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Tommy's School Journal Male, 38 years
Introduction
Following a lay-off from the factory I was working in for several years, I really felt the need for a change. Long discussions with my wife and the urge to seek warmer climates inspired my already present desire to drive truck. After 2 months of research into the industry, noting all the good and bad I could find, I took the leap to get started. Tried first to find a school that would have me "driving in 3 weeks"! Beware of this!! A look deeper into that claim would leave me about $10,000.00 in debt and not enough driving experience to NOT be a serious danger to others.
Next stop was a local school that was "accredited". I filled out all the forms for financial assistance and found I was eligible for a Federal student loan at a mere 6.25%. Sounded great right? Again the cost seemed steep at $7,695.00, but was sugar coated with the promises that were made to me by the school and besides, it's an accredited school! Again "BEWARE"! I attended the required orientation and sat in a room with over 50 others listening to a guy explain what we were to expect over the next 20 weeks or 480 hours.
After the presentation we were prompted to ask questions, and boy did I have a few!
1) Why did I need 10 weeks of classroom time before getting to see a truck?
2) With 50+ men and women in the class, how was it I would get any seat time behind the wheel when there were only 5 trucks?
3) There was a part of the program called an "externship" (this will take a little to explain, but really needs to be exposed) Why would I have to pay the school 96 hours of tuition for being employed in the private sector?
An externship are hours that the school recognizes as "On The Job Training". I will be employed and paid by whatever company hires me and pays me, but the school will recognize 96 hours of employment with that company as part of the school time!
OK, so again tell me why I would want to pay for 96 hours of tuition that I won't be at the school because I am working elsewhere in the private sector? By the time the orientation was over, I was well aware of the money I would be throwing away. To add to this was the fact I had already paid for and gotten my CDL "A" permit and did not need the 10 weeks or 60 hours of class they had charged me, to prep for the test.
Ok, now on to the bright side of this tale! P.O.'d and feeling like I was baited was the best thing for me. I went home, tore up the agreements with them and called to announce my withdrawal from the school. Next on my list was to get on the phone and start calling all the trucking companies I could find that hire from my area, both local and national. I found that with a little persistence and concern on my part, I could get some honest and quite candid responses from most, concerning what school they would be most comfortable with, when hiring student drivers from my area. I tallied up the list and called "United Tractor Trailer School Inc." After a trip to the school, a look at the trucks and answers to some questions I had, I was told to get my CDL permit, DOT card, $4295.00 (tuition assistance is an option) and to start classes on 3/22/2002. I was told the class size would be small, that there were 5 trucks, and their philosophy was to have you out driving every day you are there. Lets see how this plays out!
Let the Journal Begin!
Arrived at the school at 10 minutes till 8 when class was to begin. Everyone was already there and I counted a total of 11 students , myself included. At 8 sharp an instructor came in introduced himself. We then all took turns telling our name, where we were from and what had brought us there. By 9:00 the intros were done and we received the basic information on the industry and what we could expect during the next 4 weeks. Although this is a crash course in terms of hours, I would like to express that in no way is this a CDL Mill!
We sat at a conference table, watched a few industry videos and broke for lunch. Following lunch we all met out at the practice yard and were introduced to the other 3 instructors (1 is actually head of training but had no problem helping out whenever possible). We were all given Pretrip instructions and assigned an instructor. Soon we were paired off to practiced with another student.
An hour of pre-trip practice and we all gathered for some instruction on the gear patterns, this was so we could start learning the first maneuver....straight backing. Using 2 trucks we alternated turns till the end of the day. There was always a truck stationary to practice pre-trip and airbrake. So with 2 or 3 students at a truck, there was really not much of a wait between turns. Backing was not too difficult and I picked it up quick.
Day 2
Straight backing and Pre-trip all day. Instructors are very helpful for those that need it and never once seem to get frustrated. After lunch the instructors started taking turns bringing students out on the road, not me today, but I know I will get my turn soon. The list of pre-trip items seemed impossible to remember, but somehow I have managed to get through most of it without using the paper now. Backing has improved too, I can hit the box with only 1 get out and I am starting to feel more relaxed now.
Day 3
All morning we continue straight backing and pre-trip. instructors continue to take students 1 at a time out on the road. The instructor drives when they leave the yard, but return with the students driving (most of the time). After lunch we assemble in the student lounge for instruction on the next maneuver,... lane change. After a brief tutorial we head out for some 1 on 1 with the instructors so that they can walk us through it. By days end we are all taking turns again working on the maneuver. There is still the lone truck positioned for pre-trip and airbrake, all the instructors encourage us to keep going over whenever we can. Finally it's my turn out on the road! With the instructor driving, we head to a near deserted airfield. He stops at what looks to be an old taxi way and swaps spots with me. After a brief explanation of the shifting pattern, and how to double clutch, he has me head down the taxi way. Oh my god, I completely blew the shift pattern after the split and ground all the gears before! He had me stop, gave me a few pointers and got me relaxed before we attempted it again. Much better this time! Still got lost in the gears after the split but at least I wasn't torturing the tranny. Once more around and he headed me for the main road. Thought I was gonna freak! It was about 3:30pm and traffic was heavy. Couldn't believe how much space I was using up on the road. Seems like a lot of things to do all at the same time and I really realized how much responsibility was involved. Made my way back to the school and was shifting decent with the occasional miss here and there. Got a very good report card from the instructor. He never once got upset, or looked shaken, so either I did ok or he is great at hiding fear!
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