Suncoast Trucking Academy, Punta Gorda, Florida

I went through the local career source and took advantage of the WIA (workforce investment act) which completely covered the cost of training, testing, physical and issuance of the medical card, and issuance of the license. Total cost to the state was just shy of $6500, but students there who paid out of pocket were charged closer to $6800. Supposedly the best trucking school in the state and after my experience, I'd have to say it's pretty accurate.

The course was a minimum of 3 weeks long, however if you needed longer, you got as much extra time as the instructors could give you to pass your driving test, which was done on site.

The course totals out to a minimum of 160 hours and primarily focuses on backing, (straight, offset, parallel, alley dock) some city driving to practice for the test, practice up and down shifting on very lightly traveled back roads, plus 3 or 4 days of class work, going over safety, regulations, and basic trucking theories.

Classes started every Monday, so there was very little waiting time, and because there were students there of a higher level of practice, they were encouraged to help those who had arrived more recently to assist in achieving the desired goals. There were 5 students in my weeks group, and around 10 to 12 from the groups before mine.

The equipment consisted of 4 freightliners with 10 speed manuals, and 2 freightliner day cabs with automatics. None of it was in perfect condition, but considering the abuse they received daily, I can understand why.

The instructors (Dave, Rich, Brian, Chandler) were all very knowledgeable and did their best to get the students ready and able to pass the test without any worries.

The test consisted of the pre-trip inspection , which included the in-cab as well as testing of air brakes; 3 basic maneuvers (straight back, offset left or right, and either parallel left or right, or alley dock left); and then the road test. Ray, the tester, was very easy going and would talk to me the whole time unless he was giving me instruction on what to do next.

After the test is over, if you pass, you return to the office where they present you with a certificate of completion and a voucher to take to the dmv to be issued your class A license. If you fail, you return to the office and schedule a retest date, no less than 24 business hours later. At this point, if you passed, you return to the training area to go over drop and hook procedures once or twice and to say goodbye to the instructors and your fellow classmates (if you choose to do so). If you failed, you continue training, paying closer attention to the portion which you lacked.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and if given the choice, I would always return to Suncoast Trucking Academy, and I plan on returning to say hello to everyone once I get placed with a company to tell them thank you and let them know how much I appreciate their time and instruction.