The Source for Trucking News, Opinions and Trucking Jobs | Solution Part I

The way the system is now - Four weeks (maybe) of CDL school, four weeks with a trainer and you’re now a trucker. Sink or swim, most companies don’t care. To keep rookie drivers, the school system needs to be completely certified and the state DMV must do all testing. That way instructors, even though prepping students to pass, will have no influence on the actual pass or fail. Some school instructors are “certified” by the DMV to issue the driving test. Instructors are employees of the school, the faster students get going, the faster a new student ($$$) can come in. That system is coming back to haunt many drivers that thought they had a CDL.

Some companies actually train and screen their trainers. I’ve heard of some but I’d love to know who does that for sure because I get asked that a lot. If they don’t they need to. When I went through the trainee process the trainer got all the truck miles and the trainee got slave wages. It was more of a power trip and a money maker for most trainers. Pay trainers extra, but not at the expense of the trainee’s learning. It’s tough to train someone when you’re in the bunk sleeping because you’re doing a team run for the money.

I saw an ad for a company that advertised their “mentors” instead of trainers. Good idea, but their mentors were only there for four weeks. Sounded a lot like trainers with a name change. This new Yahoo Group is trying to hook mentors up with trainees. Good idea, I’m not sure of the implementation. Some things are tough to explain through email. Besides the idea of mentoring is leading and teaching by example and train as long as it takes plus some. Just because a rookie knows how to drive down the interstate and back into a dock, doesn’t mean they know enough to go solo.

And putting two rookies together so they can help each other? That’s a cheap team and they usually run hard. Good idea to make money. Bad idea if you want to keep your drivers. It’s the blind leading the blind. And now you have two frustrated drivers in the truck and no one to help.

A lot of times rookies get the worst shipping and receiving customers because the old timers know what loads to take and not to take. And dispatchers might favor the old guys more then the rookies to keep the older drivers / whiners happy.

Bottom line:

• Fix the school system (fat chance).
• Train and screen your trainers. Trainers should have patience and know how to teach the skills to drive and lead by example how to live the trucking lifestyle.
• Train as long as it takes. And even have the trainers available after the trainee is released to answer questions and provide support.
• Really support your new drivers with everything he needs including directions and phone numbers. Big companies go to the same places over and over. You would think the directions would be somewhere and the driver wouldn’t have to call every time to get possibly questionable directions.

A couple of changes would help minimize the frustration level rookies feel for the first couple of months going solo. Some people need more attention than others, don’t blow them off because they are new and haven’t learned that trucking sucks. It doesn’t always have to suck. A lot of problems are encountered while trucking, but the difference is how the people supporting the driver handle and help the driver handle those problems. At least until the driver gains more confidence in making the right decisions himself.

Some companies are actually trying to raise the pay and give more home time and still have huge turnover rates. Sometimes trucking and the new driver just plain don’t fit or the new driver had different expectations. Other times it’s something else. If you’ve done everything you know how and you’re turnover is still 100%, standby for the next solution.

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