CR ENGLAND CDL-A TRAINING

I just finished my CDL-A training (and passed my CDL-A test) with CR England. After looking and researching many schools, I decided that CR England's 10-day training was right for me. For one, it was lower ($3500) cost, with fewer days/weeks commitment and it was within a 3 hour drive from my home in Austin.

The tuition included a motel stay, shuttle to and from the training area (right next to the Texas Motor Speedway) in N. Fort Worth, TX. They put you in a room with two beds and assign you a roommate. Some are lucky enough not to have a roommate, but I got a nice, respectful roommate and we even went out to a few dinners around the motel area. The motel provided us with a continental breakfast (muffin, apple, granola bar and a small juice) before the shuttle arrived.

Before I arrived at the motel to check in the night before training started, I ask CR England for an itenerary so I'd know more about what to expect. I never heard back and now I know why. The school is so unorganized me and some others were considering dropping out and getting a full refund.

The first day, the shuttle arrived an hour late and when we got to the training center (15 miles away), we ended up sitting around in a meeting room waiting for some training to start. Finally, in the afternoon I was sent out to a tractor/trailer and was driving around the training course in the surrounding town. They put me in an advanced class of trainees by mistake and I shouldn't have been driving on my first day, but I did fine and did well they said.

On day one, we should have been doing our paperwork and going over some in class education with some expectations of what to expect during our 10 days of training. But the admin person was off that day, WTH?! We wasted the first day practically hanging out on our cell phones. Really frustrating.

Day Two -- We did admin work which included how we were going to pay for the training. Then we went over to the yard where the training courses and tractor/trailers were. There was no coordination between the instructors and the class training schedule. It was so unorganized and haphazard I almost quit, but then I didn't want to have to delay my training any longer than I had already, so I stuck it out.

I must say that as disorganized as it was, the trainers, shuttle drivers and admin staff were pretty nice. But I can just imagine how great this would have been if any of the staff had any direction and focus as to having a professional directed learning course where all were on the same page. In speaking with several other students, we shared that our instructors all taught differently and some withheld valuable information (not on purpose, mind you) that we had to discover on our own throughout the course.

But, as the 10 days progressed, we all practiced our pre-trip, 4 point brake tests, incab inspection, off-set parking, backing up and stopping within the box as well as road course driving in and around the town and country. Taking the various clues and points given to us by instructors, if we hit our marks and utiized our clues that (should have been given to us on the first days of training) we worked out of our instructors by having to ask, we were finally ready to start the testing.

My test was scheduled early, which I was thankful for, as it allowed less time for worry and doubt as a later testing would probably had caused. And much to my relief, I passed and was on my way back home after 10 days of stressful situation.

I really liked the staff at Premier Truck Driving School, but if they could hire a trainer to train the trainers, with a communicated teaching staff (all being on the same page with an itenerary and training schedule) this would be a much better experience. Still, I'd like to recommend this school for those that are confident in their ability to learn what is necessary to pass you CDL-A license in 10 days with less money ($3500 as opposed to some schools asking $7-8,000 and 6-7 weeks of training).

Most of the truckers I've interviewed stated that the best training is actually getting on the road and getting that actual experience. And CR England will get you started with that, too, or you can search out other driving experience opportunities on your own. One thing that you'll find is that most trucking companies won't hire you without any driving experience.

Welcome to Trucking Truth and to your new trucking career, Danny.

It's awesome that you passed your CDL road test on your first go-round.

But it seems you a bit judgemental about your training. Did you know stuff before you took the class?

some (instructors) withheld valuable information (not on purpose, mind you) that we had to discover on our own throughout the course.

I'm a CDL instructor and, yes, my goal is to get information into your head as quickly as possible. But an important part of learning is self-discovery. I'll guide my students through the backing skills, and when they see how it all works on their own, they own it

Getting "clues" and "marks" on the first day is impossible. You need to understand how steering a tractor-trailer works before you can figure out how to back the trailer between cones.

Most of the truckers I've interviewed stated that the best training is actually getting on the road and getting that actual experience

This is true. Getting a freshly printed CDL in your hands does not make you a trucker. That hands-on experience comes after CR E hires you and puts you with an experienced driver who will polish you up to get your own truck.

I appreciate the detailed and pretty honest review of your training experience. Don't stop posting. Add a topic in our Training Diaries section.