Training In Winter Weather

Hi everyone, how much of an advantage is training in bad weather? Being in training and going solo directly in to winter driving, seems like a disadvantage. I am a southern guy and I do have some driving in snow. But, of course not T/T just straight truck. Any opinions about start time for training. Thanks

I wanted to get into training in winter cause it is better to be with someone than alone. Sometimes people lose their common sense when it comes to winter. Basically.... go SLOW. My trainer made fun of me cause I was going 40 in a 65 in the snow. Uh... that 65 is for dry roads... and for cars. So guess what. Around curves and up n down hills I go even slower with my flashers on. There have been conditions when I drove in 6th gear in snow. Oh well.. I was safe and moving. Other times I have parked and told dispatch I would update them when I felt safe again.

I know someone who went solo in summer then had an accident and went back out with a trainer in the winter.

"If it's snow go slow....if it's ice no dice". That's the motto I live by. I saw a jerk fly by me then jackknife and wind up in opposing traffic. He's jobless...I'm safe and my compnay knows I'm safe ;)

I kind of wish I could have started earlier with a trainer for the winter months. There were a couple roads I went down last night and today, and all I could think was these roads must suck in the winter.

I kind of wish I could have started earlier with a trainer for the winter months. There were a couple roads I went down last night and today, and all I could think was these roads must suck in the winter.

I trained in the winter and got a little bit of snow driving, but my trainer mostly stays south in the winter because he hates it. I got more winter driving later that winter when I went solo, and a little bit last year, but it was a mild winter and I ended up running Texas a lot.

So now I'm driving Colorado regional which means lots of winter driving over mountains. I've gone up some little state highways recently where I found myself thinking, "This is going to suck in the winter." Guess I'll have to become expert at it soon.

I grew up in the north and have lived in Colorado for years, but it's one thing to drive those roads in a car or 4WD, and another in a truck. Go slow is the key. Stopping isn't an option now unless the road's closed.

I highly recommend training during the winter. I drove in snow in cdl school, in company training, and on my own my first couple of months solo. My second trainer, who I spent a a little over two weeks with, went back and forth from Salt Lake to Denver. Translation: I drove nothing but Wyoming I80 and Colorado I70 (when I80 was closed for weather) during some of the worst weather of the year. It's a good thing I got that experience too, because on the Miller Coors account I'm on now, I'm probably going to be crossing the Rockies on I70 quite a bit this winter.

I dealt with snow with my first trainer too, but he had just bought his new truck and didn't like me driving it in the snow. He SAID he had 1.5 years TT experience with Swift, but I recently found out from his own fb page that he was lying -- that winter with me was his first full winter in the snow..

There's another school of thought that if you have been solo for.most of the year you will be able to better handle the rig and shift. .. therefore the biggest snow problem is slowing down and using the differentials when necessary.

Absolutely train during winter weather. I got a tiny bit of it in February, however my trainer was a SE Regional driver so i didn't get nearly as much bad weather training as i had hoped for. One good thing is my company, when the roads are bad we MUST shut down. If they order a shutdown in a state, and you don't comply, you'll be looking for another job. It's not worth the risk to yourself, others, and company equipment and freight to risk it.

Just slow down, give more room in front, early morning ice roads watchout for, no engine brake or cruise control in wet, snowy or icy conditions. Light steady braking and strap a snow shovel on the back of the truck. Also carry tools for frozen brakes...good mallet hammer and metal rod or pry bar