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Post by truckertom on Jun 23, 2004 14:16:06 GMT -5
I guess some of us oldtimers here may want to hash this around a little bit. I suppose if one of us won the lotto, we would be forced into starting one....or at least a drive-in movie/truckstop.
What would you do if you were starting your own driving school? I suppose we have flooded the backing thread with our opinions, may as well air them out here too!
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Post by Fozzy on Jun 23, 2004 15:10:23 GMT -5
AHHH Where to start?
Just having a state of the art COMFORTABLE classrrom would be nice. Proper seating and tables would be a start! LOL
EVERYTHING would be computer generated and taught on the computer! While drawing and writing on the dry eraser boards is cool, each student having a monitor right at their desk would be much better! All classes can then be tested, graded and scored without much wasted time. Videos can be shown on the screens also so no more fumbling with tapes and VCR's.
EACH Students buys the training materials! They show up and have NO excuse for failure because they were issued the materals
Now something silly: LODGING PROVIDED!!!!
The school will have an unconventional dormatory. There would be truck cabs mounted to the ground with power, air or heat piped into them. For the entire time they are at the school, they live in the trucks. If I were a real sadist they would SHARE a truck! LOL. Of course there would be intermittant knocks on the doors at various times of the night! LOL
Showers and bathrooms would be based on truckstops around the country.
I'm sure ill have more..but its almost time for work...ugh!!
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Post by truckertom on Jun 23, 2004 17:58:37 GMT -5
I know there must be a limit to how much you can spend on things, but I feel we could do better than they do now. But while on the subject of classrooms, why is it that students get out of class unable to pass the written tests? I am of the opion that tapes are an excuse for the instructor to take a BS break! When I am taking students back to the DPS (DMV) a week after they start school, there is something wrong with the classroom instruction.
Dorms have been tried here, but it did not work because you have to keep the male students seperate from the female ones. If you have to pay an attendant to keep the students apart, that is one more person on the payroll, if that cuts into the budget for your instructors you will have troble keeping the best instructors. Now as far as the computers on the desk! That would be perfect, now if you could turn the classroom study into a trucking video game, that could be very cool. Like every time you got a Hazmat answer wrong, you blow up your cyber truck.
A transmission to practice on in the classroom would be nice, kinda like a mechanical bull. Except we would call it the mechanical 10 speed! When you rip a gear really bad, you hear an explosion and the lights go out in the booth!
We think we are made of money! LOL! It is nice to dream though.
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Post by Pelicn on Jun 23, 2004 19:51:16 GMT -5
You guys really need to win the lottery I would love to go to this school of yours! So far, I like all the ideas you both have posted, especially the "truck cab" dorms. ;D ;D Fozzy, you mentioned female instructors in the other post. We had one, and I say "had" because she is one who's contract isn't being renewed. She was very good at explaining things and if a person didn't get it, she was very much hands-on. I really liked her and her teaching style. We were lucky with this class, there was only one student that didn't care for the "female" instructor, but HE didn't think that females should be in a truck to begin with.
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Post by Scott on Jun 24, 2004 10:44:55 GMT -5
Here we go! Classroom-As Fozzy stated, computerized. Tom, one thing that I have run into is when a student takes a test on paper in the class then goes to the DMV for the writtens they get a little intimidated by the computers. I've had ALOT of students who don't have a computer and some that don't know how to turn one on. A computerized classroom would help aleviate at least some of this. SIMULATOR(S)-One room dedicated for either one fully enclosed full motion simulator or several of the cheaper ones, where the students sit in a truck seat with a big screen in front of all of them. Preferably the former. Trucks-Conventionals and (Yuk) cabovers. When the students graduate they will be comfortable in either one. Transmisions-I would probably go with a straight 9 speed. Any thoughts? Trailers-Vans, 48' and 53' with weight. Flatbeds, 48' and 53' with side kit on one of them. Tankers, dry bulk AND liquid. A set of doubles. And an Instructor that knows what he/she is doing with the doubles. Instructors-No less than 5 yrs. all weather/all terrain driving. Anyone wanting to be an Instructor WILL take the same tests as the students they want to teach. This includes all the writtens and road & yard. The yard test will consist of ALL 6 maneuvers. All tests must be passed with a 95% or higher score. I've seen too many "wannabe Instructors" who coudn't do the maneuvers they were suppossed to be teaching. Uniforms will be mandatory along with a STRICT set of grooming standards. I've seen some "Instructors" who look like they belong in the back row of a truck stop. You know the type I mean. This school will be the definition of "Profesional" A new Instructor will be on probation for 6 mos. He/she will be evaluated monthly in that time period. After that he/she will be evaluated quarterly. Instructor salaries-Instructors should make more than a new graduate just starting out with a company. I'm a firm believer in "You get what you pay for". Instructors will get raises based on PERFORMANCE, not on how long they've been there. Addmissions reps-This is a sore subject with me. I know I'll get flak on this one. So be it. A new rep just out of college won't make more than an Instructor who has put in 5, 10, 15, or more years on the road away form friends and family. I realize that this is basically a sales position, but my addmissions reps WILL be knowlegeable about the trucking industry. I've seen too many reps hired because they had big "assets" instead of a brain inside their skulls. If a rep lies to a student and it can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, that rep will be GONE! Well, now I've gotten myself all worked up so I better quit now and wait for the fallout.
