Please Help! Never-ending Training With USA Truck. Can He Come Home?

I don't mean to sound flip with this comment, so please don't take it that way, but welcome to the life of a trucker.

When I went to school I left home on September 6th. Started school September 9th. Got home the first time Thanksgiving day for 4 days.

A friend that I went to school with was out 12 weeks AFTER school before he got home. He graduated a few days and was assigned a truck a few days before I was.

Things happen. And no, the trucking companies have no sympathy at all when it come to a driver getting home.

I have only been driving solo since Thanksgiving week last year, which isn't a long time by any means. But there are 2 things I have found out in my short time out here that is central to almost every trucking company out here.

By my experience here at Celadon and talking to drivers from other companies, I seem to get the same consistency.

1. Weekend dispatch sucks. And,

2. Good luck getting home. At least on a regular basis if you are an Over The Road trucker. And you can add being a student to that list also.

Tell him to hang in there. Getting his license, IF this is really what he is wanting to do with his life, will be worth all the heartache and lost time at home.

Just tell him, when he does get home to make every second count. You are not sure when you will get back again.

My last home time, I was out for 5 weeks before getting home. This time, I will be out for 7 weeks. Now that is mostly my choice due to the fact I want home for my son's birthday. And it falls just right that if I go home any sooner, I can't get home for his birthday.

Being and Over The Road (OTR) driver, the company wants us out for at least 4 weeks between home times. Now, that is with Celadon. They say 2 to 4 weeks. But they really frown if you take the 2 weeks.

Just tell him to take one day at a time. One step at a time. He will get through it.

Keep it safe out here, the life you save might be your own. Joe S.

Chelsey.....you and your hubby have just been introduced to TRUCKING. It is what it is. On this site we stress taking your time picking the company that you will go with for training...because you will need to stay there for a year....to pay back your school costs, and to get a years experience in order to look good for your next employer. That being said.....the situation that you are facing isn't that unusual. Companies run drivers thru their schools at a record rate...they make them wait for trainers, wait for trucks, wait for loads, wait for repairs, and wait for pay if you are not lucky. Since your husband has gone thru training, he owes an amount to the company. If he quits, they will chase you until its paid. This debt is viewed as a regular student loan, that can not be banko'd on, or expunged. So....with those facts in evidence, your choices are limited. He should relax, get the rest of his trainer time done, get his truck, and then come home for his long awaited, much deserved time with family. Contacting corporate will do nothing short of getting his name infront of the people who can make his life miserable. It has been done, and alot of drivers will tell you the many ways that companies starve you out, then chase you down for the student loan...theres alot of new drivers where he came from. My best advice ??? Relax, stick it out....get his own truck, work for his time to pay back the student loan, then CAREFULLY pick another company to work for. Write this entire experience up to the school of hard knocks. Trying to sue a trucking company for anything short of sexual harassment is nearly impossible. I wouldn't advise expending the effort. Good luck...and I'm sorry I couldn't give you something better to look forward to. But stick around this site...you can learn tons about trucking, and when the time comes, maybe you will have a better idea of what to look for in a company for him to work for. The Ladies of Trucking forum is a great place to go to...Its for anything women+trucking.....come on over and have a seat !!

I agree with everyone above....terrible situation, but there isn't a whole lot you can do about it. This is one of the many reasons why the trucking industry has such a terrible reputation and such high turnover - a lot of unnecessary garbage. There's no reason for anyone to be kept away from home that long, and yet it happens far too often.

I also agree with the others that the best thing you can do is stick it out for now and tell you husband to keep the best attitude he possibly can. The only thing he can really do by speaking up is make things even worse.

I really feel for you guys. I hate when this kind of thing happens. When it's a 25 year old single dude it's one thing, but when a person has a family at home it's borderline criminal to do that to someone. So I totally understand why it's so upsetting.

And for those wondering, it isn't just USA Truck that does this sort of thing. There's a lot of companies that do, including Prime Inc and others.

Hang in there Chelsea! And tell your husband to hang in there. Once he goes solo they'll get him home much more often. And even after 6012 months experience he'll certainly qualify to find a job that can get him home at least every weekend. So things will get much better before long.