Truck Driving Trainers And Instructors, What They Do And Don't Know

My question is this, if you get a trainer like this do you just stick it out or should you talk to someone to request a different trainer? Most companies say you can do that or is it best as a rookie not to rock the boat? It would seem to me that a person like that should be reported and should not be allowed to be a trainer. I can't believe that a company would allow someone like that to be teaching drivers such unsafe procedures maybe I'm just too naive to understand this but if a company allowed this type of trainer that would make me wonder how if safety is a high priority with such a company and what else would they expect me to do that might be wrong or unsafe. I hope I would not end up with someone like that.

Now see my thought process was stick it out. Its only temporary and you have this site to counteract the dumbness of your trainer. When you get your own you can ride however you want. As I always tell Special K. "Suck it up buttercup";-)

This thread has been on my mind the past few days, and I've wanted to re-visit it with just a few more thoughts, but I've just been so darn busy I haven't even had the chance to catch my breath. Fortunately it looks like I'm gonna catch a break for tonight and tomorrow, so I jut wanted to jump in here and say a few more things about this subject.

Ending up with a really good trainer is just the luck of the draw, but I think whatever type of trainer you get you should do just like RedGator said and "suck it up". Sometimes in life we just have to accept what we get and not "rock the boat". At the beginning of your trucking career is one of those times.

As rookies, we think that it's real important that we get the best trainer that we can. But in the grand scheme of things it's not that critical. I've chronicled my experiences with what I have termed a "crazy" trainer, and it had absolutely no negative effects on my ability to prove myself a worthwhile and hard-working professional driver to my dispatcher.

Here's my thoughts on what you need to be picking up from your trainer. One of the main things is how to use the qualcomm and how and when you are to send in certain macros so that your dispatcher is kept well informed of your progress on the loads he's providing you with. Another thing is your companies procedures for fuel stops - how and where you get fuel for your truck. And maybe a third thing is how you send in your paperwork for completed jobs so that you can get paid. Oh, and how to get a shower at a truck stop. Also just learning company procedures in general, like how to contact break-down or what to do in case of a flat tire, those types of things. These are the things that you really don't have a clue about and will make your life on the road much more productive and efficient when done properly.

Now, if you noticed nothing in that list has anything to do with actual driving skills.

When you are out with your trainer you are going to be learning about different techniques and skills such as maybe how to set up for backing your truck, or using the jake brakes, and various other things like that. Someone more experienced please correct me if I'm way off, but all of these things will actually be developed and perfected over time while you are out there running solo. You are not going to finish up with your trainer and be considered an expert, nor should you really be expecting for them to finish you off so that you are polished and ready to face the world.

My experience taught me that really that trainer is there to just kind of be a buffer between you and the harsh realities of being out there on the road at the beginning. There are so many new things that you are not going to be aware of until you experience them first hand and that time with the trainer kind of helps ease you into the transition without it being a disaster. I liken it to a little kid taking his first steps. His parents are right there with him at the beginning to keep him from seriously hurting himself if he falls, but once he starts to get the feel for it they begin to back off and what he learns he learns on his own by broadening his comfort level with more new experiences that challenge him but don't damage him.

So, what I'm saying is take what you get, and don't sweat the details. More than likely you will have to use your own filter when with your trainer. If you think he's teaching you something that's off the wall, then it probably is - just nod politely and carry on. You can always come in here and we can set the record straight for you if you're really concerned about something. You'll probably never see that person again in your lifetime, learn what you can from them, but realize that when you are running solo in your own truck that is when you will really be learning a ton of new stuff. When you are out there and doing your own thing it is very rewarding to have those "light bulb moments" like Steven mentioned the other day in his diary on training with TMC. Those are the teaching moments that begin to transform you int a professional, and those are the lessons that you will retain.

I've been out here for six months now and there's not a day that goes by that I don't learn something. Skills get polished, confidence gets under girded, and patience gets tried. But, all in all, the road is going to be your best trainer. The person they call your trainer is really just a buffer to keep you from killing yourself or someone else until you are ready for the real training which comes from being out there on the road making your own decisions and living with the very real consequences of those choices.

I appreciate all the input from everybody, it's comforting and at the same time a bit scary. Like what you said old school, my trainer is supposed to be a buffer from getting myself killed, yet, I feel like what he is teaching / telling me is going to get me killed. The same with "suck it up buttercup" lol. But seriously, this guy is dead serious on going down 6 and 7% inclines in 10th gear, telling me I'm going to tear up his transmission going down in a lower gear because the rpms are so high. I've tried to nicely explain that the engine and jake breaks are BUILT to function PROPERLY at those high rpms, but he threatens to extend my training time, or have me ousted from the program if I don't do it his way, so, I really have no choice but to "suck it up" if I want to complete the training program. And yeah, I hear you guys when you say its a short period, and then I'll never see this guy again. Still, It's just amazing that this is a TRAINER encouraging this type of action.

And your right old school about my trainer being about learning the qualcomm , handling fuel stops and doing paperwork to get paid. He has been good about those things.

And thank you again Brett for this website, It is really scary that there are people like this, training. I am so thankful that I found this website, that I can watch out for myself, and also thankful for all the great folks on here for me to bounce ideas off of, so that I can learn whats right and whats wrong. At the end of the day, I want to be alive and on time.

