Melton Trucking Orientation

Hello, I accepted an invitation to go to Melton's orientation in Tulsa. I am 56 years old and consider myself to be in better shape than most people half my age. I'm just worried that they will run me out of there with some of these tests they're doing. You got to be kidding me with a duck walk. I know I can do the job, but if their goal is break you I might not make it.

It’s not gonna be like Navy Seal training.

My prediction is that you will make it fine with just a few sore muscles.

I know I can do the job, but if their goal is break you I might not make it.

They have no such goal. If you are as fit as you claim, it will be a cake walk. Don't worry about the duck walk. You should be able to do what they need easily. A driver has to be able to get under his trailer and check the jaws on his fifth wheel. I do it multiple times a day and I'm your senior by a good many years.

Thank you for your replies. I feel a little better already. Starting this adventure at this age can be stressful. I researched everything I could think of before I started. So many things that have amazed me have come up. A major one is being frozen out because I live in South Florida. Another is the trend I see of companies only using team drivers. I can see their advantage clearly, but cannot imagine doing it with many people. All my life I have been against unions. Looking at this industry it cries out for a strong unified workforce. The way I see things unfolding in the next 20 years are twofold. They will make it easier and easier for immigrants to get into trucking driving down the wages. South Florida has countless non-English speaking drivers. You may say that's illegal, down here they say so what. And don't fool yourself, automation is coming.

One of the requirements to drive a truck is to have a working knowledge of English, so all those non-English speaking immigrants are unlikely to start flooding the trucking job market.

Kind of a fun topic, but automation is a long way off, in my opinion.

Make the best of your Melton experience, have a positive attitude and you can have a long and satisfying career as a driver.

And don't fool yourself, automation is coming.

Not in this lifetime.

One of the requirements to drive a truck is to have a working knowledge of English, so all those non-English speaking immigrants are unlikely to start flooding the trucking job market.

The Sikh, Arab, and Indian drivers out there beg to differ. Not all immigrants lack fluency in English.

The Sikh, Arab, and Indian drivers out there beg to differ. Not all immigrants lack fluency in English.

This is why people get so aggravated with you. You're snarky, you've added nothing to the conversation, you didn't read the passage you're responding to closely, and no one ever said, "all immigrants lack fluency in English."

What BK said was:

One of the requirements to drive a truck is to have a working knowledge of English, so all those non-English speaking immigrants are unlikely to start flooding the trucking job market.

He specifically said, "Non-English speaking immigrants"

BK is also correct about the English-speaking requirement. Here is the information from the FMCSA :

49 CFR § 391.11 - General qualifications of drivers.

(2) Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;

Come on, man! Quit aggravating everyone.

One of the requirements to drive a truck is to have a working knowledge of English, so all those non-English speaking immigrants are unlikely to start flooding the trucking job market.

I was in a truck stop where a non-English speaking driver was using a translation app on his phone to try and communicate with the cashier.

Sorry, but I have experienced non-English speaking drivers. But I doubt they’ll run the rest of us off.

One of the requirements to drive a truck is to have a working knowledge of English, so all those non-English speaking immigrants are unlikely to start flooding the trucking job market.

The Sikh, Arab, and Indian drivers out there beg to differ. Not all immigrants lack fluency in English.

The OP referred to “non English speaking immigrants “, not to one’s who are bi-lingual. Of which there are many.