New Driver. Incident On First Load. Now Fired.

Weird they fired you over something so simple, I’ve worked for Schneider and knew right away the company before you even said which company it was based on how the training went. Did you get your CDL through a private school or did they pay for it?

When I worked there, I had a friend who hit a pickup truck and wasn’t fired, along with backing into two trucks not long after that.

Lucky for your friend. I was never allowed that much leeway. They got tight since then. Really frustrating. I paid for my own school.

Im a new CDL-A holder, worked at a mega carrier for about a month. Two weeks classroom then driving around the city for two days with trainer. One week OTR training. I felt I wasn't trained well enough and asked for more training for backing up. They pushed and said experience is all I needed. On my first solo load, I crushed a small tree in a dark parking lot. It was stuck in my tandems. My fault. No cops. No towing. No ticket. RIP little tree. 😞 One guy trained me on backing up for half a day. I told my supervisor I needed a couple of days practice at it. The trainer did teach me one good trick but I still need practice. She then told me I'd take a test. Pretrip, driving, and backing up. I thought, Oh great! They can see where I am and then I can practice on improving. Nope. The test was to see if they should fire me and needed documentation for their reasoning. Thought it was odd the instructor said he was not allowed to instruct me at all. Now I am fired for "Unsafe Driving Practices." It's fair enough to fire me for not being cost effective, since they churn out about 50 new drivers a week. But don't try to hurt my chances at a new job that would give me more training. My delimma is I have found a company that is willing to hire and train me but they need my DAC report. My first company one hasn't filed it with the state yet. I phoned to ask when they would file it and they said they didn't know. I asked for their copy of it to show my new company and they said their copy is proprietary and they never give it unless a lawyer pushes for it. Is there a legal time limit to make my DAC on this incident available to the TX public depth of safety? Is the company even legally obligated to file it at all? We have a family lawyer I can use but that feels weird to be so pushy. Should I just wait until they are good and ready? Thanks for any advice or suggestions. Much appreciated.

I just started for a company that may very well be willing to give you a chance. The exact opposite of what you experienced, if you need more training after the required 200 hours with a trainer, they will give you the time and training that you need. My employer is Dutch Maid Logistics. The company is OTR, but most of the loads are a bit regional. We are located in Willard, OH (myself living in Texas). The average length of haul for solo driver loads is 350-500 miles. It is refrigerated freight. Outside of Ohio, there are a lot of loads going to Baltimore, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Chicago. There is a farm owned by the parent company (Wiers Farm) in Sarasota, FL, so all along the east coast are good locations to live in working for this company. I mention all of this because you haven't said where you live and this way you can use the information to assess for yourself.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks Kerry. I will apply to them. I live in Texas too.

Im a new CDL-A holder, worked at a mega carrier for about a month. Two weeks classroom then driving around the city for two days with trainer. One week OTR training. I felt I wasn't trained well enough and asked for more training for backing up. They pushed and said experience is all I needed. On my first solo load, I crushed a small tree in a dark parking lot. It was stuck in my tandems. My fault. No cops. No towing. No ticket. RIP little tree. 😞 One guy trained me on backing up for half a day. I told my supervisor I needed a couple of days practice at it. The trainer did teach me one good trick but I still need practice. She then told me I'd take a test. Pretrip, driving, and backing up. I thought, Oh great! They can see where I am and then I can practice on improving. Nope. The test was to see if they should fire me and needed documentation for their reasoning. Thought it was odd the instructor said he was not allowed to instruct me at all. Now I am fired for "Unsafe Driving Practices." It's fair enough to fire me for not being cost effective, since they churn out about 50 new drivers a week. But don't try to hurt my chances at a new job that would give me more training. My delimma is I have found a company that is willing to hire and train me but they need my DAC report. My first company one hasn't filed it with the state yet. I phoned to ask when they would file it and they said they didn't know. I asked for their copy of it to show my new company and they said their copy is proprietary and they never give it unless a lawyer pushes for it. Is there a legal time limit to make my DAC on this incident available to the TX public depth of safety? Is the company even legally obligated to file it at all? We have a family lawyer I can use but that feels weird to be so pushy. Should I just wait until they are good and ready? Thanks for any advice or suggestions. Much appreciated.

