Started Orientation With Knight/Squire

I started my orientation with Knight Transport last Monday. The training portion of their company is known as Squire. I tried to do a diary while in CDL school at Truck Driver Institute but between little internet availability and being worn out from school I was not able to update as often as I wanted. I will try to do a little more work on this one but it may be hard to do while on the road.

The first week is paper work, drug tests, and physicals. The physical at Knight is more involved than a typical DOT physical. You will have a drug test while at the terminal including urine and hair samples. You will also have the typical urine drug test when doing the DOT physical. The agility test that is part of Knights hiring process does include moving some weights and getting your heart rate up a little bit. My pressure was high when I first went it, which really surprised me. I NEVER have high blood pressure. She asked if I was nervous and I admitted I was. They gave me time later to lay down and relax so they could test me again. The second time my pressure was where I needed to be so no problems.

You will lift two 20lb weights up over your head, one in each hand. Lift about 50lbs from the ground and place it on a table about 4 feet high. Do some deep knee bends, step up on a tall step to simulate getting in the truck. Do one minute of step exercise to get your heart going, then they test your rate again to make sure you recover in a normal amount of time. They put some weights on a towel up on a message table and have you pull it towards you.

Most people will have no trouble with this test. I am NOT in top physical condition and did it without issue, so don't let yourself get all worried about it like I did lol.

You will go through some safety training, go over benefits, and spend a lot of time waiting around over the first 3 days. After I was officially hired and getting ready to leave Joyce, a WONDERFUL woman that spoke to our group most of the time, apologized to me about all the waiting. I laughed and told her I am starting a career in trucking, if a few hours of waiting bothers me I have chosen the wrong line of work!

I am now all set to head out with my trainer. I will be with him a minimum of 21 days (not necessarily all at one time) and then can either be approved to go on my own or requested to spend more time with him. I was supposed to go out today but he needs to get his truck inspected at a terminal to qualify for the quarterly bonuses so I wont be leaving till Monday. Yup, a little disapounted because I'm ready to get going but this is part of what trucking is like so I just roll with it and take what comes up.

My trainer called me yesterday and we spoke for at least an hour. He advised me of things I need to bring and suggested if I can to purchase a GPS before we leave. I told him I already bought one so he told me to bring it and we will use it instead of his so he can show me how to program in the terminals and other features so I will know how to use it. He was upfront with me and said he may get worked up and yell at times. But he said to wait until we are out of the problem and he will explain why he yelled and apologize lol. I think we are going to get along just fine.

I will update when I can. Thanks to Brett and everyone else on Trucking Truth for all the help. I could tell in both school and in orientation that I was more prepared for what is coming than most and it is all due to the great help here.

Woody

Congrats sir, enjoy your training and be safe

Good luck Woody! Please update when you can as Knight is one of the companies I am most interested in.