Driver Trainers and the $$$$

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  #51  
Old 02-24-2007, 07:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Orangetxguy
:| I confess. When I look at a day in a truck...I look how much "I" can make that day.
No disagreement here either! 8)
But if you are a trainer, main priority should be training, and i believe who do you train for, is responsible to make it worthwhile for you! :wink:
 
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  #52  
Old 02-24-2007, 07:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Orangetxguy
My question here is...How many Carriers "REQUIRE" the trainer to operate that truck as a "Team Operation"??

As far as training another driver, if once you are loaded, the trip is going to be cross-country, say 2300 miles, I personally would have the trainee drive for his/her available time (10 hours in my view is plenty of time behind the wheel..stop's included), then I would drive the remainder of what is available to me...say 4 hours. That way..I would have plenty of opportunity to "train", plus use that extra 4 hours to make that many more miles each day. The same could be done with say an 900 mile run. it wouldn't be a "team operation" but that extra 4 hours could mean some extra miles at the end of the week.

:rock:
Swift requires trainers to be up front with the student for somewhere around 2 weeks before running as a team.
 
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  #53  
Old 02-24-2007, 07:34 PM
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See there...Ya had to bring up Swifty.
 
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  #54  
Old 02-24-2007, 07:38 PM
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I only state what I know :wink: I am all about sharing my experience. Weather someone wants to hear it or not is a different story!

To the credit of running as a team. It does definately get you ready to drive on your own. I have missed exits, have had to go 20 miles out of route just to turn around, and fell asleep because I was so tired.

It taught me a few things. Pay attention to your directions, if you get tired then pull off the road, if your trainer is in the sleeper, and you still have your diapers on then you should be sure that those diapers are clean because you will :dung: them eventually.
 
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  #55  
Old 02-24-2007, 10:09 PM
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Originally Posted by kips41
Originally Posted by solo379
Originally Posted by kips41
You guys think that these folks have to be perfect shifters, backers.
No, that they could, and will learn with time on their own.
Trainer should teach them how to see the road, how properly react in a different situation..and the other stuff like that!

Which IMHO could only be done, by constantly watching their performance while they are driving.
And i don't believe, there is much you could see, from the sleeper! :roll:

If you want to rick your life, and make some extra $$$, that's fine with me!
But don't pretend, and call it a "training"!

Actually you see alot more sitting in the sleeper watching a person than sitting in the jump seat turned looking at them. Now you don't do this the first day. But when you are sitting in the back keeping an eye on them they relax because you are not staring at them. You can see what they are doing with their feet better, are they turning their head and keeping their eyes moving or do they fix stare while driving. Do they not follow too close b/c you are in the jump seat but when they relax they tend to creep up on other vehicles. Do they white knuckle on you, do they flinch.
When they first start they can't use the cruise, no talking on the CB, no screwing with the radio, and no use of cell phone while driving ever.

Trainees are all different types and having trained over 100 you learn how to train......kinda like driving....practice makes you better at it.

The company did a study and they found that a driver with 3 plus years with the company was 5 times more likey to be in a major vs. a rookie.

Now the rookies had more accidents but were more likely to be low speed turning and private property accidents like backing and striking fixed objects.
There's more to training than watching the driver. How the heck are you watching the road, traffic, lane changes and other obstacles the trainee will run up against. Don't you teach the Smith Sysytem to your trainee's? You can't teach defensive driving techniques from the back.
 
  #56  
Old 02-25-2007, 12:18 AM
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8 hours, the current MINIMUM amount of sleep time required to stop the 14 hour clock, is not "a couple hours sleep". :roll:[/quote]

gonna sleep 8 hours while noob driving thats good. no more teams out there huh?
when i started if i got in a truck with straw hat telling him stuff i read here like " dont use me for a logbook" " dont use me for a team operation" he would o kick my a** out on the road.
 
  #57  
Old 02-25-2007, 12:25 AM
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That was very nice of you, to tell me "how it is"! 8)
Never mind i spend on the road more years, than you actually live!

you got 50 years in you should retire. i keep reading people aint in a truck yet saying what they wont do i think its hilarious ..those mexicans are coming up here to do it all for us at 19cpm
 
  #58  
Old 02-25-2007, 12:35 AM
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Explain to me why on God's green earth a trainer should take his eyes off the trainee and hit the bunk for a couple hour nap? If you're the seasoned veteran and your running the same clock as the trainee why would you need to go take a nap while he is operating unsupervised?

most 100000$ dollar trucks with 2 drivers run team 24/7 .i hear all this crying about team driving.i dont believe these mega carriers are running trucks with 2 drivers 11 hours a day.i wont run a sleeper or train. if i did the wheels would be turning or i would get rid of that trainee if he is not capable of driving.
 
  #59  
Old 02-25-2007, 12:51 AM
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Originally Posted by homer
most 100000$ dollar trucks with 2 drivers run team 24/7 .i hear all this crying about team driving.i dont believe these mega carriers are running trucks with 2 drivers 11 hours a day.i wont run a sleeper or train. if i did the wheels would be turning or i would get rid of that trainee if he is not capable of driving.
I think you are mistaking things here. Nobody here is bashing team driving. It serves a purpose, and has a place in this industry. What we are bashing is how companies throw a brand new driver into a truck with another guy, sometimes with very little experience of his own, and make them run a team operation under the guise of "training".

In reality, very little training occurs in a situation like this, as the driver with "experience" is sleeping while the rookie is driving. While this puts miles under the tires, it provides very little (if any) actual training.

If companies actually took their training seriously, put their trainers through a program to teach them how to train a driver, and paid them to actually train (rather than paying them mileage), you would see the quality of driver that these companies put out increase dramatically.

But, in reality, this will likely never happen, as companies have accepted the fact that they have 130%+ turnover rates, and will spend as little time and money as possible actually training their employees. Sadly, a lot of this is caused by the drivers themselves, as evidenced right here on this message board (new drivers talking about and getting advice to get with a training company, with the plan of moving on once they have fulfilled their allotted time that they must).

If drivers took their employment seriously, did the research before hiring on with a company, and stuck with them once they chose a company to drive for, then perhaps these same companies would take the drivers more seriously, and offer better training, and better rates.

After all, you reap what you sow.

[/rant]
 
  #60  
Old 02-25-2007, 01:12 AM
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i agree with vassago but unless things have changed drasticly one can expect 5 on 5 off or some variant.
i had two different trainers in 95 and both felt comfortable going to sleep so they could drive the night shift on day 1. i imagine if they didnt think it was safe they would have shut down and qcommed dispatch. at this point a most cdl holders do operate on the freeway.
 




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