I just started for a company that may very well be willing to give you a chance. The exact opposite of what you experienced, if you need more training after the required 200 hours with a trainer, they will give you the time and training that you need. My employer is Dutch Maid Logistics. The company is OTR, but most of the loads are a bit regional. We are located in Willard, OH (myself living in Texas). The average length of haul for solo driver loads is 350-500 miles. It is refrigerated freight. Outside of Ohio, there are a lot of loads going to Baltimore, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Chicago. There is a farm owned by the parent company (Wiers Farm) in Sarasota, FL, so all along the east coast are good locations to live in working for this company. I mention all of this because you haven't said where you live and this way you can use the information to assess for yourself.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks Kerry. I will apply to them. I live in Texas too.

Dutch Maid Logistics doesn't have loads going down to Texas a whole lot, so there will be an expectation to stay out for 6-8 weeks at a time, unless you are willing to take home time in areas where they have loads going more often. They will work with you, but just understand that we are outside their typical running lanes.

One week of so called training and they put you on your own?

One week of so called training and they put you on your own?

They have a decent safety record, so something that they are doing is working for them. I will say that the test they require trainees to pass on their practice pad is not easy. Definitely an atypical method of training.

One week of so called training and they put you on your own?

Yes Sir. They go through about 50 new drivers a week. No license, new license, and experienced. You can guess the retention rate. Their present training model is to give us 1 week OTR and see who sinks or swims. Something about that must be cost effective but rough on people. Lucky me, I was finally hired at another company to drive dry van. Then just before 5pm today someone phoned me with the news they could only hire me for flatbed. 🤣 I'm almost 65 years old and a 6 week old kitten can beat me up. Had to say no. I'll let you guys know if I have any luck. Thanks.

One week of so called training and they put you on your own?

Yes Sir. They go through about 50 new drivers a week. No license, new license, and experienced. You can guess the retention rate. Their present training model is to give us 1 week OTR and see who sinks or swims. Something about that must be cost effective but rough on people. Lucky me, I was finally hired at another company to drive dry van. Then just before 5pm today someone phoned me with the news they could only hire me for flatbed. 🤣 I'm almost 65 years old and a 6 week old kitten can beat me up. Had to say no. I'll let you guys know if I have any luck. Thanks.

Carmen,

I'm confused. The 'one week' training is SNI, (in a nutshell...) correct??

Kerry, you made it confusing, re: DML ... LoL!

Carmen, it really couldn't hurt to look into Dutch Maid. Did you apply here? Apply For Paid CDL Training

Seriously, what's one logistics 'trash' is the better ones 'treasure.'

I also feel, all considering, you should look at Witte Bros. .... Smaller(ish) company, great retention rate, and actually 'prefer' mature drivers (but they can't say that ... I can, from stats & trends!)

Wish you well, good sir.

~ Anne ~

ps: Please look into Witte Bros. (and DML if you haven't.)

One week of so called training and they put you on your own?

Yes Sir. They go through about 50 new drivers a week. No license, new license, and experienced. You can guess the retention rate. Their present training model is to give us 1 week OTR and see who sinks or swims. Something about that must be cost effective but rough on people. Lucky me, I was finally hired at another company to drive dry van. Then just before 5pm today someone phoned me with the news they could only hire me for flatbed. 🤣 I'm almost 65 years old and a 6 week old kitten can beat me up. Had to say no. I'll let you guys know if I have any luck. Thanks.

Carmen,

I'm confused. The 'one week' training is SNI, (in a nutshell...) correct??

Kerry, you made it confusing, re: DML ... LoL!

Carmen, it really couldn't hurt to look into Dutch Maid. Did you apply here? Apply For Paid CDL Training

Seriously, what's one logistics 'trash' is the better ones 'treasure.'

I also feel, all considering, you should look at Witte Bros. .... Smaller(ish) company, great retention rate, and actually 'prefer' mature drivers (but they can't say that ... I can, from stats & trends!)

Wish you well, good sir.

~ Anne ~

ps: Please look into Witte Bros. (and DML if you haven't.)

What part did I make confusing? I will clear it up, if I can.

I just want to interject a few thoughts into this conversation...

