Thank You For The Phone App And CDL Test Help!

My question is, I got my DOT physical, my CDL permit, and completed a week at a trucking shcool here in Springfiled, MO but my first run driving I was put with an instructor who I think doesn't like women, he made the other lady cry. Not that what he was saying wasn't true but it was how he said it. Bascially told her that if she didn't stop putting the clutch all the way to the floor she was going to ruin the truck and it was expensive, so she needed to pull her head out her &%# and this wasn't funny or a game (she was smilling at him while he was saying all this to her, trying not to cry). Anyway, I got behind the wheel and told him that I was really nervous, he asked my why? I said, because I've never driven a big #$* truck before. He said, "why are you here?" I said, so I can learn to drive a big *%@ truck! The first time was difficult and his personality or way of instruction I didn't care for. The second run, he told me NOT to put my seat up but I'm short legged and I have to so that I can press the cluth in to take off in 3rd gear. He got mad and gave me all these reasons why you don't need to put the seat up and have it too high, I understood what he was saying and I put it back a little and down a bit but I told him, I had to put it up some. He got irrate and said that I was neglecting to follow instructor directions,grabbed my book and started writing in it. I was pulling out when he did this and it just made me even more nervous. I thought he was failing me and I was trying to talk to him but he wouldn't talk to me and WOULD NOT GIVE ME DRIVING INSTRUCTION! I pretty much did it on my own, with "Jesus at the wheel." Not kidding, he had us shift going across the railroad tracks and then later yelled at us for doing it. I asked him why he told us to do it then. He said, to see how nervous we were and if we would do it??? He got in the drivers seat and said he was going to show us how to make turns. I was sitting in the front and hanging onto the hand raila the dash for dear life. He was going fast making the turns and wipped in back quick, we were slung from one side to the other. I looked at him in horror and almost frozen, I couldn't believe it! I was thinking, this guy is nuts!!! I told the director that I didn't feel safe with this instructor and that any of the 4 other instructors I would be glad to go with but he refused to let me. He said, "it was just a misunderstanding and that down played the whole thing. The instructor said, he didn't get angry and the only reason he didn't instruct me was because he thought that I had drove before, which was a total lie. The director said, I just needed to trust him, really??? I'm looking for another school, but I feel bad that I left. Someone asked me if I did the right thing, I told them I don't know, I think I did but it's going to be hard to get into another school because they don't let you start in your second week, they want you to start all over again and my funding won't pay for first week again.How can I drive with an instructor if I dont' feel safe and we were supposed to go drive in downtown Springfield that day. What if he did it to me agaqin, the director said, "did anything get broken?" I told him, "only my trust!"

Lesa, I'm sorry to say but you've run straight into one of the biggest problems the trucking industry has faced for decades - they use truck drivers as instructors and most truck drivers do not have the personality for it. They're horrible instructors and miserable people to be around. Obviously not all of them are like this, but far too many. Your problem is very common.

Not kidding, he had us shift going across the railroad tracks and then later yelled at us for doing it. I asked him why he told us to do it then. He said, to see how nervous we were and if we would do it???

See, that right there is the biggest mistake that instructors make. The students think they're being trained but the instructor thinks they have to constantly test the student. They test your patience, your knowledge, your nerve, your ability to follow instructions - everything - constantly. Again, it's a ridiculous way to "teach" people - by constantly pushing their buttons, yelling at them, and misleading them when the student is clearly under the impression they're supposed to be able to trust the instructor and follow their lead. Your expectations of being instructed by someone who is patient and helpful are not misplaced. It's the trucking industry that's doing it wrong. But there's one big problem....

The trucking industry isn't going to change. It's been this way for decades. Plain and simple - there are a ton of instructors out there who have absolutely no business being an instructor. And as everyone in America above the age of 10 already knows, truckers have a reputation for being coarse, gruff, abrasive people at times but it's 100 times worse when you put some of them in a position of authority. See, truckers are used to being the lowest on the totem pole. We have DOT , police officers, company management, logbook auditors, dispatchers, load planners, truck assigners, and everyone else in the trucking industry above us. We have no authority over anyone. So you take someone who already has an abrasive personality and suddenly put them in a position of authority and suddenly they feel compelled to prove their prowess to the world by belittling and criticizing and threatening. It's sad, barbaric, and primitive behavior. "Small-minded thinking" I call it.

I would love to sit here and tell you that you found one bad apple and that person should be condemned. That you should storm into the office, demand better treatment, and expect it. But that's not gonna happen.

I'm afraid the only thing you can do is put on a really thick skin and try not to let those types get to you. Your patience and nerve will be tested continuously in trucking. Bad traffic, terrible weather, erratic sleep patterns, tight schedules, aggressive drivers, rotten personalities - you're going to see most of that stuff on a daily basis. It takes someone capable of being tough as nails when they have to.

Listen, your journey into trucking isn't going to be easy. It never is for anyone. Read through this forum and you'll find that one person after another after another had a long list of road blocks, setbacks, and challenges they had to overcome to get out there and be successful in this industry. It will be no different for you. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs in that first year, especially the first few months.

If you feel you have the resolve to deal with this kind of behavior and all of the other challenges you'll face trying to get your career underway then by all means sign up for another school and go for it! Only you know if you have the resolve to make this happen or not so I can't tell you if trucking is the right career for you or not. But I can certainly tell you that it's a tough industry to get started in. If you can stay the course and get to the point that you have one year of driving under your belt then things will be significantly better for you from that point on. But getting there is a tough road. It is for everyone.

Wow Lesa, you got a bad start!

I completely agree with Brett's sentiments on this subject and just want to add a couple thoughts. I know exactly how you feel. I too had a really rough start getting into this business. I got rejected from three different orientations that I traveled across the country to on Grey Hound buses. Then when I finally found someone who would hire me I spent four weeks in a truck with a perfect nut for my trainer! I don't even remember how many times I wanted to quit and just walk away. He was belligerent, arrogant, and on top of all that (in my opinion) should have never been a trainer.

The training is the absolute toughest part of becoming a professional driver. For you it's even tougher since there is definitely a gender bias in this industry. It has gotten better, but there are still strongly held pockets of glaring ignorance everywhere one turns. Whatever you do next, just make sure you're gonna commit to sticking it out no matter how tough it is. This is the stuff that makes great drivers. I wish you would have come to us before you quit, because I can almost guarantee you that Brett would agree with me in telling you to stay the course as long as your life was not in danger. If you will commit to sticking with it you will clear that really tough hurdle of getting through the training. It will be tough, and you can never tell what these people are thinking when they are training you. Sometimes they have a hidden agenda, or maybe they just want to see whose tough, or whose gonna cut and run at the first signs of hardship and difficulty. I wrote an article about this stuff if you care to look at it called Your Trainer Will Test You on Far More Than Just Your Driving Skills.

Lesa, we are sorry that you've learned something the hard way, but sincerely wish you the best in your future career. If we can be of any future help to you I hope you will feel free to ask us anything you need to know.