Question:
Are Truck Driving Schools preparing you for the reality of you chosen Career?
1) Are you being shown how to properly prepare your trip plan before setting out?
2) How many of you are having troubles with legalities in your feild?
3) Are you made aware of how to balance your loads, and preparing the bridge requirements for the States you are traveling?
4) Most large companies are very thourogh about log book issues these days, however are your trainers teaching you to properly or to cheat?
5) Hazardous Materials loads? Controlled substances and other vital materials?
6) How to check you equipment properly before stepping behind the wheel? (example: brake adjustments, unsafe suspensions)
7) Are there any issues that you feel strong enough about to make issue. What is the general opinion?
Please help me identify what the current problems Commercial Drivers are facing today...
Thank You
Safety is No Accident

Answer:
i basicly learned all that AFTer being on the road, not in school.
Answer:
covertshifter, I can tell you that i still have tons to learn and i just graduated from a 10 wk course. Logs scare the #%it out of me, as far as trip planning we spent one morning on that subject and were told what ever company we choose our trainer would help us learn how to do the rest. I never saw a wet road or even the slightest hill in any of my road rides, never drove at night and the trucks i learned on were 20+ yrs old and all daycab 9 speeds. I did learn from the school but i feel i should have more learned a lot more. As a matter of fact i've learned more from this site on logs and driving condition. I know i will still be learning everyday i'm out on the road but for all the money i spent on schooling i wish they would have taught more. Jimmijam

Answer:
I'm in a 4-month long truck driving course at Alexandria Technical College in Alexandria, MN. I've just finished my 12th week, and I've been posting a week-by-week update on my time in the school. (Going to post my 12th week here in just a few more minutes.)
Anyway, my school has been very, very good. Hek, we just spent three days on math alone: addition one day, subtraction the next, and multiplication and division the third. We have decimals to do tomorrow (Monday the 18th), and I think that's about it for math. We've spent about two days going over logging and two to three days going over trip planning learning how to read maps. Our instructor has said that we will be doing much more of this as time goes on, because we will have to keep logs on ALL our driving, which will be a lot coming here soon.
Havn't done literally loading or bridge planning yet, but we've talked a lot about balancing loads and understanding axle weight.
Pre- enrout- and post-trips? Man, we've become experts at those, let me tell you! Our instructor's VERY safety and observationally oriented! That's been great!
Hazmat? We've gone over enough to understand as well as pass the endorsement tests as well as a general understanding about common hazmats. But this is a huge area alone, and it's really impossible to remember the tremendous amount of information that must be remembered in a trucking company that specializes in hazmat until you sign on with that company.
We're now at that point in the course where we're ready to get our CDLs. Then . . . it's convey trips every day! THIS is when it gets fun!
Look before, during, and after when making those right-hand turns!
For the road,
Starkman

Answer:
Other related topics I was hoping to address are:
1 Climbing Mountain Grades
2 Over heating Brakes
3 Severely Congested areas
4 O,S & D's
Input in these area's are very helpful....
Thank You....
Safety is No Accident

Answer:
I went to school several years ago and my son completed school early last year. The different schools pointed out some interesting similarities.
I went to a CDL mill school. We spent 8 hours a day for 4 weeks in school. The first part was preparing for the CDL written test. The last couple of weeks was spent on the range and road preparing for the practical CDL testing. The whole point of the school was to attain a class A CDL with all endorsements. The school also required a 6 week "externship" program with my trucking employer. That was the time spent on the road with a trainer.
My son went to a company sponsored school. His school was much shorter and focused on achieving the CDL in two weeks. He then went on the road with a company trainer for 8 weeks. After he finished the first year with the company, he went to a company class for 3 days and now is a trainer himself.
I expect the schools to teach the material needed to pass the CDL test: how to actually make a truck move, shifting gears, backing, parking, inspections, etc. The time on the road with a trainer is to learn how to work and live on the road: trip planning, hygiene, money and time management, decision making.
Some things we agree on even though we had vastly different experiences: Expect to learn more on the first solo trip than all the training put together. Expect to learn something new everyday. You can learn from anyone, even a 4 wheeler. Experience is the only true teacher, but a smart person can learn from the experience of others. Of course, my all time favorite is "a day without road construction is like a day without sunshine, expect the unexpected."
Schools can teach the theories of truck operation in unusual situations (brake failure on a hill, driving on ice, night time techniques, even skid pad training) but each driver must decide individually how he or she will handle each event as it occurs.

Answer:
I am hoping to find out what the current problems are in the industry....
I know issues I have dealt with over the years. However, times change, and even though I was an Instructor for a Technical Trades School for 4 years. I am now continuing to drive,,, I am out of the loop....
I have a cushy job... I want to try to help... Just I don't know where to start.... That is the reason for the questions... I need to stay in my geographic location... However I could do alot by computer & phone... and smail mail... Help.... me to help others....
Thanks...
Safety is No Accident