1 On 1 Training With Instuctor?

Hi Everyone!! … And thanks Brett for this great site!! When you’ve been training at a sponsored school, permit in hand and you’re ready to go out on the road with your 1 on 1 trainer, how does that even work? I’m a really easy going guy and everything, but I just can’t imagine being stuck weeks to months on end with some stranger (at first) 24 hours a day confined in a tiny little space the size of a full size bathroom!!

How do you keep from killing each other (eventually)?

Hi Everyone!! … And thanks Brett for this great site!! When you’ve been training at a sponsored school, permit in hand and you’re ready to go out on the road with your 1 on 1 trainer, how does that even work? I’m a really easy going guy and everything, but I just can’t imagine being stuck weeks to months on end with some stranger (at first) 24 hours a day confined in a tiny little space the size of a full size bathroom!!

How do you keep from killing each other (eventually)?

Good question and I am also interested in the answer. But I will add to the question. With the trainer, you can always look forward to the day that the training is over and you will be done with him/her. However, my question is the same but not for a trainer, but for a company that offers only team driving. What if your team member is a genuine bonehead? or there just happens to be a personality conflict? Perhaps you're a Christian and he is a cusser, for example. I mean, it could be anything that just irritates you to death. There must be some provision for situations like that. I'm sure our question is not for the first time this has ever happened.

I know what happens in the military when things like this happen. You suck it up and drive on! But this is private sector work and I am curious how it is handled.

Welcome aboard David! And great questions from both of you guys.

No question about it - getting a trainer with a lousy personality or (Heaven forbid) an inferiority complex is an absolute nightmare. Many, many, many careers never made it to the solo stage because the student just couldn't handle the stress and friction involved with their trainer. Some companies will switch you to another trainer if there's a personality conflict, but most of the time they're going to try to encourage you to work it out.

I wrote an article called New Truck Drivers Beware Of Rocking The Boat about this very topic. As a trainee you obviously have very little leverage and when things go poorly out on the road it's a brand new student's word against that of a trainer. The odds are not in the student's favor.

What you'll want to do is try to keep a low profile, keep the relationship as mellow as possible, and endure it as long as the trainer doesn't put you into unsafe circumstances that you know should be avoided like driving with a major safety issue or purposely breaking laws. If it gets that serious then your company needs to be notified.

I know what happens in the military when things like this happen. You suck it up and drive on!

That's pretty much it when it comes to your trainer. Just try to endure it as long as you're not being put in a dangerous position.

As far as regular team driving like with companies like CRST who run almost all teams - they will certainly find you a different partner if you find you're completely incompatible. These companies that run a lot of teams have dealt with this kind of stuff seven days a week for years and years. They'll help you get it worked out. But once again they're likely going to try to get you to do everything possible to work it out first. But ultimately they'll switch you to a new partner if all else fails.