Im Sure Its Been Asked Countless Times Lol

I drove years ago but got out of the truck when local work picked up in my hometown. Like most uneducated folks i started my driving stint with the first company i talked to. C.R. England. I regret that to this day but I did stay long enough for the initial training and course to be paid for in full with nothing out of my pocket past my dignity and way to much of my life invested into low pay. A smart man would have just paid for the schooling and left post cdl’s but we all know how that looks on a resume 😅 after my 6 months i got on with transport america. A company that i felt saw me as a person/actual employee rather than a number on a screen. Im sure most of you have come across the feeling in this business. My question is. I’ve spent a couple weeks looking for company's with refresher courses. I’m 7 years out of a truck. My only concerns are i know any companies that provide refresher courses are going to be low pay and more than likely more numbers oriented vs driver oriented. Are there any threads as far as rundowns on the companies that offer them past the old post employee reviews google brings up for me? I’ve called FFE. Going to shoot western express a call tomorrow and I’m just taking down the basics on paper to compare later. And I’m sure I’ll find other companies that offer refresher courses ill look into as well. I just figured maybe this had been a topic before. And I'm more concerned with the atmosphere of the companies more so than the logistics recruiters give over the phone.

Roehl used to offer a refresher. With 7 years out they may put you through the entire school though. Alot has changed in that time.

Hmm, thanks for the info! I’ll be sure to reach out to them to see what they have to offer. That wasn’t a company I had seen that offered a refresher course! Ill let you know what they say, and thanks again :)

Roehl used to offer a refresher. With 7 years out they may put you through the entire school though. Alot has changed in that time.

Primes "refresher course" is actually the same schooling program everyone else goes through. You do t take the exam though. So other companies may do the same thing. Call and ask them do not rely on other drivers

I have called several companies today. Prime being the last after seeing your comment. The starting pay for solo drivers is great. Teams I didn’t really write down the info because theres more to it than basic mileage pay to influence your monthly income with them. Only downside i saw was the 15 to 30 days with zero pay outside of 200$ advances every week you have to pay back when you start drawing your 50000 miles of training pay. Which isn’t bad considering its 700 a week gauranteed. 2 to 4 mystery weeks with debt and childsupport for me is the only true red flag for me. Set amount of time can be planned for. Vague possibility of either or is different Altogether. But all in all as far as a starting company for any new driver i believe prime is probably as good as it gets. Alot of companies require 1 year of experience and don't come close to .51 a mile for solo drivers with only 50,000 miles under their belt. I mean if you average out at 2500 miles a week if it counts that way training should potentially take someone no longer than 20 weeks. 10 if they count total miles for the truck with team driving. Honestly sounds like i was a rock throw away from a good thing in SLC years ago when i started with england xD thanks for pointing them out to me. Had no idea their company offered that much!

Primes "refresher course" is actually the same schooling program everyone else goes through. You do t take the exam though. So other companies may do the same thing. Call and ask them do not rely on other drivers

if you average out at 2500 miles a week if it counts that way training should potentially take someone no longer than 20 weeks. 10 if they count total miles for the truck with team driving.

It counts all miles the truck is moved. That includes your miles AND the trainers miles. Keep in mind the 50,000 may be extended if you have any accidents. Also depending on the circumstances any critical events such as hard braking or taking turns too fast may result in extra miles being added.

Prime is a very solid choice and many members here have began their career, and stayed there after their contract. In fact at one point so many members here drove for Prime it seemed like this was a Prime drivers forum

