Trainer Kicked Me Off The Truck Tonight!

I am so busy right now I simply don't have the time to comment on this current turn in this conversation. But... when I can I'm going to return and add my thoughts to two things Brett said. They are excellent points, and I share his understanding of them.

They are...

1) Your decisions and your resilience will determine your fate.

2) A moral victory doesn't pay the mortgage.

I'm super psyched you're still with us, Jay. I thought we lost you.

Jay, I agree with Brett - I think it's awesome that you're still with us!

I'm hoping Isabella is still hanging around also. My original thoughts from three or four days ago were to address her comments, but my time has had so many demands of late that I feel it a little late in the conversation to go where I was going to. Let me just say that we see a common problem occurring in the training phase of newly licensed truck drivers. The trainee almost always has differing expectations than the trainer. The best way to approach the training is to try and adapt to learning what you can in a difficult environment. It's not like the end of the world that it's not going the way you expect. Be humble. Be coach-able. Communicate carefully if you are having issues. Don't just assume your trainer understands your issues. Some trainers are more patient than others. Some are just boneheaded nuts. I know because I had one of those nut jobs. I still got what I needed. The problem was that I didn't realize what I needed until I got through the whole process.

The training period in my opinion is a buffer period where you at least have some one with you who can help keep you from killing yourself or someone else. Seriously, that's the way I see it. We tend to think it is all about training us to become an expert at handling a big rig, but that simply cannot be done in a few weeks. I've been out here for years and I still am improving my ability to understand the physics and the concepts involved in safely operating my big truck. It's a process that is enhanced by the continuing challenges that are presented to us as we execute our assignments. Going through training with a trainer is really just a time to expose you to the demands of the job, while having someone there with you to help you understand the realities and the responsibilities of the job. The inability to fully grasp all the nuances of driving a big rig is not what kills most people's trucking careers early on.

Continued...

I have noticed a pattern of newbies getting fired from their jobs, and often they will try to lay the blame on their poor training. I've garnered this information from conversations in our forum. We will have someone get let go for backing accidents. Maybe they've had three or four strikes against them and now they get let go. They want to claim they weren't taught to back a truck by their trainer. Well, I know somewhere in their training or schooling they were taught the value of the practice of what we call "G.O.A.L." - Get Out And Look. It's generally not the lack of skill that kills a career early on. It is a lack of diligence and discipline. Look, if and when you can't see what's going on back there at the rear of your trailer or along one side of your trailer, you have to get a visual in your mind to help guide you in your efforts to maneuver that rig safely. That's where the discipline and diligence comes into play. You can't assume anything out here. You have to make sure you are doing your job properly. Making sure you are good and clear to move back another two feet or so is vitally important at times, and you can only do that by putting your eyes on the scene where the action is taking place.

Now, discipline is important in other areas too. I had to be disciplined to put up with my nut job trainer. I had to keep my cool and not let him get under my skin. It was an important lesson. I certainly wasn't being abused in any way, and I would not consider any of you do so, but it was like torture. I was miserable. I endured it because I knew it was one of the necessary steps to get past so that I could run my own truck as a solo driver. You don't want to rock the boat too terribly as the new guy on the job. You have to realize that you don't know anything, and that you are here to soak in what you can. That is exactly what I did. I took whatever valuable information I could gather and let the stupid stuff fall by the wayside. I had to be disciplined to discern between what was valuable and what was not. If I had a question about something that my trainer wouldn't or couldn't answer satisfactorily, I would raise it in our forum. That is the beauty of this community - they will shoot straight with you, and even if someone doesn't, the rest of us will straighten it out and make sure you are on the right track.