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Post by Fozzy on Jun 24, 2004 19:44:52 GMT -5
The full motions sims are pretty good and would be great, but I think the shifting sims would be better and more adaptable not to mention cheaper for numerous units. The students can grind till their hearts content without the added fun of moving towards inanimate objects! LOL. [/quote] Both would be nice, but realistically there are just so few fleets using them anymore that they are not even being produced. The Argosy is gone and the Internationals are mostly headed overseas and to Mexico. P.S. I LOVE cabovers! LOL ;D [/quote] The 9 speed is a good choice, I’d like to see a 13 and a super ten, maybe an autoshift thrown in for fun. 5X4's are reserved for problem students! [/quote] 53’s are best! The axles can be placed in the same locations to mimic the 48 footer. I was given the task to come up with the plan to add weight to the trailer’s at MDD. I came up with metal 55 gallon drums with locking lids. I noticed the truck body shop next too us had a huge pile of used up sand blaster sand, they gave it away for free!!! LOL I just brought the trailer over and the guy filled the drums and raised them up to me and I positioned them with a drum dolly, nailed some braces in and viola!!! 40,000 pound loaded trailers. I like the idea of the tankers, smooth bores loaded to only about half will test not only driving skills but also sphincter control! The doubles would be GREAT!!! Triples even better! I liked pulling them…most drivers are simply buying into the negative horror stories about them. [/quote] Check Check and Check (when do I start?) LOL Silly trucker hats should be optional (I hat wearing hats now….and shirt tails come out at 5 pm Friday!!! LOL [/quote] As long as the lead people set the standards, the underclassmen should not need to be prodded to hard to keep up. [/quote] AMEN BROTHER!!! A GOOD instructor should be paid in the mid 40’s! At least they could support themselves. I cannot tell you the numbers of drivers and trainers and students who just assume that the instructor is making less than 30k a year. Agreed also on the school rep! They should not necessarily be ex drivers but they should go through and PASS the school itself! Fozzy
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Post by truckertom on Jun 24, 2004 20:35:39 GMT -5
Fozzy
You wouldn't beleive it! We fired our problem instructor today! This instructor had been spending alot of time at a local truckstop after being told to stay away from there. A student I had today told me that this instructor was pulling in there up to THREE times a day!!!!!
Ya know, one thing that I think really needs to be stressed is a new school may have to build to some of the standards we would like to see in a school. Right now I would settle for a classroom that causes students to pass written tests, and road instructors that teach people how to drive. A successful school could invest in high tech training devices later, but most schools are at least a year before they show a profit. Trucks are a huge expense themselves. If we just had a staff that taught for every hour they were getting paid for, we would be miles ahead of the "breakfast club driving school".
And if you paid driving instructors in the mid 40k range, you could take your pick and hire only the best.
