Questions To Ask Of And Expectations From A Company Trainer.

well I start school on march 10 and if all goes well after 2 weeks in socal i will be on the open road with a company trainer. Is it alright to ask the trainer what is expected of me and can i ask what i expect of him? I know it will be their/companys truck. but i value training time and i expect to push myself hard to excel at this new venture. is it ok to ask what i expect of them? Like if they want to use my clock to drive on do i have the right to say no? My clock my training time? what is the best way to approach this without showing disrespect. I have been studying hard on the tt program and want to do it well.

Excellent question Chris. Smart approach.

Ok, for starters we have a really cool series of articles that TruckerMike wrote when he was a trainer at Prime Inc called The Trainer's Viewpoint. Check those out. They're really good.

I wrote an interesting article on the subject called New Truck Drivers: Beware Of Rocking The Boat. As you can see from the title, it talks about the precarious situation you're in as a brand new driver in the industry.

I also did a search using our search box at the top of the page for "ask a trainer" and the results bring up a TON of great forum conversations and blog articles on the subject. Check this out:

Search Results For "Ask The Trainer".

I don't think I've ever linked to search results like that but there's a bunch of great stuff there. I was going to pick out a few links but there were so many good ones it was easier to point you to the results. You might try some related searches in that search box also. It will dig up a lot of great stuff.

Finally, Chapter 7 of our Truck Driver's Career Guide is called Surviving Company Training And Preparing To Go Solo. Check out that chapter if you haven't already and follow the links you come across as you go. Tons of great stuff there.

I'm the one who knows what content we have here on TruckingTruth the best so I like to point that stuff out for people to check out. And I'm certainly hoping a lot of people will chime in with their specific suggestions also.

I've gotta tell ya.....sometimes it even surprises me how much we have at this point. You bring up any subject and we have dozens and dozens of articles, forum conversations, and other resources on the subject. That helps me sleep good at Knight.....I mean night.

Thank you very much. Just want to do it well.

My 916 brother,

Those articles will definitely answer the question. Remember that your trainer is an experienced driver. Learn all you can from him. Be a sponge soaking up all the information. Your trainer will probably have a routine laid out for you. Just remember to not hit anything and safety first. Be a great listener and ask questions. I wish you luck sir!

Ok. I will listen and watch and put into action everything I learn. Thank you again.

My 916 brother,

Those articles will definitely answer the question. Remember that your trainer is an experienced driver. Learn all you can from him. Be a sponge soaking up all the information. Your trainer will probably have a routine laid out for you. Just remember to not hit anything and safety first. Be a great listener and ask questions. I wish you luck sir!

Yea just remember that once you ask a question and get a driver starts talking you are in it for the long haul. Seriously.