You know, the 50,000 miles is a stretch for training but also with the profession itself its a good thing looking from the outside in. I got my cdl’s with england years ago and didn't know till after my phase 1 trainer picking me up with no time left on the clock that evening and making me drive through the rockies at night with it blowing snow was 100% 3 broken rules from my phase 1 trainer before i had actually driven a truck past the yard/road test experience altogether. I did alright because I was scared ****less the entire time and got no miles as i took em at a snails pace, but didn't learn till after phase 1 trainees aren’t supposed to drive after dark, nor in snow, nor without supervision for the first week. The experience has stuck with me over the years. And i look at it as what most training with companies is. Someone trying to get better pay for miles while they sleep. So i don’t look at primes 2 weeks or better with a trainer watching you as a negative. They’re doing it right. But training or not i don’t think many going into this industry Are looking to add debt to the reasons they gave up a home life. The extension to the 50k was my main point though. Sorry for the rambling. My mind always goes 6 different ways with my thought process. The initial thing I wanted to point out is, if training lasts 50,000 miles i don’t understand how accidents can extend it. Truthfully i feel like any accident altogether unless caused by someone else should put an end to it. I’ll be 31 in October. The only accident I’ve ever had was at 15 after i had been driving for a couple years already totaling my hand me down vehicle at the time. Being safe with a normal vehicle is easy. The over a year experience i had in a truck over 6 years ago it was much easier for me, because there was always a huge fear in the back of my mind for me what i could do with what i was in if i messed up. In the 13 to 14 months i drove, any old timer i talked to told me even after all their years of driving they still had that little bit of worry and fear of what a messup could cause someone. Point being the extension makes little sense to me. The fear that even at my Latter driving career with a years experience still being there there was always a fear that made me get out and double check backing into a dock with trucks around or driving like a granny though city’s , or even simply that fear that helps you stay up driving nights with teams while you’re aware you're tired and past the point of recollection of where you’re at in Your trip and you realize you need to stop and move your body to get your brain moving again. The little bit about the extension just annoyed me. I respected the profession while in it and have since out of it. Don't feel its something that should warrant accidents. Let alone extensions to training for accidents. The fear is there or it ain’t. Im altogether unsure why i spent the time after reading that response to type this all out... i know you meant to be instructive. Ive just since day one wondered how some truckers are still trucking and even saw a post here since joining of someone asking what companies hire truckers with 2 preventable accidents where he went in depth explaining the accidents and 7 years out of a truck i wanted to point out 6 reasons both was avoidable...

if you average out at 2500 miles a week if it counts that way training should potentially take someone no longer than 20 weeks. 10 if they count total miles for the truck with team driving.

It counts all miles the truck is moved. That includes your miles AND the trainers miles. Keep in mind the 50,000 may be extended if you have any accidents. Also depending on the circumstances any critical events such as hard braking or taking turns too fast may result in extra miles being added.

Prime is a very solid choice and many members here have began their career, and stayed there after their contract. In fact at one point so many members here drove for Prime it seemed like this was a Prime drivers forum

I completely understand where you're coming from about being cautious. If they got rid of rookies for having minor backing accidents they'd have a much higher turnover. One of our highly respected members here had ripped off their tandems at the fuel pumps while training. She has since gone on to have a huge positive impact on future drivers here, highly respected by everyone at her (same) company, and even has a YouTube channel to further assist new drivers. If they simply cut her loose due to an accident they'd have done us all a huge disservice. Keep in mind all accidents are treated differently. The accidents rookies have are typically cutting a corner too sharp or backing into something. In the grand scheme those tend to be less expensive than other types. The biggest thing these companies want is for you to learn from it. If you talk to safety and try to blame the way they parked, your trainer not being there, it raining or god knows what else you may find they may decide to fire you. Roll overs, hitting overhead objects (low bridge), rear end collisions and using hand held devices while the vehicle is in motion almost always result in immediate termination. Many people here have said that rookies are not the most dangerous drivers on the road. They may have more minor incidents but the experienced drivers between years 2 and 5 tend to have more devastating incidents due to pushing themselves too far or getting too comfortable and let their guard down.

That is it!!! Tell my story! Actually.... I was 1 month solo after 30k miles. So had I done the 50k I probably wouldnt have done it cause I would have had my trainers help.

It is all about prevention. If you have an accident while training, you certainly arent going to be better on your own. They need to make sure you know it Plus sometimes it is about giving winter driving to newbies.

That makes sense I reckon. Are there new sensors that can pick up the hard braking and sharp turns now? I don’t know if that was a thing when i drove. I guess if it was I just didn’t know anything about it.