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Post by Fozzy on Jun 24, 2004 23:19:09 GMT -5
Where did this person get the time to get into the truckstops more than once during the training cycle? We had such time compression problems that just getting everyone up to 30 hours each was tough! A few trips around the daily circut and then a short stop for the tobacco addicts to get in a "stress fix" then we were off and flying! The only time we would have to go in to a truckstop was during the 150 mile road trip where we would stop to change drivers and visit the truck stop to show them the reasons why you should buy things elsewhere! ;D Usually one look at the $4.00 window cleaners and the $8.00 asprin was enough. The visit the the trucker shower facilties was the training for personal hygene 101! LOL I'd loved to made 30! LOL I was only paid $24,500 as a team leader/CDL examiner/training department/local driver/hazmat trainer/fill in oreintation dude. And that was working almost 300 hours a month. Still loved the job though! I was gunning to be the single classroom instructor, but they never got up to the point where we could change up classes like that. I would have been doing the classroom teaching all day. I'd simply teach the same subject twice a day too the AM / PM students. We ran the road training in the AM and then taught classroon in the PM. Weekends was one full day of road/backing and then a full day of classroom work. Another suggestion would be a long night of night driving, this suck for the instructors if you don't have enough, but rigging the students to see what an "8 hour turn" feels like was VERY humorous to observe! LOL I guess its a 10 hour turn now! LOL
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Post by truckertom on Jun 25, 2004 21:10:16 GMT -5
We are doing night driving now, yeah it sucks......but what are you going to do?
This instructor was told to stay out of this truckstop (the Bar-B east of Ranger Texas) but she has a mechanic friend that drinks coffee all day there. We found out from a student that she was stopping there 3 times a day! So when she threw a fit the other morning because a student asked where the light switch was on the truck, that was it. She was out of there.
The instructor quality of a driving school is the foundation. If you have that right, you can build on it. If it is shakey, you can build on it as high as you want and it will fall. Having a crew that wants to teach is tough. But I admit, I would hate the classroom. Give me the roadwork. But many instructors are worthless at either.
We have three students per truck. Sometimes we may only have two to try to get them as much driving time as possible. They each are supposed to get about three hours a day each. I have to have enough time in the truck to scare some respect into them. They usually have a whole new attitude about 4 wheeler driving when they are done.
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Post by truckertom on Jun 29, 2004 8:37:26 GMT -5
What happend? We went dead!
Where would you place this school? We are going to be recruiting from accross the nation so there are some considerations. We also have to look at this from another point of view that most instructors never see: We have to turn a porfit. So if you are going to have then nation to place a school, wouldn't it make sense to put it in a place where the cost of doing bisiness is low, housing is low and the pay the instructors receive will give them a good standard of living where they are.
You also need hills to climb/fall off of, turns, city driving and a decent backing yard. A DMV/DPS office needs to be close enough with not alot of competition close by. And how many weeks should it be? Remember, the more weeks the higher the overhead. We still have to turn a profit, even if it is a non profit school we still have to make payroll.
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Post by Fozzy on Jun 29, 2004 14:48:46 GMT -5
Yep, I was always worried about profit and making the trucking school somewhere that people wanted to go and actually have a waiting list. Unfortuneately our finance department didnt take care of anything and the people who were supposed to be paying more often than not..DIDN'T! The default rate for student loans to trucking schools was well over 85%. It's hard to run a trucking school on 15% of the money that you take in.
I'd love to run the trucking shool here out and buy their site! It's on an old aiirbase and the range is HUGE and concrete!! There is the Arbuckle mountains withing 30 minutes driving and numerous small roads and a medium sized city (Ardmore) to practice all the things that are needed.
Fozzy
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Post by truckertom on Jun 29, 2004 19:51:29 GMT -5
We had the same problem with the Student Fianance Corp. They approved the loans and the students never paid it back. But for some reason our school went from a $3200 price tag to over $9000. Why? And if you are seeing only %15 payback and the rest is defaulted, cnan't keep the doors open that way.
Oklahoma is a pretty cheap place to do business. I was a crane opperator for the Dolese Corp. for a few years in Cooperton Oklahoma. Lots of lakes with very few people around, and when you are running a business where the local economy has nothing to do with your business, it can be done. It is like what happend when the oilfield shut down.....towns in SW Oklahoma dried up. It looked like a coalmining town a year after the coal played out....nothing. There is nothing in the town I used to live in, Roosevelt Oklahoma. But the cheaper the cost of living, the less overhead. More that that, Antlers and Talihina OK are some of my old stomping grounds.
As far as defaults, many of the owners I know don't care as long as they get theirs, who cares? Right? WRONG! You and I know that it comes right back to bite you in the butt. So why is it that more owners don't?
