Question:
My trainer is going to a (Bills ?) game on Thursday, and a Crosby, Steels,and Nash concert on Saturday, so he dropped me off at home last night after we dropped out trailer at Hannafords in Portland. So, I get a nice long holiday weekend at home with the Mrs.
Orientation last week was exhausting. I didn't get much sleep on Monday, my plane broke down in Chicago and I had to catch another flight to Green Bay instead of Appleton. Dispatch couldn't get hold of the driver intime so he was waiting for me in Appleton. . .long story. I Arrived at Wolding in Amherst, WI. at 2:AM and my luggage was in. . .I don't know, Flagstaff maybe? The Airlines brought it to me at Noon on Tuesday. Anyhow. . .Our class met with the training Department Head for breakfast at the local restaraunt at 0630 and the fun began.
Paperwork, Paperwork and then a little more Paperwork. Then we had a battery of written tests i.e., logging, mapping, trip planning, log excersises, Driver Performance (safety video, i.e. find the hazard. . .) and the DOT Exam, ( the FMCSR's) Somehow I managed to stay awake enough and scored very high on all my exams.
Wednesday, ah yes, an old favorite Physicals and drug screening. Actually the staff at Waupaca (Regional Medical Center?) were very nice. It must be a Cheese head thing. I haven't run into a jerk yet! Much nicer than Mainers. We caught the second half of the drivers meeting when we got back, then it was off to the obstical course, akd, the torture chamber.
Eight acres of fun. A collection of old Vans, Tankers, Reefers, cars, cones, barrels etc., etc., set up to represent as many of the situations as they can. A variety of docking situations, blind and sight parallel parking, pull thru's between Vans both straight, turning and offset, to represent the truck stop parking and fuel island situations. A variety of turning situations, including measured turns (no button hooking, don't hit the car in front of you and keep trailer tandems 1-3 feet from curb) alos a button hook right turn, and man oh man was it tight! Instead of a curb on the right, there were large jagged rocks to catch the tires. You DON'T want to catch the tires. The Tractors (FL's with 70" sleepers) looked like they were old NASCAR veterans. Chunks of fenders missing and or duct taped together, and the vans definately have seen better days! They use real hazards so you end up with real damage! A previous class had a student that stopped and called out the window to the examiner/trainer, "Something is wrong with this piece of crap! It's pulling pretty hard!" The instructor jestured with his index finger to come to him and the student set the brake and walked ot the trainer. When he arrived to the trainer, they say (his classmates say) the man never showed any emotion. He just looked the student in the eye, as he raised his hand and pointed to the rear of the trailer. Tucked under the front of the trailer tandems. . .was a car! Since it originally had been flipped and rolled (a little Datsun) it fit quite nicely. He had apparently been draging it around for awhile and the students much to their dismay, jaws dropped, and eyes bulging out, just watched the trainer stand there doing nothing but glaring! I wish I could have been there! LOL.
One of the angle dock's between two trailers was mad a bit more difficult because the trailers had been hit so many times that they were no longer parked nice and straight. It was hard to align your trailer up while backing, and judging when to take the jack out, when their is nothing that appears straight. My trailer also had about a foot of left off set tracking (dog legged) due to a cracked frame on the drivers side leaf spring mounts. (From pulling a car around? )
So anyways, the trainer showed us what was expected and the next day we all would be performing (well, hopefully). A passing score was 22, a perfect score was 0. The goal is to NOT HIT ANYTHING. G.O.A.L Get Out And Look! You will hear this at every company! The 22 is the passing score for after you get back from being on the road with your trainer. So we didn't have to worry about higher scores (of course there are limitations! A 75 would be a bit excessive if you know what I mean ) If by some chance you score below a 9, you don't have to retake the skills test when you get back from your road trainer. I scored a 7 YES!!!! . Upon completion of the skills test, you have the rest of the day to sweat it out. No Scores are released for written and practical skills until after you are made an offer of employment. This happens on Friday Morning after they evaluate your performance in all categories. All the students (we had 6 this time) meet with the head of Safety at the Restaraunt at 0700. He then reiterates what is going to happen. You will meet in the classroom after breakfast and you will be called out 1 at a time. You will either be offerd employment , or a bus ticket . If it is a bus ticket, your scores will not be released. Your school may request a copy and you can go over it with them. You are absolutely welcome and encouraged to work with them on your deficiencies and come back again. If we didn't want you here we wouldn't have brought you here. All applications and backgrounds were completed before you received a pre-hire, so just work on your deficiencies.
