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Site Information
Creative Curriculum for the Trucking Industry PO Box 35961 Des Moines, IA 50315-0309 Questions, Comments, Reprint Requests, Other
Most excerpts on this site are from "Driver's ABC's -- Surviving The First Year Guidebook".
All rights reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems - except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews, or in the case of the forms and/or articles meant solely for personal use, without permission from it's publisher, Creative Curriculum for the Trucking Industry.
This site is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is viewed with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or any other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
The goal of this site and company is to help people gain information on starting a career in transportation. It is of the utmost concern that every person has as many of the needed tools that are available in order to better ensure success in their choice of career.
The Transportation Industry today faces a "driver shortage" due to many factors. Driver turnover is exceptionally high – even in the best of companies. Many new drivers aren't staying in the industry; quite often due to poor, incomplete training and improper preparation for the career. Driving schools have their hands full. They must train a person to safely operate a large commercial vehicle in a relatively short time, as compared to many other career training programs. That is a major accomplishment in itself. Unfortunately, though, very little is done to prepare the individual to survive in the new environment. The road can be a rough place if you don't know where to sleep, where to park, what the DOT expects and how to save money – just to name a few things.
The focus of this site and company is on the human being behind the wheel who has a need to know some basic survival skills to fit in, to prosper and to simply get through the day. If some frustration can be eliminated in the life of a new driver, the company mission has been accomplished. If information on a subject can be provided to save the new driver some precious time, the company mission has been accomplished. If I can, in some small way, help to keep a few drivers in the industry that might have otherwise left, the company mission has been more than accomplished.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Webmaster Trucker
Okay, okay, I've tried to put this off long enough... you see, I like to think I am a humble person and I don't like to brag. No matter how good I might be at something, there's always someone better.... and that applies to anything in life.
However, I have received a few requests as to WHO ARE YOU? so instead of sitting back as the anonymous webmaster, I'll step up and introduce myself.
I started out as a trainee myself a few moons ago. I wanted to learn to drive a truck. No one in my family had ever done anything like that and most thought I'd surely gone out of my mind. I didn't care. I wanted to drive a truck.
I went to school, graduated and went to work. I stayed at it (over the road, 48 states, solo) for about 5 years and hit a spot of "burn out." I wanted to be home. I wanted running water down the hallway -- NOT across the parking lot. I came off the road and got a local job, pulling a tanker. (hauling gasoline & diesel fuel)
Well, let's say that wasn't quite all that I thought it would be. The shifts were longer, the work was harder and I spent most of my spare time sleeping because it was harder work (physically) than I was used to. It wasn't all bad -- I mean I was able to have a more predictable schedule and be home to play on the computer! It just wasn't "it" for me, though.
Over that 5 years I tried my hand at being a driver/trainer. It was an experience. The company I worked for at the time didn't let me do it like I thought it should be done. I needed TIME that they didn't really want to give up. After about a year or so, I got away from road training. I felt that if I was going to do it, it should be done right. Without some extra time, it could not possibly be done right.
I later went to work for a truck driving school on a part time basis. I worked out a plan that I would work part time for the school and be part time on the road. It was a good arrangement for me -- I had two jobs that I liked very well and didn't really do either of them enough to get sick of them. That continued awhile but it fell apart. Freight slowed and two part time jobs had no benefits, insurance, etc. I then went to work full time at the truck driving school. (No, I'm not telling which one because it has nothing to do with anything here at all!)
At the driving school, I learned a great deal... I learned more about Federal Regulations and Logbooks than I'd ever known when I was on the road. I became the classroom instructor and learned even more. I worked with good people. I enjoyed using my experiences to teach others. I wrote a book. I missed the road. So, now, though I've mostly enjoyed the different things I've done, I've returned to the road.
Thank you for being interested in me...I appreciate it, though the truth be told, I am just your basic everyday truck driver. I love this web stuff, I mean, how could so many people come together without it?
Additionally, this web site is owned by me as well. Creative Curriculum FTTI is my business. The point here is that this web site does NOT cater to anyone -- sponsors, big name companies, NO ONE. It is free to express anything, without fear of making a sponsor unhappy. I do not have to promote companies or sites that I don't like, and never will. So, I guess you could say, it is free of POLITICS. I wouldn't have it any other way.
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