very smooth, but had the general idea. I told him that with a some practice and experience, being teamed up with an older driver, he would be probably be able to handle the job. I also suggested that he wear some other type of shoes!

We hired him and he turned out to be a really good driver and a nice guy.

If he's by any chance on this website reading this I hope he doesn't mind me telling this story, I remember that day well!

Ron

[RowdyRebel]

Truck driving was once a very noble profession, no longer the case today. The above mentioned co's are partly to blame for that. It burns my butt when the folks go through these so called driving schools and after only 3 weeks be handed a CDL and be called a PROFESSIONAL driver. Really?! These pro's are about as far from professional as you can get! Just walk into any truckstop and look around. Sweat pants, sandals, unclean etc. then these co's say they are trying to clean up the image of the industry. Oh I forgot to mention these three week driving school wonders can't drive either! I started with my class b permit and was on it 6 months total before my trainer(buddy) felt I was safe enough to take my test. I then drove mixers , dumps, for about 3 years before getting my permit to learn how to drive class a. Once again another 5-6 months before taking class a test. That experience over the course of all those months on a permit helped to make me the safe driver I am today. So I refuse to consider these three week wonders professionals. They are the furthest thing from it. And unfortunately its because of them that all of us have a bad reputation. I'm sorry if I offended anyone but its just how I feel. Insure those of you who earned your cdl's would mostly agree with my statement. If in any way I am wrong please tell me. Mike

I went to a 2 week CDL school...and then out with a driver-trainer for 3 weeks before being turned loose in my own assigned truck. When in school, I barely had any time behind the wheel because I'd do each range exercise one time just so I'd know I could do it...and then I'd hand the wheel over to the other guys who obviously needed the practice more than I did. My grandfather had taught me how to back a trailer as soon as I could reach the pedal on the lawn tractor, and I had been being paid to drive since my 18th birthday. I started out delivering flowers in my own vehicle (holiday help) which led to a part time position driving their delivery van. In college I taught people to ride motorcycles, and then after I finished 4 years and went "home" again to figure out what was next for me in my life, and drove wreckers for 6 months until that company was bought out. I had just got my class B permit and was being trained into the heavy duty wrecker. They had a semi tractor and a 53' enclosed car hauler trailer, but it didn't have a clutch in it until the day before the company was sold.

I moved out of my parents house....back to where I had gone to school. Lower cost of living, and I figured I could get a job driving a wrecker here. When that didn't pan out, I decided to look for a bigger vehicle to drive and applied at one of the starter companies, albeit one that has not yet been mentioned in this thread.

Anyway, at the CDL school I was one of 5 people who took the road test on the first possible day...and the only one who passed. I got the heck out of there ASAP because I had better things to do than hang around to see who else passed on their first attempt.

I will say that I got lucky. I was picked up by a driver-trainer who had been around a while. He was closer to my parents age than my own, and had grown up on a farm hauling grain and such. He had been an O/O in the past, and had gone to work at this company +12 years before I hired on. He had been around for a while and knew what was going on. I was on his truck for 3 weeks before the computer went haywire and I got to bobtail from OKC to the main terminal with no dash gauges. Rather than taking me out for another week, he felt I was good enough to be turned loose early. Funny thing is, he had said he'd have a CB handle for me by the time I got off his truck....guess I didn't screw up bad enough to earn one. 11 years later, I STILL don't have one. Sure, I've been called just about every name in the book....most of 'em I can't repeat....but nothing has really "stuck".

So does that mean I'm unprofessional or unsafe just because the only "training" I had consisted of 2 weeks in CDL school and 3 weeks out with a trainer? I'd like to think not. It isn't the length of time it takes to train a person how to drive a truck....everybody has different life experiences prior to climbing behind the wheel. Some people pick up on things quicker than others, too. If it only takes a person 2 days to get proficient enough to pass the CDL test, I see no reason to keep them in "school" for 3-4 weeks unless the school is also teaching rules & regulations, log books, etc....all of which could easily be learned if a person would simply read that little green book. Even with the "book" stuff they teach you, I was ready to get on with my life after the first week....yet at that point there were still some in the class who had not even been able to pass the written tests to get their permit.