Well, I was called into "the room". I was last in line, I didn't know what my scores were, and though I was confident, I still couldn't help but think, what if. . .
"Dennis, your performance was excellent, would you like to come to work for H.O. Wolding?" I wonder what he would have done if I said No thanks. LOL
The next step was a 1 hour evaluation road test. This was to establish a baseline of your road skills for the trainer. I again scored a 7! But, everyone has to do a final evaluation road test when they com back from training.
We lost two out of six. One was the obstical course, (squashed 2 cones and almost turned the trailer into a stack of barrels. The trainer laid on his airhorn to stop him. They were stacked one on top of the other to about 10 feet high. I guess he didn't want to have to set them up again. We lost the other to skills and academics. He had a language barrier problem. He can read and write and speak english, but when reading, he translates it to himself in Italian first so he can understand it. It made things very difficult for him. Both guys were truly great people, and we hated to see them go. I felt really bad for them and I couldn't imagine having to stew over it for the long ride home. That would just kill me. I have alot of pride.
I finished my hiring paperwork, and recieved my assignment. My trainer, Brad (a non-smoker, THANK GOD!) lives in Buffalo and would meet me at a truck stop at 1400 on Sunday. So I hitched a ride with one of our other Drivers leaving Saturday morning for Maine and we cruised on over to Buffalo. Very nice guy, but, smoked like a chimney (I quit after 22 years last October) and let's say he had . . .religion. He also had the ability to talk for 12 hours straight (I am not exagerating) and what do you think he talked about? I was glad that we had to sleep that night. The next morning we rode in silence, oh, for about fifteen minutes. Guess what he started to talk about? Fro Erie to Buffalo. . .yeah, you got it. . .religion Oh well, I learned to tune it out and and nod knowingly when appropriate.
I met Brad, my trainer in buffalo. We were hauling Dog food to Portland Maine. He drove for about 2 hours and explained what he was looking for performance wise, what to expect and how things were going to work. Then we switched seats and I drove a couple hours. We built up my driving time over a couple days. I finished yesterday driving from Lancaster, N.Y. through a hellasious rain storm, to Portland Maine. I got 9 hours and 45 minutes driving yesterday for a sub total of 595 miles. 1285 miles is the grand total. Not to bad for 3 days. I will be averaging 2700 miles per week as we progress. That is a company average. And every driver I talked to that was rolling through the home terminal, said the same things. As many miles as you want, atleast 2500 per week is no problem, more or less if you want. Home every weekend, unless you don't want to be. Need an extra day off? Just ask. It's that simple. We have some guys up in New England that only run 4 days and off 3. They get enough miles to make them happy and they do good work. No problems. What makes it easier for Wolding to do this? What seperates them from the other companies? Wolding OWNS everything. They have no debt! All the trucks and trailers are paid for.
My recruiter and the Owner of my school seem to be pleased with my performance. They are scheeming together right now to have me also do recruiting for both of them. I already have a little scheme myself The extra pay is nice but do you really think I should pull-up in an older International, or a newer Columbia!
That's it for now folks (for those of you with the stamina to read all this!)
Right now I can say I am VERY Happy with this company. Everyone there has treated me very well and have been very friendly. Even the Mechanic took time out to answer a few questions I had, and was pleasant and informative. That was unexpected .
One last thing. Last night another Wolding Driver ran with us from Sturbridge, Ma. to Kittery Maine. It seems he has been with Wolding for 5+ years. He said he had gone to a few other companies, including U.S. Express, but always ends up begging for his job back with Wolding. He said, roughly quoted, " I kept seeing the grass being greener, so I'd hop the fence only to find they use more fertilizer. I'm not leaving again. I (from the drivers mouth. . .) LOVE it here."
I'll update as I can. I may be home next weekend, or in a hotel in Buffalo. My trainer thinks that I only need the minimum (10 days and 3,000 miles) because I already do so well. He hasn't had any oportunity to really correct anything Damn overachievers! I credit that to My school PRO DRIVE MAINE, and alot of input from the drivers here on Truck.Net. See, I listened!
Man, what a long post. I ain't proof reading it!
H.O. Wolding bound or bust.
Dodge Makes It, Cummins' Shakes It!
www.TurboDieselRegister.com
If you ain't Cummin'. . . your Strokin'


