Questions About Your Driver Training

[Tim Ward]

 

How often do you conduct training ?? How much do you train a new hire?

 

In-house by you, or send your guys to a training course a few hours away?

 

Or do you Hire someone to come to you? If so, who would you suggest?

[dperone]

The training time depends on the driver. A guy coming in with a few years experience may just spend with me as a passenger to observe where as a new guy with no experience may ride shotgun with me for a week or so, then another week or 2 with me observing. 90% of our training is in house and I try to set up something every few weeks unless we get a job I can treat as training in the real world. 

[brian991219]

Training with me depended on which division you were hired into. My tow trucks required a different knowledge base than my auto transport trailers or a heavy haul driver. That said, everyone started with the same basic company orientation and introduction/refresher on FMCSA/DOT regulations, basic traffic laws and how to be a professional driver. This was three and a half days in the classroom before going anywhere except for a tour of the facilities.

 

After the introduction to the company the last day and a half of week one was defensive driving training in a passenger car, not a truck, with ride along and demonstration of basic skills. I didn't care if you had three weeks or three decades of experience, everyone did this base level of training.

 

Week two was range training (in the yard) on basic maneuvers, loading, load securement, truck inspections and such. Again, I don't care your experience level -30 years of doing it wrong is just as worthless, and even more dangerous than a greenhorn that has never done it before!

 

Week three was in the truck, as a passenger first, observe one, do one then "teach" one back to the instructor. They would hit all the basics of whatever job they were assigned to in week three and part of week four. Week four ended with a check ride by a different instructor, usually myself, to validate and verify the effectiveness of their training and their basic level of competency.

 

I still use a variation of the same program today with the companies that I consult to, including a training program I developed especially for auto transporters that is a two week program for experienced haulers and four week for novice/no previous experience haulers. Personally, I think the "experienced" hands need more remedial training and a longer program than the greenhorn. It usually takes a month or two to break them of all their bad habits!

[Towman92266]

Wow Brian, that is some very intensive training....I like it and will try to implement most of it into my training regimen.

All of our new hires regardless of experience go through an on-boarding process at our corporate headquarters to go over safe driving, DOT,etc.

Currently for our new hires in the LD division that have little to no experience I have them sit through ERSCA's on-line light duty program. Then I either host or send them through an In-person WreckMaster 2/3 class.....all the while being trained in house by one of our experienced drivers. I am learning that this needs to be tweaked and improved.