On the bright side, I have learned how to go down a 6 mile long 7% grade in 10th gear ... not that you'll see me do that when I get my own truck.

I am finally at home for some much needed home time, after being away nearly 8 weeks. I have almost 20,000 miles of training time, and only need another 10K before upgrading to 1st seat. I filed for my passport today, and tomorrow need to swap my CDL over to my home state, and take the written for my HazMat endorsement. I may have to retake my endorsement - again- for double triples and tankers. Apparently they don't carry over. Maybe I will get lucky and my home state will have my original scores on file, and all I will need to do is the HazMat. I will update you tomorrow.

Also, I will be starting another thread for eating and nutrition on the road. I have learned a few tricks these past few weeks for eating well, and will share that along with a few recipes. For now though, I have a cold beer and some warm arms to attend to....

Peace all

Road Hog, that is precisely what I mean when I say that once you are out there running solo is when you really get to start learning this stuff. My trainer didn't understand how to descend a mountain either, but once I got on my own every time I'd go down a mountain I'd try it a little differently each time until I started to get the feel for how it all worked. I was constantly having to stab the brakes with my trainer because he would always have me doing it in 10th gear just like your trainer. Now when I'm going down a mountain I seldom have to use the brakes at all, just a light touch here and there to control the descent at a reasonable speed.

There will always be stuff like this in trucking that just doesn't make sense to you. It's best to just let it roll off of you and don't let it grind away at you. The people who think they are going to change the company's way of doing things by raising a stink about all the minutia of the things that they just don't understand don't fair very well. It's a challenging environment, but a good truck driver knows how to pick his battles and doesn't waste his efforts on futile struggles. It sounds like you are handling it well, and I'm glad to see it. That type of attitude or approach will help you greatly in this career.

Yea, I hear ya old school. I go mountains 'my way' when he's asleep in the bunk, and it seems to work pretty good. I don't exactly have the right gear worked out yet, but for sure, I'm not hitting the brakes nearly as often as 'his way'. I know (from this site) that I shouldn't need the brakes at all if I'm in the right gear.

As far as letting it get to me? nah, I'm like a duck man, and all that stuff is water rolling off my back. I take it for what it's worth. I may not agree with it, but it seems to work for him, and now I have another piece of knowledge. Like if for some reason I come over a hill and find myself in a steep descent, I know I can stab it down. Not ideal, but at least I know how to do it, and get to the bottom in one piece.

There is no reason to raise a stink, I know, they all told me so, lol. No matter what I say, they are the trainer, the instructor, and me? I'm just some punk that walked in the door a few short months ago, and these guys are people that have been driving for years. Who is the company to believe? Them of course. All I need to do is learn. So learn I do.

I love the words of wisdom from members like you Old School. Thanks a ton, and keep them coming!

Peace

Well it has been awhile since my last update and I am back on the road with my trainer. Just a few short miles from being ready to upgrade to first chair. Perhaps I am getting wiser and learning to deal with my trainer or perhaps I have just learned to keep my mouth shut, but my trainer and I had a "discussion" on HOS. Which is to say it was a one way discussion haha. P Seems my Instructor is under the impression that the 34 hour reset rule has been replaced by the 48 hour reset. Meaning in order to reset your clocks you must be out of service for 48 straight hours.

I asked if I was misinformed when I was taught that the 34 hour reset was still in effect with the stipulation that those 34 hours include TWO periods of 12m-5a. No no he said. The old rules gave you a reset after any 34 hour reset but now you are required to take a 48 hour reset.

Huh, I said. Then why does the main terminal have all those signs up about 34 hours and 2 periods of 12m-5a, I inquired. Those are old signs and the company hasn't changed them out he says. He doesn't k ow why the company is so stupid and misleading the drivers. Gonna get some drivers in trouble. Stupid company. Oh I say and then I sit quietly while I get a 15 min lecture on the new 48 hour reset rules. Of course, he also reminded me of how I was wrong in my understanding of the split sleeper berth. Apparently that is a fallacy. The split sleeper berth doesn't exist he explains.

Afterwards he tells me I gotta be real careful out here. These HOS rules are tricky and if you don't understand them you can't maximize your time and you could even get a ticket

Whew. I sure am glad I had a trainer set me straight on all that. Otherwise I might wonder just how in the world he became a trainer. LoL

Boy I sure am grateful Brett set up this site and I sure am thankful that I found it.

Otherwise I might actually believe him

Peace

Hey Road Hog!

Now I will be the first to admit that I don't know much about trucking. I may have been born at night, but not last night!

It seems to me that if a change were to take place in the trucking regulations, especially something as important as going from a 34 hour reset to a 48 hour reset rule, the schools and the companies would be among the first to know. The schools would not want to be guilty of promulgating false information as well as the companies would not want to set their entire driver pool up for failure. If those signs at your company are 'old' signs, just how old are they?

I think the best lesson from your story here for me is like you said. Just sit there and listen until it passes.

Reading this encourages me and gives me strength and confidence. If this idiot can become a trainer then so can I!!!!

Reading this encourages me and gives me strength and confidence. If this idiot can become a trainer then so can I!!!!

That is a very good point. If he can become a driver, then a trainer, then I can become a driver, too.

Reading this encourages me and gives me strength and confidence. If this idiot can become a trainer then so can I!!!!

That is a very good point. If he can become a driver, then a trainer, then I can become a driver, too.

There ya go!