Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/270298
14 www.studentdriverplacement.com March '14 From a Trainer Thoughts Y ou got your CDL, got hired, and are training. Ever won- der what the trainer's think- ing behind those sunglasses? We asked one. "I've worked for my company a long time. I wonder whether the trucking schools now are just teaching people to pass the test. One of my new drivers couldn't make a right turn – took out a traffi c light, mailbox, bus bench. He'd only look in his mirror once, never low- ered my window so he could see without the glare. I made him practice nothing but right turns until he got it. I know a retired householder who swears he took out an entire row of mail- boxes once. Said he should've gotten out and looked before he started turning. That's another thing that gripes me - a new driver won't get out of the dang cab and go check the area. Some drivers think if they're driving team with an experienced driver they'll be okay. Not in my book. The new driver should do his share of the PTIs, fueling and after-delivery walk-arounds, and all of the hooking and unhooking - under supervision. Not knowing how to do that correctly can get you killed. One driver that really irritated me was a guy who couldn't back his trailer. I don't know how he got his CDL; the regular ex- aminer must've been sick that day. Anyway, he tried for over an hour to back into a straight-shot dock in a totally fl at parking lot. Finally I told him what a thirty-year veteran trucker had taught me: 'Put your hands down at the bottom of the steering wheel, at 6 o'clock. Then whichever way you turn the wheel, that trailer's going to go too. Push the wheel left, it'll go left. Turn it to the right, and the trailer swings right.' I'm glad I caught him before he'd driven very long. Most of us trainers don't want to get someone fi red, especially when they're trying to support their family. But when you can't do something, admit it and get help. Don't just fake it. Your best bet is to practice, practice, practice." ◆ Timothy Brady © 2013 To contact Brady go to www.truckersu.com Thoughts From a Trainer, Part One By Tom Kelley Thoughts 0314.indd 1 2/19/14 3:33 PM