As for the "on-the-job training" that takes place, THAT is where most of the problems lie. Too many companies treat that truck containing the "trainer" and the newly issued CDL as a team operation. The "trainer" doesn't know any better, because 3 months ago HE was the trainee with the newly issued CDL....and his 90-day-wonder driver-trainer did the exact same thing with him. With too many of these companies, you can go to their school and get your CDL, go through their training program, go out on your own for 3 months, and become a trainer. Then you've got a student on your truck with you and NEITHER ONE OF YOU has ever seen snow from behind the wheel of a tractor trailer....and in some cases, it is possible that neither one of you have seen snow other than on TV or in pictures. But, you're still a "trainer". You can't TEACH what you do not KNOW, and you aren't going to learn enough about this job in 3 months to be a competent trainer. It is that lack of competent training that is the REAL problem.

[RowdyRebel]

THAT would have made the deal fer me

Too many of todays professional drivers wearing flip flops, sweat pants-three days old,...

Guy wearing flip flops got one caught under the pedal and couldn't get the brakes and drove a PT Cruiser about 200 feet before he stopped.

The PT driver was not seriously injured but has all kinds of back/neck problems now.

When I was OTR, I had a pair of flip flops. They resided in my shower bag and the only time they were worn was to protect the bottom of my feet from the scuzzy shower floors. I had my boots on again before I walked through the truck stop back out to the truck.

[mike69mackman]

Rowdy you are one of the few exceptions. If I offended you in any way I opologize. But you are out here every day just like a lot of us on this site. You see the results of these schools and co's that just want a warm body behind the wheel. They don't teach these guys/gals nothing. The difference between you and them is you had a clue about what you were doing and the respect that goes along with it. These co's don't teach these folks respect or courtesy on the road, that's my main point. They have no self respect so I guess to expect them to show it for others is asking alot. The co's don't teach it and it shows when these clods are turned loose on the road.

[hicrop10]

My father God rest his soul,was a man that believe in learning on the fly.I guess that why my mom taught all 5 of us how to swim.My dad would have thrown us in the pool and said swim or sink.With learning how to drive I taught myself,that was in our construction yard.I first would move the trucks out of the garage and around the yard a bit,got pretty good at it.Then after I turned 18 and was allowed by the insurance company to drive on the road,I was told to hook up the lowboy.I was going out to move a dozer.After that it all kind of fell into place.Next thing I knew I was moving loads that weighed in at 150,000-200,000lbs.Got stopped by the cops but never had any real problems other then taking some road signage down with some of the over size loads.It a whole different world out there today.I guess I'm partly to blame.Whenever I would call the union hall for a driver or equipment operator I would always tell them to send me a 20year old with 30 years of experince.

[RowdyRebel]

Like I said, it boils down to the actual training, not the school they used to get their CDL. I was lucky and had a trainer who had been around long enough to know enough about the job to pass on some of that knowledge to me. Most of these "starter" companies (including the one I began my career with) will take a still-wet-behind-the-ears rookie and make them a trainer after 90 days or so. When you have a "trainer" who still doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, what can he possibly teach? For example, how many times have we been at a truck stop or loading dock and seen a "trainer" trying to teach a student how to back up and it is apparent the trainer still can't back a tractor trailer...TEACHING a skill which he is not yet proficient?

...then again, when they are only locked into a 1 year employment contract-for-school situation, they've only got a short time to use & abuse them to squeeze 'em for all they can get from them.

I'm of the belief that a person shouldn't be allowed to train until they have 10 years experience...and at least 3-5 of those years ought to be at the company they are training for. For one, companies that provide training would have to treat their drivers better in order to get them to stick around long enough for them to become trainers. Not only that, but if these starter companies suddenly lost their supply of fresh butts to cycle through their revolving doors due to the lack of qualified trainers, they would have to rethink their business model. When drivers become a valued asset at a company, they will be treated better...paid better.