First Week OTR Training.....now Home Waiting For New Trainer

I'm a female, my company said I would be trained by a female. If that was not possible I would have to sign a waiver before going OTR to be trained by a male... ok .... no problem,right? So, I request a non-smoking female trainer,,,,,,,,,they assign me a smoking ,male trainer......... I don't necessarily have a problem with a male and the smoking bothers me, especially in my living space, working space, for 6 weeks ..... but I don't want to be a baby, whiner,sissy..... so, I just suck it up.(he says he cleans,wipes down and sweeps his truck once a week, and it doesn't smell like smoke)Ok if he's reasonably tidy and conscientious, I can handle a little discomfort for 6 weeks. Well.......the truck is filthy, the guy is full of excuses about why he didn't have time to clean it during the past two weeks that he's been on vacation... ok , whatever...... Ya, he rolls his window down a little to smoke, which blows the smoke into the cab... ok ....suck it up... things could be worse. It seems like just about every transaction is a hassle for this guy...I learned very quickly what not to do(actually I learned that stuff from my parents as a kid) lol I understand that in trucking we don't always get showers as regularly as we would like, I can deal with that. But we can wear clothes that cover what needs to be covered and use the restroom and make ourselves presentable. lol lol Well...you get the picture. He showed me some useful things, we went over pre-trip a couple times, I learned lots about his personal life, other drivers, previous students. After a couple days I informed him that I was going to request a new trainer. Nothing personal, I just thought I could learn better in a more comfortable environment, where I'm able to get a good nights rest. We got that arranged, continued our travel, got along fine(because I kept my mouth shut) I got in quite a bit of driving time which was great, I had a couple small issues that felt huge at the time, since I was behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler, and he was preoccupied either eating or on the phone so he wasn't much help. But I got through it. On what was to be our second to last night together, I was up in the top bunk, he was in the drivers seat,we were parked.... he sat there and smoked a cigarette!!!! Where do you think all that smoke went????? Right! UP AND BACK! Friggin' suffocating me! I'd had enough! The next morning I said "take me back to the terminal" I drove all the way back as I had the hours to do so. Made a pitstop for him about 100 miles from the terminal. Well..... he didn't make it! Didn't say or do anything about it!!!!! Ya, guess what I got to smell the last hour and a half!!!!!!! I understand these things are gonna happen. But were also adults and can take care of things! My family and friends think i I'm nuts for wanting to be a trucker, and I'm sure they're delighted to hear of my unfortunate experiences. lol. But from the week that I was on the road I learned that truckers like my trainer are the exception, contrary to the stereotypes. I'm excited to get back at it with my new trainer. I'm a firm believer in hard work and perseverance. Also,TT is a great tool for us newbies, thank you so much for being here. I'll be sure and share the rest of my journey. Sorry so lengthy,thanks for reading!!! Be safe!!!

When I drove back in 88-91, I always drove team. One co-driver was retired military and the nastiest person (and yes, showers were free back then with fueling) I've been around. He never showered, threw styrofoam coffee cups all around the cab, smoked (as a nonsmoker it doesn't bother me) and dropped ashes everywhere among other things. I ran 9 days with him and told the company I couldn't stay in that truck. Everyone else I drove with was good about showering and keeping the truck clean. I drove 3 yrs and got off the road cause my husband hated driving. He wanted to work on cattle ranches.

Fast forward 23 years....the husband was Traumatic Brain Injured for 18 years and due to burning out, was going in a nursing home. I was now 63 and needed to go to work. My brother went and got his CDL at 61.5, so I figured I could too. Went to school, got mine and was in the process of doing paperwork for the husband to live in the nursing home (was staying there fulltime) when he fell, breaking his hip and hitting his head. The bleeding into his brain wasn't caught for almost a week and by then it was too late. After he died, I went on the road 3 weeks later with my brother. We drove 2.5 mths together and then we went solo.

I have been solo now since Dec 2014. Don't think I could ever go back to team driving. What I see out there is just astounding. Truck stops, rest areas and on/off ramps are now filthier. You never saw pee bottles nor grocery bags with bowel movement in them. I don't understand why guys (and probably gals) can't water the dirt/grass, but have to pee in bottles and then leave them lying around. What your trainer did was not acceptable. He should have had you pull and taken care of business outside at the very least. What he did was just disgusting :-P