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Hope it continues. Keep us posted.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
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Good man, 1 Iron! Congratulations. I know Wolding has a tough, tough skills test. There was a driver at USX orientation last week that just came from there with his tail between his legs. (Maybe he was the one dragging the cars around?! Haha.)
Oink! Oink! Oink! Grunt! Grunt!
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Thanks Uturn, will do.

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LOL, wouldn't that be hilarious!
Since they don't "need to have" so many drivers, maybe they make it tough because they. . .can?!?
It is interesting being with such a small family owned company. It isn't like all the stuff I read here about the others. I really like it. I'm sure it's chickens and feathers. . .some days you get chickens and somedays just feathers. I'm still cautious and waiting for "the hammer to fall" but I just can't figure out where it will come from. I keep thinking, "If it seems to good to be true. . .it usually is. Is it a wonderland, with Cinderella and all? No, it has been alot of work, a little sleep, and a bit of stress. On the road we drive hard, keep it legal(ish), Driving tired is strongly discouraged, dispatch gets a comission, so they will push, you are the driver and responsible for the truck and freight, so, push back. Need miles? LOL We got 'em!

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They fed you so much during orientation, I had to skip a couple meals. I was getting sick of eating! LOL Who woulda' thunk. . .

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Life really is a bed of roses. Some days you get the soft sweet smelling petals.....other days you roll over and get a big thorn poking you in the azz!!!!!
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
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1 iron
Tell the truth. All you really needed was some Cheese in your diet!! Nothing like coming to the Midwest and seeing how we got to be so obese with all this good food around here and plenty of it! Glad things are working out for you.

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Thanks IBS.
And thanks for the guidance and support! Been a great help. Maybe you could go to recruiting until you are ready to drive again?!?!? They could use a really good recruiter. Hey, you could use me as a reference!

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The ultra religious can talk about religion all day long and the ultra high can talk about pot all day long. Coincidence?
Good post, very entertaining. Keep it up.
@#*!%$^@!
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I'm sorry,I haven't kept up with the how's and when that you got your CDL, but is it safe to asume that it was very recent, and now training feels that 10 days as a rookie driver is enough to turn you solo?
If so, please post your dispatch directions so that I may be millions of miles away,I'm sorry but after being out here for just 7 yrs. I've seen my share of noobs and the havoc which can be unleached upon the motoring public.
You may very well be a highly compenant driver(at least better than my spelling ), but i still don't have very much faith in a training program which would turn a new driver loose after 10 days,much less 30 days.
Anyways good luck to you,your going to need it.
I LUV NY,and i hate the buckeye,I LUV NY, and vermont is backwards,I LUV NY,new jersey is crazy,I LUV NY, south of the mason dixon is hillbilly land,I LUV NY

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Another one saved from the clutch's of the big bad evil ones.
lenght of training don't seem to matter,look at some of the morons that spent months with trainers
Alexandria, VA, June 8, 2003 - Robert Hirsch, president of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) today expressed disappointment that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rejected a pilot program aimed at the trucking industry's critical and growing driver shortage.
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Yup, 10 days and 3,000 miles is the minimum. Sorry NY R. I know it seem short, and it is. If I'm not comfortable I'll stay longer. But I gotta agree with Zig Zag, because in my first 1000+miles, I've seen enough Stupid Truck driver stuff to make CDL grads look like Master Drivers. The training is just to get you used to driving and handling the vehicle and paperwork. No amount of training will remove the Stupid from a person. That is where death comes in. In every species of animal. We're no different, we can just take a lot more out when we go. I don't just watch the stupid drivers, I watch the intelligent ones and how they handle there rigs. I note that they, unlike the stupid drivers, are not in a constant state of recovery. And when a stupid driver might put them into a recovery situation, they diligently seem to avoid it anyways. Things like, being prepared, awake, using mirrors, not racing other trucks at exact same speeds, not cutting your fellow driver off so you can race up there and stop first. My training comes from you! What I see through my windows. Any monkey can hold it between the lines C'mon, it isn't like flying a space rocket! oops! Monkeys CAN do that! The haredest part, is keeping a level head, and not getting sucked into the stupidity.
By the way, isn't it true, no new driver is ever as dangerous as they were around the sixth month mark? Should we drive with trainers for eight?

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I agree with 1 iron. Everyone knows that the newbie does get into more accidents than an experienced driver. But the dollar amount is way less. It's the 5 - 7 year experienced driver that has less accidents, but when they do, they have the big dollar accident. After 5 years of driving, when you think you're Billy Bob Bigrig or Supertrucker, and you have all the confidense in the world - BAM - reality rears its' ugly head. If you do it safe and right the first time and everytime, accidents are reduced and we ALL benefit from it. Nothing I hate worse that seeing a big truck drafting a compact car or minivan full of family members on vacation. Patience is a virtue. It ain't gonna kill you. But if you throw patience out the window, it may kill someone else.

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I'll be looking for a post from you like"my first snow storm".
While I will agre that there are drivers that are aholes no matter how long they are with a trainer, I still don't feel that 10 days or 3000 miles is enough for a new driver to get his feet wet.
You gonna get to run the western mountains, with a load?
Very different than Jacobs ladder on the Mass pike,
Tornado alley?
it ain't like the sea breeze the atlantic is gonna throw at you.
All I'm saying is having been out here, I've met many guys that were turned loosed after a week or two, and every time the noobs have been the ones sideswiping hoods at the T/S or pulling so far off the shoulder that a hook has to be brought in to get the truck outta the ditch.
A GOOD trainer is worth his weight in gold, and the longer you run with him the more you gain
I LUV NY,and i hate the buckeye,I LUV NY, and vermont is backwards,I LUV NY,new jersey is crazy,I LUV NY, south of the mason dixon is hillbilly land,I LUV NY