What will my training be like? This is a query that forum users considering a trucking career make many times each week. Although the questions may be phrased differently, the subject matter is essentially the same. The issue is that we just cannot tell you. Every learner will have a unique experience, a unique amount of time, a unique training method, and varied circumstances along the road.
Yes, each organisation will have unique programme requirements and rules. However, two drivers who start on the same day may complete completely different training curricula and upgrade at different times. Here is a prime example. Even though Mark, a buddy of mine, joined Prime at the same time I did, I upgraded to solo a full month later. Sounds absurd, huh? This is why.
I passed the written exam on the second day of orientation. I was far ahead of the others regarding the Pre-Trip because I utilised the High Road Online CDL Training Program and the YouTube video from Apex Driving School. Mark did not get his commercial learner’s permit for four days after failing the written test. However, he found shifting on the simulators to be a lot simpler than it was for me.
Mark left school early, had a CDL teacher assigned to him, and left two days before I did. I spent three weeks outside with my teacher, yet I failed the exam. I took a week to pass and get my CDL because I required more backup coaching. Mark took the exam two weeks ahead of me, which let him get a head start on the 30,000 team miles required at my employer to advance to solo.
A Tale Of Two Trainers
My team trainer had her vehicle, a schedule full of medical visits that required breaks, and she would not drive in bad weather or mountains. I waited until the end of the year to enrol in training to gain experience in winter driving, but I could not do so. My trainer would leave me off at the terminal while she went to the doctor after training so hard for a week that I wanted to rip her eyes out. She would contact me a few days later to let me know we were going. She would instruct us to wait for the following load after unloading at a client. It made no difference that we could go 10 miles to a truck stop to eat and shower. It made no difference that there were not any bathrooms accessible. Whether it took one hour or ten, she did not move the vehicle while she waited for cargo.
Then the holidays arrived, and she paid for my trip from Missouri to New Jersey. I stayed at home from December 21 until January 4. We had only travelled 21,000 team miles in two and a half months as of January 21, and my trainer wanted to take a two-week break. She put me on her friend’s pickup since I could not afford it. Life then became wild.
We did not take showers, seldom ate, and never slept since her companion drove his vehicle so hard. The only times the vehicle was parked were for loading and refuelling. We ran 12,500 kilometres in two weeks, and the trainer yelled at me the whole time. I was completely unprepared for the interstate Chicago traffic since this trainer operated in a suburban neighbourhood near Chicago. My first instructor had me drive all night long on easy-to-navigate interstates. I returned to my job in February, and on February 14, I picked up my first single load with my new truck.
I had only driven in Monteagle, Tennessee, a four-mile stretch of 7% gradient, so the second trainer provided me additional opportunities to practise driving in traffic and the snow. That contrasts significantly with driving through Wyoming under heavy winds, lake-effect snow, and thick, never-melting ice. With the second trainer, I did more backing than the first, but I should have gained far more experience than I did. I did, however, learn a lot. I could get things done when I left the vehicle to work alone since I knew who I needed to speak with. I was prepared for every situation, including a blowout, contact with a deer, product damage, and trailer repairs. The training environment was not ideal and appeared to drag on, yet I still knew more than many new drivers.
Different Drivers, Different Experiences
Mark, on the other hand, was required by his trainer to handle all of the backings, drive into every client, and paperwork. He gained experience driving across the northeast and in icy mountains. They ran quite hard, and he went alone at the start of January. The vehicle, however, never required repairs, they never had an accident, so he was not sure how to report one when he was on his own; and they never had any product shortages or damage, so he did not know how to make a claim and report it. He recalled that his teacher had instructed him, but he forgot because he was not required to follow through during training. The absence of scenarios that transpired while he was in training was the cause of this, not necessarily his teacher.
You must give yourself as much time as possible at the beginning of the load to account for unforeseen repairs, bad weather, traffic delays, and other factors since every load is unique, and you can never expect a load to go well. All of this explains why every student’s training schedule differs from others.
“But Every Driver Tells Me Something Different About Being Solo”
Mark and I were given the same Fleet Manager after going solo. I adore this man; he is a true treasure. He has piled up miles for me from day one and always has an answer for me when I message him or direct me to the right person to acquire one. I have great faith in him; he always prepares me for my next burden. After being a part of his fleet for years, I am granted several unique privileges, never harassed by dispatchers, and am never questioned when I require maintenance, want to seek home time, or need to refuel somewhere other than my designated fuel stop.
