America's Driving Force

[gj758]

Does anyone have any info on this school in the Atlanta area? Good points or bad
Thanks
GJ

[Fozzy]

What does the company that you plan on working for think of them? You've contacted the companies first RIGHT?

[JWS1973]

Run as far away from them as you can. The lady that runs the school is so rude. Once they get your money they treat you like dirt. The instructors are for the most part good. The trucks on the range are TERRIBLE. The mirrors wont adjust, one of the trucks drivers door wont even close. You have to hold it closed to drive, another one you cant adjust the seat so you can drive it. One of the trailers you use has a broken frame and is just about torn in half. The trucks that you drive on the road stay torn up all of the time, are very old, have no A/C in them. There are much better schools in the Atl area

[ken_o]

i disagree with you but then again i went their five or so years ago they still offer the cheapest training if you have the money upfront . lenghth of training was adequate for getting your license thats all it really is, yeah trucks were old. i can tell you i enjoyed the experience their it was like a vacation. its a decent place to learn what you need to to get n the door of a company. dont waste money on more expensive places
cons trucks are old thats all i c. maybe the drive to it
another con is they also get a kickbac if you sign on with certain companies after graduating but not all of them. if i had to go bac and train again i wouldnt hesitate in going bac to adf forest park, ga

[Jason607]

I am going to ADF right now. Everyone there seems nice, even that lady. They don't seem to tolerate slackers. Some people think they are paying for a CDL... it doesn't work that way. They give you the tools, you have to use them. There is a lot to learn, more than I thought, so you have to be serious. They are proud of thier sucess rate and who comes out of their school.

We have a recruiter come to the school at least once a day. Yes, the trucks are a POS, but students are going to tear them up, and if you do damage one, at least you won't have to pay for it. How would you like to go to a school where they have these nice trucks, and you bump them, or jackknife them once, and then suddenly you get a bill for a grand to fix the truck. It's another thing to worry about. And... if you can drive the POS's, then you can drive anything. Your going to have to go through a lot more rough stuff being a trucker, if you can't handle that, get out now.

I haven't graduated yet, but after three days I have my AP permit. So, they taught me something.

[Jason607]

I just finished ADF, thought I would give a followup. Overall I give it a plus, but I belive they need improvment, but then again that might result in higher prices.

First week was quite intense as you get three days prep and then go test at the DMV for your AP. You have to pass at least one test to go on to the range on week two.

Second week, yes you have some crappy trucks, but they will got torn up. You practice on single axel trailers and drive wheels. They perform differently than that tandums. Very squirrley. They go by the term "if you can drive these, you will have not problems with tandum trucks" and we'll see at DDS next tuesday. One thing I highly critizise, and maby they can't help is the there was only one instructor which is a rookie on the range. Only 3 trucks and 12 students. My BIGGEST complaint is that some students who just don't seem to be able to learn get way too much time in the truck. It took me no more than 5mis per manuver, which includes lineup and everything, some took 30-45 while they kept guessing until somehow they lucked it in. The lot the range is on, has huge potholes and makes simple manuvers very tough.

Road testing on week three, only three trucks and so you have between three and four to a truck, so you only get a 1.5 to 2.5 hours of drive time. Some of the trucks are barley road worthy, excessive play in the steering and misadjusted clutch pedal, worn out front suspensions and that not good to have a truck hard to controll on a rookie driver. I understand the "if you can drive this...." aspect but I'm talking about saftey.

I beilive if ADF got two more instructors, and another road truck, got the other three fixed, and filled in the potholes, they would be a fine school.