Profile For Amiel V.

I ran for a company for seven months about two years ago before they pulled me into their office and terminated my employment for "safety concerns". They decided to report this to the DAC and it kept me out of a truck for good. About a month ago I contacted HireRight and appealed my DAC record. I just got word that HireRight found no records with my old company of me being an unsafe driver. They overturned the cause for termination and it is now listed as company misconduct. Now I can get back into driving! I still consider myself a fairly new driver so I am wondering if anyone has any idea about good companies to run with. I am restricted to automatic only but most of the industry seems to be heading that direction anyways. I contacted Swift and they have a dedicated Northwest run that sounds good but they do not allow cats on their trucks and that is a deal breaker for me.

I just finished my first week with my trainer. He basically made me do everything. I told him that I learn much faster and better by watching someone else do it and then trying to do it myself but all he does is direct me. He insists on running hard and fast all day long and then he goes home to his family (he is local). While I am stuck being alone and depressed in the truck for ten hours. Then he shows up and we do it all over again. I can barely stand on my feet and keep my eyes open. When I am driving he will slip in the sleeper berth and take a nap most of the time. I am only 150 miles from home but I worry about not getting enough sleep if I try to commute. I miss my kids ALOT. So much that sometimes it is hard to sleep at night. I have gotten really close to throwing in the towel but I cannot afford it. I am worried that I am going to break down at some point. Is it always this hard??? Why would anyone want to be in trucking if this is what it is like???

I would be surprised if you had an hour per day to study on the Internet. Your trainer may expect you to spend your time learning how drive and navigate the truck.

I understand that but if we have to take a ten hour break every fourteen hours I'm pretty sure that I can fit my hour a day in there somewhere. Online school is pretty simple. I can do discussion boards (weekly forums concerning a specific topic) on my iPhone on the road. I could type up my writing assignments while we are going down the road and while on break. The hour a day is a best case scenario. I was under the impression that most truck stops have internet. Don't truck drivers always take their ten hours at a truck stop?

I never said that I want a female trainer... That would be weird and uncomfortable! I was looking for opinions on a subject that seems to come up a lot. Women have the ability to request a female trainer and I was just curious if men are given the same ability.

And yes, I have seen men use women's restrooms before because they feel more comfortable there. There was a huge debate about that issue when Global fitness allowed a man to use the women's changing room because he felt more comfortable. Since he identified as female the company felt that it was appropriate. A lot of women were ****ed and when they confronted Global fitness on it they were told that no one would force them to stay at Global fitness and they were welcome to seek membership at gyms that did not respect a persons right to choose.

This probably goes without saying (as denying the request would be discrimination) but if a male trainee just feels more comfortable around females is can he request a female trainer?

It's not discrimination when the office turns down such a request. You don't see male trainers requesting female trainees because they're more comfortable like that. You don't see men walking into a women's restroom because they feel more comfortable there.

Let's just continue with the old tradition of separating the sexes when there is a question of being in close quarters for extended periods of time.

If a male trainee is more comfortable with a female trainer then it stands to reason that a company would have to honor a request. Women are allowed to request females. By not allowing men to request females a company would be discriminating based on gender. If the company had a policy saying women go with women and men go with men then it would not be discrimination. It would be like allowing women to take longer breaks than men. You can't allow one gender to do something and not extend that same privelage to the other.

I meant is a male trainee requests a female trainer

If you are driving at night and see whirling lights behind you and it is a police officer trying to stop you and you are unsure if he/she is real or not; slow down, put on your flashers, and dial 911 with your location to make sure the officer is legitimate. Tell the 911 operator that you will stop at the next lighted exit if there is one close.

This is not good advice in my opinion and I wouldn't recommend anyone try this in a CMV. You must stop as soon as safely possible for law enforcement. Failing to do so is illegal and will at best lead to a hefty fine; at worst it will lead to your arrest, losing your job, etc. Note that anyone impersonating law enforcement who is targeting trucks is almost certainly not looking to hurt you; more likely they are trying to steal your load. Pulling into a well lighted area will not prevent that, if a hijacker wants to take your truck they will take it. All you will do by calling 911 and refusing to pull over is get yourself in hot water with a lot of real cops.

So you are driving out on a deserted road and then a car comes out of nowhere (especially those that cannot be easily identified as police cars), there's no one else out there but you......noooo I think I will call 911 and find out if there is a real police operating on that road. By calling 911 and reporting you are afraid to stop coz you are not sure that is a legitimate officer, you are 'covering your back'.

As well as working my way through trucking school I am also in my senior year of criminal justice and I can tell you, without a doubt, that this is a very good way to be arrested. I would not hesitate to arrest someone who did not pull over immediately unless there was a medical emergency. Even then it would have to be someone in the process of dying and you would have to be on your way to the hospital. There is no "covering your back" what you are doing is flat out breaking the law. There is no law saying that you can put on your four way flashers and call 911 for permission to stop. If you did that I would also charge you with using a cell phone while operating a commercial vehicle if it was illegal in the state you did it in.

All of my tests stopped once I had the required number correct.

- Oregon

This probably goes without saying (as denying the request would be discrimination) but if a male trainer just feels more comfortable around females is can he request a female trainer?