Finished Knight Trucking School

Well i made it through Knight Transportation's truck driving school. At first i was worried that i would not be able to do it but i made it through and with no regrets. It was a little scary going in but it quickly passed and became an awesome experience. The first week was orientation. (Very Boring) bit there was a lot going on behind the scenes that i did not see. Week 2 (The Range) Exciting but tiring. Pre Trip, backing, shifting, lots and lots of practice, & a few videos. Week 3 (Over the Road) What an adrenaline rush. Real life behind the wheel experience 1 on 1 with a 37 year veteran. I learned more in 1 week about driving than i have in 25 years of having a license. It is truly a whole new world and the best experience i have ever had. I got lucky and my trip was 3600 miles. I saw so much and learned how to drive in day, night, rain, snow, and in several cities. Week 4 (City Driving) They put me with a 15 year veteran for my local driving and that was another new world. City traffic, Up shifting, Down Shifting, Double Clutching , Floating, Drop & Hook, Backing (Lots of Backing) and maneuvering in and out of yards. I am testing out for my CDL Monday and i am completely confident that i will pass with no issues. I can't believe how nice and helpful everyone was and how much they encouraged me to ask as many questions as possible and truly learn how to be a driver and not a steering wheel holder. It is not for everyone as i saw a few fail but the instructors are truly top notch and want you to be a safe driver and not just pass a test.

I would recommend anyone who is really serious about being a truck driver to go through the Knight School. I met a lot of people there from other company schools and they all said their training does not compare to how thorough mine was.

That's awesome news Thomas! Congrats!

Ya know, I've gotta tell ya - we hear a ton of excellent feedback from Knight's program. You're verifying that also. That's great to hear. Learning to drive a rig is such a difficult and stressful process. These schools should be doing a good job of helping people through it and I'm glad to hear that Knight is doing just that.

So where do you go from here? Are you driving OTR , regional , or what? Have you found out yet?

Thank you, I was so worried about where to go and who to trust. A big portion of my decision was reading your forums and listening to other feedback. Knight has so many programs designed to fit almost any situation that it seems like a hard choice to make. I think i am going to go with the OTR 7-10 for now so that my family is able to get comfortable with me being gone. I go out for 7-10 days then home for a couple days. Eventually i will go out longer once everyone gets comfortable and settled. Knight offers OTR, Regional , Dedicated, and Local so there are a lot of options to choose from and no forced dispatch or teams. The environment is very friendly and family focused. I am surprised that they are so focused on each driver and making them feel like a member of a family and less like a job.

That sounds great!

Ya know, in my experience you can make pretty much the same amount of money driving regional (being home on weekends) as you can running over-the-road and being home only a few days a month. Even the drivers that run OTR often spend a day or two each week sitting for whatever reason - breakdowns, slow freight, out of hours, etc. It's rare you're running hard seven days a week. So drivers who run their brains out Monday through Friday and get home for 36-48 hours on the weekends can make about as much money as people running OTR.

So have a look at the different programs Knight has to offer. They may have some regional or dedicated divisions that pay nearly as well as OTR but still get you home quite often. Being home every weekend is 1000 times better than being home a few days a month when you have a family, that's for sure!