My time with a difficult trainer was valuable. It taught me to hang tough in a demanding situation. Guess what? The folks in the office were confident I was going to be able to survive my rookie year. They had seen several people quit while with this trainer. They lost confidence in those drivers because they showed an aversion to facing difficulties with a "can do" attitude. They didn't lose confidence in the trainer just because he didn't behave like he was your grandmother while helping you make the transition into this career. This is a really rewarding career - I hope it's obvious that I love what I do out here, but it is very challenging at the beginning. That is when most people quit the trucking career. The rookies throw in the towel due to the challenges. They don't get to the rewarding part because they lacked the discipline to endure the difficult beginnings. Difficulty is not to be avoided just because it makes us uncomfortable. Some things are just difficult. I remember standing as the "best man" at a wedding once. The groom was shaking like a leaf through the whole wedding! It was something difficult for him to make the kind of commitment he was standing up there for. He's been happily married for about forty years now! It was a really difficult commitment for him to make at the beginning. The trucking career is like that. It might scare you to death at the onset, and it's probably good if it does, but each of you can get to the point where you are confident in your situation and your abilities. Nobody starts out with ease in this career. It is challenging. Sometimes our trainer's approach just helps us get accustomed to dealing with the challenges.

Keep your head up. I had a similar experience with my trainer backing was always my problem and it is difficult to visualize with nothing g there really.

What I found out along the way is it doesn’t matter how good you back. First when parking find a pull through if you can. No need to back if you do t have to. At doors for shippers/receivers the more you do it the more you will find your rhythm and yes you will still have brain fart days but you will have super hero days too.

When I back if there are two open spots or more together it doesn’t matter if you are in another spot. Get back then kind the truck up in the spot you want with your S curves and boom all done. Take your time Get Out And Look and do t let any driver rush you. I tell them to F off if the honk. Hell I’ll stop and really puss them off. The point being you are right where you need to be in your journey. Enjoy the ride

Wow this sounds like my trainer with tmc. I have been through their school and just finished my first week with my trainer and am very likely not getting back in the truck tomorrow. He's not a ****head in general, he just has no patience and even though I've been driving a truck for all of a week will start cursing and berating me and putting me down when I mess up a back because I set it up wrong. I'm still out here just trying to make sure I'm not hitting stuff and he loses it because I'm not getting a back on the first try. I can handle pressure, but when someone with authority like that is mad at me and yelling, the stress just causes me my critical thinking to short circuit while I desperately try to un**** my mistake. Yes this field can be stressful, but why let trainers make it even harder by just piling it on guys fresh out of school who barely know how to drive the damn thing. We were all new once and didn't have a damn clue, but because the old timers were treated like **** they act like it's a rite of passage, when we should be given patience and grace while we learn these skills, instead of berating and condescension. Guy even had the nerve to call it common sense on my last one I messed up, as if training and licensing would be necessary if any of this was common sense.

Wow this sounds like my trainer with tmc. I have been through their school and just finished my first week with my trainer and am very likely not getting back in the truck tomorrow. He's not a ****head in general, he just has no patience and even though I've been driving a truck for all of a week will start cursing and berating me and putting me down when I mess up a back because I set it up wrong. I'm still out here just trying to make sure I'm not hitting stuff and he loses it because I'm not getting a back on the first try. I can handle pressure, but when someone with authority like that is mad at me and yelling, the stress just causes me my critical thinking to short circuit while I desperately try to un**** my mistake. Yes this field can be stressful, but why let trainers make it even harder by just piling it on guys fresh out of school who barely know how to drive the damn thing. We were all new once and didn't have a damn clue, but because the old timers were treated like **** they act like it's a rite of passage, when we should be given patience and grace while we learn these skills, instead of berating and condescension. Guy even had the nerve to call it common sense on my last one I messed up, as if training and licensing would be necessary if any of this was common sense.

Hello, Evan P. and welcome to Trucking Truth!

Wow, keep us UPDATED on how things go; it's be cool if you'd also start your own thread, and update as you have time, in the 'Diaries' section OR here~!!

Thanks for stopping in!! Sorry about your crappy experience; please keep us informed.

~ Anne ~

I agree 100 percent always pre trip your truck and always be looking at things when at shipper or receiver fueling can’t tell you how many times I found something wrong after my pre trip!

First, your trainer's pre-trip schedule: if he only PTI's on Sunday, he's wrong six days a week. Just like the HOS rules, the PTI is a requirement at least at the start of your shift.

Tires: if he couldn't believe it would hold air, why was he willing to trust that tire on the road?? If you're shingle load was heavy, call your on-road service before you head out. With light loads, I have driven a bit but still called in. In that case I'd plan where would be a good place for a 30 minute break then call the on-road people and tell them I'll stop there for the repair.