I was thinking about starting my trucking career about the end of february, I have no desire to be stuck at a truck stop with a trainer during a blizzard for a week, plus thats when the freight begins to pick up I am told; does this make sense to everyone or should I just go for it as soon as possible ?

 

It might be better for you to gain more experience during the winter months. You would have the advantage of being with a trainer during the worst road conditions. Business will slow down during the winter months for most types of freight. Things do pick up toward the middle to end of February. It is rare for most drivers to get stuck for long during winter weather. In any case, it will be good experience for you.

 

If you're going with a trainer,...go during the winter,...there is a lot of valuable info about driving in those conditions that you will learn from a good trainer.,.....you don't want to learn winter driving as a solo newbie.

 

I think if I ever became a trainer I would take the winter months off. :lol:

 

Especially with the "team training" that companies believe in. I honestly don't know what someone sound asleep in the bunk is supposed to teach an inexperienced driver when they hit a patch of black ice at 2am on a 2 mile 6% downgrade.

Myself, I waited until spring to start driving. That gave me about 9 months of driving and gaining experience before dealing with the snow and ice. When my first winter hit, sure, it was stressful but I think I did a pretty good job. I was more comfortable with the truck by then enough to not want to shut down every time I saw flurries.

 

I started last November and drove the Northeast all winter. Not particularly challenging, maybe I dont panic easily, I dont know but there are two sides to the argument. One side thinks its better to get some driving experience in the spring and summer, which is a good idea, but it doesnt prepare you for the winter and in those few months, you can pick up some pretty bad habits that can bite you in the butt. The other side of the argument says that starting in the winter as a new driver you dont have 6 months of bad habits and bad advice to break, although the panic factor can be higher if not familiar with winter travel.

I'm not saying that this gospel, but just an observation on my part.

But the way the weather has been going lately.....has winter even ended yet? :lol:

 

I agree, if the trainer is going to sleep while the noob drives,...(like my trainer did), it defeats the purpose of training, and qualifies as "learn as you go training". Which is fine,...unless you're only getting paid $350.00 a week to log 3,000 miles (8.5 cents per mile),....it seems like a ripoff.

 

definately start in nov, or december with a trainer who sleeps all the time your driving :lol: that way you won't learn there bad mistakes, as most of them have only been driving 6 months anyway.
.... seriously ... we started in september and by the time snow hit we knew just enough to know we didn't know anything ... just go SLOWER then what you think you should be going, and you should be fine.