[Scottt]

I went to school and got my CDL in May

I took a job with a local company in Iowa that was leased on to large company.

I was put with a trainer for what was suppose to be 25,000 miles of training.

Our first load was a load to Wisconsin. We took off for the trip, we had gone about 100 miles and the trainer asked if I wanted to drive and I said sure. I started driving and the trainer sat in the jump seat for maybe 20 miles and said you are doing good and he went to bed. We finished delivering the load and picked up a return load. No real problems on this trip.

Our 2nd trip was a load to Pittsburgh with a reload to Wisconsin. We shared the driving to Pittsburgh with no problems. On the return trip I was driving and we got to Chicago. The trainer was sleeping and I was driving through Chicago something I had never done before let alone I was in a truck driving through Chicago. No real problems on this trip.

Our 3rd trip was a load to LA. We shared the driving on the trip out there. I had never seen the mountains before in my life. The trainer was sleeping and I hit the mountains in Wyoming and tried to remember everything I had learned in school about mountain driving. I didn't have any real problems but it was a little scarey to say the least.

We got to LA and I drove into town and we got to our destination to unload with no problems. We had to go bakerfield to reload for our return trip home. This is when all the trouble started. I had trouble sleeping in a moving truck all the way there and had very little sleep in 3 days and was tired and not really sharp on my driving.

I was driving up a steep incline in a construction zone and went to downshift and missed the gear and I tried again and missed the gear again and lost all my ground speed and stopped. The trainer came flying out of the sleeper screaming and yelling obsentities at me and told me get out of the seat and he took it on up the hill and stopped at the top and went back to the sleeper. I drove us to our pickup location and I told him I would like to back the trailer in to the dock. I was backing into the dock and I didn't think I was doing too bad of a job when he jumped up on the stairs and grabbed the wheel and said turn this way. I was a little mad at this point and told him I didn't think that was necessary being there were 12 docks there and not another trailer backed into any of them. I may have been 3 feet off and a pull up would of corrected my backup.

Last night I was driving and he was in the sleeper as usual and I had to use the restroom bad so I pulled into a rest area that was full of trucks, there was a empty spot to park. I was in a hurry to use the facilities and pulled in too short and I seen I was short in the mirror so I stopped and woke him up and said I shorted my turn and I got to go. I jumped out and ran for the restroom and when I came out he had parked the truck and was back in the sleeper. When I got in he started yelling how stupid I and would never be a truck driver as good as he was. I took off driving again and ignored his yelling and went about 200 miles and my eyes started to cross and I was falling asleep at the wheel so I pulled off on a onramp and pulled over. He yelled what are you doing and I told him I was tired being I hadn't really slept in days and I was going to take a nap. He started yelling we got to go. Then he started in again I was stupid and would never be a truck driver and I needed to go back to being a shipping mgr where I came from. I said yeah you are probably right and another mile would be too far with you and I told him I was getting out. He started laughing and said you can't get out here in the middle of nowhere. I said watch me and started packing up my stuff. He said you can just ride the rest of the trip and we will be home tomorrow, I said no not going another mile with you as a so called trainer. He started yelling again how stupid I was bla bla bla and I started laughing at him telling him how right he was for be being stupid enough to go all the way to California with a jerk like him. I got out right there on the onramp and told him get the hell away from me. He said you don't really want me to leave do you. I said get going your load is going to be late. He finally left and I walked into town and called my wife to come get me at 3:30am

My question is:

What should I expect from a trainer?

I am nowhere near where I need to be in safely operating a truck across the country and I know that. I expected a trainer to have a little patience with my screwups and tell me what I did wrong and how to correct the problem in the future, not yell I was stupid. Am I wrong for expecting this?

What I hate is the company is a really good company where you can run anywhere you want. You can take off any days you want. You can come home and stay off as long as you need to. I had heard from a friend of mine who started there that the trainer was a jerk and it would be a challege to get through the 25k miles. He said he about left many times during his training. This guy is the only trainer they have so this company is out for me now.

[dle]

You should expect to be trained.

Unfortunately, what you are describing is what has been told before by many others.

I would suggest talking to your companies training and or safety department about it.

[Mattangcobra]

I'm not sure but couldn't this count as abandoning your truck? It shouldn't but I dunno. He sounds like a real tool

[BigWheels]

Originally Posted by Scottt

...My question is:

What should I expect from a trainer?

I am nowhere near where I need to be in safely operating a truck across the country and I know that. I expected a trainer to have a little patience with my screwups and tell me what I did wrong and how to correct the problem in the future, not yell I was stupid. Am I wrong for expecting this?

No--you're not wrong. No good trainer would yell at you in the manner that he did. Raised voice--perhaps...yell--no.

Originally Posted by Scottt

What I hate is the company is a really good company where you can run anywhere you want. You can take off any days you want. You can come home and stay off as long as you need to...This guy is the only trainer they have so this company is out for me now.

I question if this company is "a really good company" and worth driving for--especially if they have only one trainer.

[Danisawannabe]

partial quote

Originally Posted by Scottt

What I hate is the company is a really good company where you can run anywhere you want. You can take off any days you want. You can come home and stay off as long as you need to. I had heard from a friend of mine who started there that the trainer was a jerk and it would be a challege to get through the 25k miles. He said he about left many times during his training. This guy is the only trainer they have so this company is out for me now.

