|
Post by buggin on Sept 5, 2003 21:01:06 GMT -5
I am considering going to the driving school owned by C.R. England. I would appreciate any advice about the schools owned by the various trucking companies. Thanks, ( Buggin )
|
|
|
Post by truckertom on Sept 5, 2003 21:11:14 GMT -5
The good news is that they can take care of all the fianancing, training and placement all under one roof.
The bad news is that you will be obligated to them for a year. So if you hate driving for the company that trains you, too bad!
Think about it and ask questions before you plunge in.
|
|
|
Post by flyboy2610 on Sept 6, 2003 13:49:46 GMT -5
I thought CR England made you sign a 2 year contract.
|
|
|
Post by truckertom on Sept 6, 2003 18:17:03 GMT -5
Ok, C.R. England makes you commit for two years. So that is one additional year you will be obligated to them. Do you think that finacial obligation will cause them to abuse the student driver?
I don't know if that is worth it. There are far more choices.
|
|
|
Post by Arcflash on Sept 9, 2003 11:07:29 GMT -5
Check the length of the course too. Some of these company run schools are pitifully short. I am going to a 6 week course with 240 hours and I thought that was rushing it. Now I find out that I could end up C-Teaming with someone that has had NINE DAYS of school, and the same amount of trainer time as me. Nine days?
|
|
|
Post by SilverBullet on Sept 9, 2003 11:26:40 GMT -5
Arcflash,
Yes, this is the scarey truth. When I was with a certain company as a driver trainer, there were drivers that had 3 months experience in class to become a trainer. It took longer than that to learn to walk, and they are letting these people become trainers. Crazy what some companies will do.
|
|
|
Post by Arcflash on Sept 9, 2003 12:25:21 GMT -5
Yeah, I saw in Swifts recruitment package that you can be a trainer in 6 months. Myschool wanted me to fill out all the apps. Instead I took a sharpie marker and wrote "NO" on the app and sent it in. I figured out whats going on with all that though. It's not a scam to up their placement scores, it's part of their training! I'll make another post about it.
|
|
|
Post by truckertom on Sept 9, 2003 19:38:10 GMT -5
THREE MONTHS!!!!!! That is way, way to short a time to become a trainer! You may as well put students in trucks with students.
I really makes you wonder, there was a time when you had to prove yourself as a local driver before you become an OTR driver. Now they start you off on the road and you prove yourself there! Smart
I may be showing my age though.
|
|
|
Post by Arcflash on Sept 9, 2003 21:43:17 GMT -5
Heh, now you have to prove yourself on the road for like two years before you can get a local gig.
|
|
|
Post by SilverBullet on Sept 10, 2003 7:10:25 GMT -5
THREE MONTHS!!!!!! That is way, way to short a time to become a trainer! You may as well put students in trucks with students. I really makes you wonder, there was a time when you had to prove yourself as a local driver before you become an OTR driver. Now they start you off on the road and you prove yourself there! Smart I may be showing my age though. Tom, this is a team orientated company I was driving for at the time, and that is exactly what they did, get out of 4 weeks training and get into a different truck with your student partner. When I questioned them about this practice, they simply said.......It works...
|
|
|
Post by Arcflash on Sept 10, 2003 10:03:57 GMT -5
Student partner my rosey red butt... I am having a real hard time being sold on that whole C team thing. I just know I am going to get teamed with someone that has less than two weeks of school and it's going to be a nightmare.
|
|
|
Post by SilverBullet on Sept 10, 2003 16:26:57 GMT -5
Tom, this is a team orientated company I was driving for at the time, and that is exactly what they did, get out of 4 weeks training and get into a different truck with your student partner. When I questioned them about this practice, they simply said.......It works... I'm sorry I may have misled some of you, and I should have worded the above post differently. Keep in mind, this is one of the "big" companies. After the student is finished with school, and obtain their CDL, they ride with a trainer for 4 weeks. After those 4 weeks, the student is teamed with another student who just completed his 4 weeks with a trainer. Never mind that either or both of the trainers have less that 6 months OTR experience between them. I won't tell you who this company is, but I will say that the big gold trucks they drive are not the prettiest on the road.
|
|
|
Post by Arcflash on Sept 10, 2003 18:02:07 GMT -5
Seems like that four week C team thing is becoming all the rage these days. I am not totally comfortable with it... If I get stuck with a 9 day driver that is really bad I am going to be on the phone in a hurry.
|
|
|
Post by SilverBullet on Sept 11, 2003 8:32:10 GMT -5
That's all you can do. But I would do it privately so as to avoid confrontation til you can get another partner. You will still have to ride with this person until you can get to a terminal and get hooked up with someone else.
|
|
|
Post by Arcflash on Sept 11, 2003 11:33:26 GMT -5
I read a post over on pumpkindriver where the guys C Team partner was backing into things, running stuff over, and breaking the truck all the time. He even peed on the privacy curtain!
I don't know if I can escape that situation without a bit of confrontation.
|
|