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Post by The Lone Ranger on Jul 19, 2005 13:14:49 GMT -5
Actually, a local driving school here has a shifting simulator that can be made to cooperate (or not!) like any engine, transmission and load combination - 9 speed, 10 speed, 13 speed, cat engine, etc, double clutch or not, trailer/flatbed, loaded or not, you name it. It appears as a chair, steering wheel, pedals and generic instrument panel, and has a large flat-screen TV type thing which will display the "road" as you go. I think it can be programmed for different "driving conditions", too, including winter, fog, uphill/downhill, etc etc. (I haven't trained there, but recall seeing this toy from the orientation)
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Post by truckertom on Jul 20, 2005 20:19:23 GMT -5
That is pretty cool for practice, but getting out in traffic is another thing. I tell my students that all these crazy 4 wheelers can't be trusted. Some repent of the way they used to drive around 18 wheelers.
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WorkinMan
New Member
Hunting is not a hobby, it is a passion.
Posts: 20
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Post by WorkinMan on Jul 22, 2005 5:12:58 GMT -5
I am not an instructor, but I have went on a few truck runs with friends and family, so I am not a total dumbell. If I were building a truck driving school from the dirt to the shingles, i'd lay it out like this; This is going to be a long one.
For lodging, there would be sleeper matresses, bolted onto a hydraulically controlled platform that would shake to simulate a truck going over railroad tracks at around 80 MPH. Also expect multiple panic stops and such to fling you off that bed like a rag doll. Also, there would be an air horn and jake brake loop tape playing under the bunk, loud enough to scare them off the matress and into a kung fu fight stance, just so they understand why you don't do that stuff in a truckstop parking lot.
As for educational material, all textbooks would be recopied to look exactly like an Atlanta, GA map, complete with all the exits that are on the map, but not actually existing on the road. In place of street name, there would be key words to remember, such as for the pre-trip.
There would be one shop setting, with a fire hose dousing the student while they go through a full pre-trip inspection, complete with a simulated DOT officer standing there under an umbrella. Lots never realize that when the DOT poleece tells you to inspect the truck, even in the snow you better inspect that truck. Mr. DOT has seen something he don't like, and he is trying to keep you out of a ticket, either that or he wants to see a rookie trucker sloshing around in freezing cold rain, take your pick.
For showers, there would be a truckstop shower system, complete with the key card that doesn't work, no water pressure, and 1000 degree water, that spits not sprays.
Now, what good would a truck driving school be with out a truck? On my yard, there would be a brand new Pete, 379 preferably, shiny, all the bells and whistles, GPS units, autoshift trans, custom stacks, chrome rims, seats that make you feel like you butt is being kissed by a cloud, the works. That would be the truck that each student is promised.
The truck each student would get would be a much harder decision, I am thinking something with a paintjob customized by rust and time. Something made in the 40s, good old engine that smokes faster than it runs, and the required 5X4 Twin Stick tranny, just to show the brats that there aint no relation between this bad boy and the stick shift Chevy S-10 they pulled up in.
Food would be provided, cooked by a genuine truckstop chef.
Day one would consist totally of being told that they will be driving the truck on the yard by the end of the day, their wait would be spent sitting in the truck in the boiling sun while I have a cup of coffee and a nap. Get them broken in early to being lied to by people with more power; it happens all the time in loading docks world wide.
The second day, they would be given the proper testing in map reading, much would be said about roads changing anytime the State has the money to change them, but not spending 50 cents to call the map manufacturer to notify them of the change.
By the end of the first week, one of two thing will happen; they will see that "Smokey and the Bandit", "Convoy", "Black Dog", and "Maximum Overdrive" are totally hollywood and become the best drivers possible, or they will get mad and leave because very rarely does a driver get the chance to blast down the highway and 96 MPH two steps behind "The Bandit" and one step ahead of "Buford T. Justice".
The second week, now that the wannabees are gone, it would be time to instruct the willbees. They would learn driving skill, AND driver/CB etiquette. OK, the gal you just saw could have gotten a job at Hooters on a scholarship, don't muddy the airwaves with it.
I know some are probably going to think "Ahhh, he just hates truck driving, pay him no mind." I disagree, I love the industry, and I have spent my whole life around over 40 years combined OTR experience. I just get tired of firing up my CB and hearing a rookie whining because the kid was promised Gear jamming, tire sqealin', on the road excitement, and was given long hours, short pay, and a healthy dose of hurry up 'n wait.
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