First is the prevalent theory that Schneider somehow is being cheap and doesn't really care if their drivers survive or not. It simply isn't true. Wile it is true that they do their training differently than most companies, they have a good record of success with it. We have heard from many Schneider drivers who felt they were well trained and had the support they needed to get started on their career. Their program is fast paced, but they cover everything well, and if they decide you need more training they will provide it.

Carmen said this...

I felt I wasn't trained well enough and asked for more training for backing up. They pushed and said experience is all I needed.

Everybody in here feels the same way Carmen felt. It doesn't matter if we had six months of training, we don't feel confident we can back up a truck properly. That is the most common complaint of new drivers. Schneider responded in the same way that many of us would have. You just need to get out there and keep doing it. You will get the hang of it with the repetition you get while on the job. That is how we all learn to back a truck. Real life scenarios are much greater teachers than training pad exercises.

I can promise you that Schneider went over this practice of G.O.A.L.ing when you back a truck. Carmen tells us...

On my first solo load, I crushed a small tree in a dark parking lot. It was stuck in my tandems. My fault. No cops. No towing. No ticket. RIP little tree.

There is no way something like that happens when you G.O.A.L. (get out and look) Carmen didn't do what was taught in the orientation and training period. That is foremost in why Carmen got fired. Remember here is what Carmen tells us is the reason for getting fired...

Now I am fired for "Unsafe Driving Practices."

Well yeah, that's a very descriptive reason for running over a tree and getting it stuck in your tandems. You never saw the tree or it wouldn't be stuck there in your tandems. It wasn't noticed because somebody failed to G.O.A.L. When we are trained we must follow our training or we will be churned, but not because of lack of training. We will be churned for not following valuable instructions. You will not be running over trees if you G.O.A.L. properly.

There is a second reason why Carmen got fired so quickly when others are given a second or third chance. Carmen continues to blame the company for the problem. I wrote a whole chapter in my book about what happens when a new driver has an accident. One of the biggest problems that puts a driver out of their job after an accident is not accepting responsibility and being willing and able to express that to the employer in a way that shows what you learned from the experience. Carmen repeatedly blames this on Schneider's training.

I wasn't trained well enough

They pushed and said experience is all I needed.

One guy trained me on backing up for half a day. I told my supervisor I needed a couple of days practice at it.

they churn out about 50 new drivers a week.

The TE spent most of her time playing on the phone. She tried a little bit but it wasn't enough.

the TE made a thousand bucks off the two of us trainees.

They go through about 50 new drivers a week. No license, new license, and experienced. You can guess the retention rate. Their present training model is to give us 1 week OTR and see who sinks or swims. Something about that must be cost effective but rough on people.

Okay, I am going to admit I was not present when Carmen was talking with Schneider about the incident, but if it went anything like it went in here there is no way they are keeping that driver. Carmen never tells us what was learned from running over the tree except how poorly the training was done. It shows a lack of willingness to follow up the training with some good common sense and responsibility. I think it is obvious why Carmen got dismissed. Carmen didn't G.O.A.L. effectively and didn't learn anything useful about backing a truck even after running over a tree. It was time for Carmen to be sent home.

You can call me a hard ass if you want, but the facts are hard for me to ignore in this situation.

I went to all this trouble to point these things out for the newbies and wannabes in here. You can make mistakes in trucking and survive them, but you can't ignore what was taught you in training. You are the one at the wheel. When you run over a tree it is your fault. It is always best to admit your fault and show what you learned from it. If all you can produce as what you learned is that the company's training is lousy and insufficient, you will soon be looking for a job.

I went through Schneider orientation as a new driver back in 2015. To say you only get one week of training is not true. All together it’s a three week course.

The first week you are assigned a road instructor and drive with him for several hours a day. The day is mixed with class room work and training on the pad.

Week two you are out with a trainer. Trainer cannot be on the phone or in the sleeper. You do all the driving. Week three is back with the road instructor. At the end you test out with a safety manager. If they feel you are not ready you are not going solo but will redo the orientation.

After that I did another week with a mentor and had to again test out with a safety manager from the account I was assigned to. So technically yes you are with a “trainer “for only a week. It’s much more than that.