Comments By G MAN

School STARTS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Passed the drug test and am stoked to get going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FinallY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

G MAN

The DAC report is only one of the reports used by companies. Then there are the insurance reports(which you can't access) that look for any accident which you were involved in that was reported to an insunace company as a claim.

Its up to you in the end but being honest up front will leave no room for surprises.

That is sooo true. If you can get the April/May 2013 edition of Driver's View, there is an article on "Getting Hired: Advice from Recruiters." It explains what recruiters are looking for.

Dave

Dave, what is Driver's View? A magazine, a ezine, and where do you get it? Thanks. G MAN

Thanks very much Daniel.

G MAN

Hey Guys and Gals of this thread, I am seriously considering Central after school as a company driver and have a couple of questions that I could use your help on. 1. Do they really have a forced dispatch model, and if so how does it work? As a new company driver, can you refuse a load (say into NYC)? Is forced dispatch a no bigging in the big scheme of things? 2. Do the trucks really come with a refrigerator? Really? 3. Inverters? Are they already installed and usable in the truck? What wattage? 4. Does their idle policy keep you cool in the heat of summer? If you dont use it all, can you accumulate idle time? 5. Important thing here-do they micro manage you to death or give you the load and leave you alone? Do you do your own routing or does the DM do it for you? 6. Are they fair with the pay; dentention, layover, breakdown? Do they pay for these things on time with no hassles? 7. Is the freight REALLY 90% no touch, and 70% drop and hook? 8. Anyone know how the trainers are? Decent, honest folks interested in TEACHING and HELPING their students LEARN? Or? That's it for now....all these questions arise from many conversations I had with the recruiter....and I get from TT what recruiters will say and do to get you sucked in....so real life, honest people out there, please help. Be safe! G MAN

Brett that is the most beautiful, thoughtful, and true string of words I have ever read on the internet.

I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

G MAN

Hey Erik, I'm at Sage in Grand Junction, CO right now, beginning class on Monday! Sage is an excellent organization and school. Read my posts on in the Training Diaries section of this forum. The school in Kingman is relocated to Phoenix. Both directors of the schools are professional, courteous, kind, knowledgeable, friendly, and become part of your family. They WANT you to SUCCEED, not only in school, but AFTERWARDS!!!!!!! Same with the staff!!! The instructors I've met so far are nothing but honest, hard working, experienced gentlemen in the trucking industry. The classes are SMALL, mine on Monday will ONLY have 3 students, oh and the have 3 beautiful Freightliners with 3 beautiful 53' footers to use, so guess what, no waiting for a truck or stand around watching someone else waiting for your turn. The OTR portion in 1 on 1. Now I am talking!!!! After visiting the Kingman school, I wrote an email to the vice president about my wonderful experience, and guess what? She wrote back within 24 hours thanking me for what I wrote and told me she would pass it onto the president. How impressive. I will keep all posted on my experience with Sage so stay tuned. Ask my anything you want and I will do my best to answer or get the answer for you. Be safe!

G MAN

Well after some disheartening set-backs, I'm back at it again. I've been in orientation and training for the last four days at Western Express Trucking in Nashville, TN. Now I'm going to say that these guys were not high on my list of prospective employers, but they were on the list, and they had promised me a job. After being here for four days I want to report that I have learned a great deal while here and am favorably impressed by their equipment, and their maintenance facility here. Their training in load securement is top notch as far as I can tell. I would imagine they could spend some more time on it, but if you pay attention, take notes, and study the materials they have already prepared for you then you will gain a great deal of insight and knowledge into the art of flat-bed load securement. I already had some basic knowledge, but have learned a great deal about working load limits of chains, binders, straps, stake pockets, etc. We've put a lot of effort into understanding how to calculate what it takes to legally and safely secure all types of cargo.

They told me today to bring all my gear to the terminal tomorrow, because they are trying to arrange for my trainer to be there so I can get out on the road with them. So, I'm pretty pleased to finally get this whole thing started. This company has a lot of freight and it appears that we can get some great miles in. The pay here is somewhat lower than some of the other companies I had looked into, but the miles seem to be more available, so we will just have to see if it comes out in the wash or not. I'm not really thrilled with everything here, but who is at any trucking company? I'm gonna give it my best shot at proving myself to be a professional driver, and a reliable employee. They gave me a shot when others wouldn't, so I'm going to do my best to prove myself an asset to them.

Just one more thing as a side note to those of you who are just starting in on this journey. When you go off to a driving school or to a company orientation: try and put a little planning into it, by that I mean try and have a little money set aside. The people at Western Express have put a roof over our heads and been feeding us two ample meals a day, but there are still people here begging others for money, food, cigarettes, or whatever else they might have need of. It surprises me that people jump into this not really knowing how they are going to manage it, but apparently it's not uncommon. I knew full well before I came here that I wasn't going to be making any real money until after I completed my time with my trainer, and that's five weeks from the time we first started. God help those poor trainers who get some of these poor starving refugees on their trucks with them.

There's a lot more to learn and manage when you go into the flat-bedding side of this business, but I'm thoroughly enjoying myself so far, and I will try and update you as soon as I can.

Thanks for the post Old School, very interesting, even though I'm not a flat bedder type of guy! But I learn from you and that's what counts!!! Thank you. Keep us posted. Be safe!

G MAN

Work hard Gman, and you'll come out on top. You're gonna do real well. Just listen and follow your instructors advice, they'll point you in the right direction to get you started on the right foot.

Thanks Old School. I will. The school is so impressive. I met the director today. He wears a tie! The instructor I met today has 30 yrs as an O/O. I'm gonna learn so much. Th director talked with me for two hours today, and I haven't officially started yet, to learn about me and what I like, want, need etc. He gave me the FMCSA book and pre trip stuff to study. I'm devouring all this material. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks. Be safe! G MAN.

Thanks Brett. Passed physical yesterday and got my 2 yr card. Waiting on drug test but I know I will pass. School officially starts Monday, but they said come on over today and start studying on our computers. Oh, and a May truck is parked in their lot, the driver is on hometime, and did graduate from their school last Sept., and they are gonna arrange for me to meet and talk with him. How coooool! Theres 3-4 inches of snow on my car this morning. Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm from CA, never driven in snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

G MAN

Hello all,

I arrived in Grand Junction CO yesterday after driving 400 miles on Sunday and 400 on Monday. What beautiful country we have, from LA to St. George Utah to here. Cant wait to see more of it!!! I drove over to the school, SAGE, and OMG, how impressive!!! Very nice bldg in commercial area next to the airport and the trucks!!!! Two shiny, new Freightliners hooked to nice 53' footers!!! Oh my!!! Today I go for my physical and drug screen. Tomorrow I start studying, jeez more studying-Ive been studying now for 3 months!!!!! Next Monday I officially start the class, take the permits tests, and all the rest. I'll keep you all posted. Be safe! And thanks to all for all your support.

G MAN