I have even messaged him with consumers in my neighbourhood who I can pick up a load from or asked for high-mileage loads from clients I have gotten to know. A 34-hour reset is mine if I desire one. I am routed without hesitation if I need to run through the terminal. Usually, truckers have to wait hours at meat processing factories before they can leave with their loads, but in the last year, every load of meat I picked up was ready to go when I arrived. Many do not believe me when I tell drivers this, but who cares? For me, it is fantastic.
Mark’s experience was unique. He often lamented his limited mileage, said that our Fleet Manager refused to access his fuel card upon request, and claimed that he was denied home time. I detected the stench of a dead rat.
Not all drivers do well
As we discussed his problems in greater detail, I saw that my fleet manager often had to wake him up by phone so he would not be late for his loads. This driver was tardy twelve times in our first two years, including twice in one week. If you consider that I have not been late in three years, it may not seem like much to a new person, but it is terrible and unprofessional. My driving shift often begins at night, so by the time my fleet manager arrives for work, my shift is practically over. He never phoned to tell me to get up for a load.
Additionally, Mark did not effectively manage his time or schedule his trips, so he had to call night dispatch four times a week to relay four different loads to someone else. Unbelievably, when the night dispatcher confronted Mark, Mark was enraged. “Why do you keep getting this treatment? Need assistance figuring things out?” However, Mark launched into a rant about how he had been an OTR for years and was just sick, weary, or any other reason he could come up with to blame someone else, despite the dispatcher’s honest desire to assist a weak driver.
To put this into perspective, I only ever asked another driver to relay my load when there were delays caused by bad weather, heavy traffic, or uncooperative customers. I would be surprised if I had only asked for 10 relays in my three years. It is quite uncommon for me to be the one who cannot finish the load, but that is not to say that I have never relayed a load for someone else when requested to do so as a courtesy by dispatch.
I then decided to consider his additional grievances. His request for gasoline was turned down because he had misused his power. My business provides fuel stops depending on the quantity of gasoline we have in our tanks, the price, the fuel tax, and the number of gallons. My firm has contracts with truck stops for certain quantities to guarantee our discount. Sometimes we may need to choose a different fuel stop for various reasons, but whenever I am asked, I always search for a stop comparable to the stop I was allocated in terms of cost and tax. Never once have I had a request denied.
Mark, however, kept requesting to fill up at a chain that was often 20 to 50 cents per gallon more expensive than the other truck stops. He did this to accrue credits for the showers or to cover parking fees at facilities with gates. Because of this, his truck’s fuel expenses were the highest in our fleet. The request is turned down.
I left out the three occasions when he was taken out of service at weigh stations due to logbook infractions, failure to do a pre-trip, or truck or trailer repairs. Essentially, he was not performing his job, costing the business money. Thus, he did not receive what he wanted.
When it came to going home time, the same was true. He would offer excuses while driving, such as that the vehicle needed to be serviced, that he was weary, and even that he was abusing our “inclement weather” safety feature. If required to complete a brief “favour” load, he would object and report himself ill to dispatch. He would give them an ETA and inform them that the initial appointment was impossible when given a new load, stopping at a truck stop along the route to eat and shower for a couple of hours. This provided poor customer service and added to the dispatcher’s workload.
Even though he had been driving an automatic for more than a year, he claimed to have sustained a “torn rotator cuff” during one of his two work-related injuries over the first two years. He sought home time but was refused after taking so many 34 resets for “being weary.” The truck’s lack of productivity did not warrant downtime.
It All Comes Down To Driver Performance
The tale’s lesson is that every person’s experiences are unique and that the driver controls every aspect of trucking. The driver will get compensation for being professional, diligent, and effective in communicating issues. Be adaptable; take on the unpopular burdens when they arise so that the great loads might occur more often. You will get the respect of people if you are proactive in attempting to solve issues as soon as they arise. Make your Fleet Manager seem good, and you will be rewarded in various ways.
Would you load up the driver that usually gets repairs done quickly, arrive to clients early, and is safe if you were a fleet manager? Or would you assign a man who consistently arrives late, gripes and complains about everything, does not appear to want to work, and does not care to keep his truck moving those high-mileage loads?
It is hardly shocking that Mark was fired. He now spends his time online criticising Fleet Manager and my firm.
In trucking, the driver is everything. Your future will depend on how well you do and how you conduct yourself. Choose between becoming a professional or a terminal rat driver.