Scottt

From what I have read on the forums here your experience seems to be normal. Mine was similar. I wanted to quit many times. I should have walked the first night when my trainer also went to sleep before my first day was over and told me to drive till I was tired. The when I stopped, he wanted to know why I stopped. One of the things I learned well, often & early was the signs of being to tired to drive.

I quickly figured out that when you stop your trainer stops getting paid. Money, not safety seems to be the most important factor in just about everything these days.

The first 3 days in orientation were great. Everything I heard I liked. The company said they would be checking to make sure there drivers followed all the rules and even told how they check. Then the first day with the trainer, he says "forget everything you learned". He meant it. Forget what I learned in school and orientation. If it does not make $ it is not checked very well. Sharp eyes watch the bottom line.

I have been solo for almost 2 months now. The latest thing is to get a trip with either 4 full days to go 1100 miles or 3 days to go 2800 miles. When I call and tell them that that it can't be done in the time they gave they just say the computer says it can be done. I called safety and the best response from them was "drive 11, sleep 10, get there asap" to cover my butt.

Not all is bad about being a driver. Read the forums here, they have been accurate as to what can be expected in my experience. I like this career. I am trying to learn all I can in this crucial first year, then I will reevaluate my choices & hopefully upgrade to a company that "walks more of the talk"

I don't mean to hijack your post, just to let you know you are not the only one out there getting less than expected. Driving seems to be a good job, I hope you stick with it. Best of luck, whatever you decide.

BTW
For anyone that is considering driving as a career please (1)pay for your choice of school & (2)have money in the bank in case things don't work out as you expected. I suspect not having any backup funds is the biggest reason why drivers (rookies & experienced) have little choice but to stay with less than desirable companies.


Dan

[Orangetxguy]

Originally Posted by Mattangcobra

I'm not sure but couldn't this count as abandoning your truck? It shouldn't but I dunno. He sounds like a real tool

No it doesn't. I seriously doubt that this even get's reported to the "company" this truck is leased to. Scottt didn't say what either name is.

[Cluggy619]

Your 1st mistake was when he went back to the sleeper to sleep after 20 miles, and left you alone to drive. You should have climbed out of the truck at the first truckstop you saw, and reported him. AND YOU DON'T CLIMB BACK IN.

Second mistake was when your trainer started badmouthing you. Again, straight to the truckstop, and get out, and report him. AGAIN, DON'T CLIMB BACK IN.

Third mistake was getting mad and climbing out of the truck in the middle of nowhere. Now this is where you can get even if you wanted too by taking the keys, and throwing them as far as posible. Let him go look for them. AND ONE MOR TIME FOR THOSE WHO JUST DIDN'T GET IT, YOU DON'T CLIMB BACK IN.

I don't know what it takes for you newbies to understand that the first sign of a scumbag trainer is when he decides to let you drive while they sleep on the first day. They are call a TRAINER, and you sure as hell can't do that from the sleeper. And once you climb out, NEVER CLIMB BACK IN.

If you are a newbie, and reading this, try to remember this post.

[Scottt]

It was actually worse but I was tired and the first post was long enough.

While he was driving he was on the cell phone constantly yelling at his wife while I was trying to get a few minutes sleep. He would be yelling at her for up to 3 hours at a time. I would just get up because I couldn't sleep with his screaming at her. when I got up he would hang up and be in a pissy mood towards me. I would go back to the sleeper and he would call her again and it would all start over again.

He did all the logs with a calculator. It didn't matter who was driving it would all be logged under one until the their time was up then he would start logging the driver in the other logbook.

What really topped it for me is when he started racing another truck across Nebraska. I don't know how fast we were going but the speedometer was pegged at 80mph. I know at 80mph the tach was around 1600 and when I looked over the tach was about 2500. He said we were going 99mph. I told him there was no need for that and I would feel safer if I was driving. I drove till I couldn't see anymore and got out.

I am still waiting for the company to call me and ask why I left.

The reason why they only have 1 trainer is they only have 25 trucks and they don't have a empty truck very often. Most their drivers have been there for years so they hire someone very rarely. The last one they hired was last Nov and he was a friend of mine and had told me he really liked the company after he got on his own. He had told me the time with the trainer would be a challenge for me. He said he about left 100's of times. The difference between him and me is he is a little more vocal than me. I am not argumentative and just listen and keep my cool at all times.

The only other person he has trained was the friend of mine.

[larz0142]

Just a question if a trainer yells at you are you not suppose to stand up for yourself or am I suppose to take it just to get through training?Is it the grin and bear it thing? After reading this I probly would have pluged the dude in the face.I know not a way to keep a job but as a MAN I want to be treated as a MAN. I don't know what to tell ya. GOOD LUCK!!

[inmate1577]

I had a trainer at TMC who was a total Billy Big Rigger" He was one of these "what the f*ck you doing" idiots who thought that motivation meant screaming at me. I'm not ex-military like alot of drivers who just accept it, I"m ex-union.

After a couple of incidents like that I told ol' Billy that in future if he doesnt want to wake up with a icepick in his eardrum, that I respond better if you just tell me what the problem is, how to correct it, and work on correcting it.

Things got much better after that.

Now at SNI, I had the same situation with some burned out idiot who was a whoremonger and a pig in general. He was a another "what the f*ck are you doing" guys. He'd rather complain about a problem than fix it.
This time instead of being nice about it like last time I told him if he talked to me that way again, job or no job, he better start sleeping with his eyes.......open.

We got along great after that!!! :lol: