Waking The Trainer

What is the rule for trainers when taking new trainees on the road? Do they sleep when their trainees sleep or sleep while the trainee is driving? Also is there such a rule as wake up the trainer 30-40 miles from destination? I really would like to hear from trainers and trainees on this one since there will always be two sides to every experience or depends on the companies policies.

If you and your trainer are driving as a team, then the trainer aint going to get any sleep at all.

My trainer was too terrified to leave me alone when I was at the wheel for the first week or so.

Just depends on the company training policy.

If you and your trainer are driving as a team, then the trainer aint going to get any sleep at all.

My trainer was too terrified to leave me alone when I was at the wheel for the first week or so.

Just depends on the company training policy.

Also is there such a rule as wake up your trainer 30-40 miles from destination?

I'm sure he will go over it with you, I drove alone while he slept, I was actually really excited about it because it felt nicer to have the truck to myself up front.

Werner required the trainer to do 15 hours a week for two weeks of observation time, he sat up front and gave instructions. And trainees could not drive between the hours of midnight and 6:00am for the 1st two weeks, after that, we were a team, he would sleep while I drove, I slept while he drove.

I would wake up my trainer about 30 minutes before my shift ended

In my training we did not team drive much at all....I would drive and he would sit up front at least till he felt comfortable I could dive. Then he might go in the back and lay down and talk on the phone. He dozed off a few times but never a planed sleeping time while I drove. Even when he drove I sat up front and we talked about what was happening and advice and other topics to help me with my driving and such trip planning and sorts.

The last day of training we team drove because the company dispatched us to a location and they took to long to unload us and I had no time on my clock and had to be back at home office for my road test at 8 am. Se he drove the rest of the night while I tried to sleep.

I really appreciated having him awake so I did not have to wake him with questions as well as him being able to advise me on lane choice going through like Atlanta.

I would not change my training, I learned a ton and my trainer was AWESOME....but I would not go back to driving with another man for 3 weeks again either.

Good luck.

Werner required the trainer to do 15 hours a week for two weeks of observation time, he sat up front and gave instructions. And trainees could not drive between the hours of midnight and 6:00am for the 1st two weeks, after that, we were a team, he would sleep while I drove, I slept while he drove.

I would wake up my trainer about 30 minutes before my shift ended

You mention you would wake up your trainer about 30 minutes before your shift ended, so I guess it was talked out before and gave you this instructions right from the start. Ok thanks

Gator, I agree that that's the policy with Werner but that wasn't the case with my trainer. This is what happen to me, Did my 3 day orientation in Dallas back in late July of 2003, last day of orientation met up with my trainer, picked up my bags from the room got in his truck, got the load assignment and off we went to pick it up in Arkansas. He drove down I-30 going east bound, first rest area we came to, he pulls over and tells me to drive. I drove for maybe 20 miles or so while he sat in the front seat and observed, then he said, it looks like you know what you're doing, tells me that there are no hills from there to our destination which was a suburb of Little Rock, Arkansas. Tells me to wake him up before we get to Little Rock, goes back to the bunk and falls asleep. Policy states that for the first two weeks you're not supposed to drive after midnight, well he had me driving all night while he drove during the day. We arrived in Jacksonville, Arkansas at a DC, did a drop and hook , and got rerouted that load was going to Tacoma, Washington. On the way up there, he left me at a truck stop in Sacramento, Ca. For two days and nights while he went and spent some time with his wife, I didn't mind that so much since he did leave me at a truck stop where I could at least get something to eat, take a shower and use the restroom. Delivered in Tacoma were told to deadhead to Portland, Oregon to pick up a load of batteries that were going to Denver, Co. While at the shippers in Portland, he hit another truck and blamed me, he told the driver of the truck he hit that he had not slept very much because of me. By this time I was pretty much done with him, I had to just figure out how I was going to get back home to Deep South Texas without any money. After we delivered in Denver, God was looking after me, we got a load assignment picking up there in Denver, a load of insulation and going to a town about 10 miles away from my house. I felt so relieved knowing that I was going to get off this guys truck, but once again, unlike the last time though, he left me in El Paso in the middle of nowhere, no food, no restroom or anything all while he spent a few days and nights partying. Came back to the truck one morning still smelling of last night on his breath told me to start driving to San Antonio while he slept and tried to sober up. After 10 hours of driving, finally arrived in San Antonio @ the Petro, got fuel, parked the truck and went inside and got myself some food. Mind you, all the while I drove for 10 hour, fueled and ate supper, he was asleep. I got back to the truck,I realized that I was close enough that if he wanted to kick me out, I could call someone to come pick me up. So I woke him up needless to say, he was furious that I had woken him up, I didn't cared, told him, it's your turn to drive, I'm out of hours and the load needs to be there by tomorrow morning. I went back to the bunk and slept while he drove and when we arrive at the truck stop about 5 miles away from my house, I called my nephew to come pick me up then I told him to go f*** himself. Next day, Omaha calls me and asks me what the heck is wrong with me, so I asked them about their policy about rookie drivers, when they're supposed to drive, for how long during the first two weeks and asked how long were trainers being trained and told them everything that had happen, they asked me if I wanted to go back out with another "trainer", and I said no. Got hired as a team driver with my brother-in-law with a local company.

Alexx, help me out. You left me just a little confused about your situation.

You gave as a date for your time with the trainer from hell, as July 2003 - that was a long time ago.

Now your Avatar says you are a rookie solo driver. Did you just recently return to driving a truck? Because it sounded like you went ahead and got a job after the bad training experience at a local company where your brother in law was a team driver with you.

And just for clarification it is possible to run into a bad trainer at any company. I don't want anyone to take the impression from Alexx's remarks that Werner is a bad company to start with. We've got some Werner drivers in here who are doing very well.

Alexx, help me out. You left me just a little confused about your situation.

You gave as a date for your time with the trainer from hell, as July 2003 - that was a long time ago.

Now your Avatar says you are a rookie solo driver. Did you just recently return to driving a truck? Because it sounded like you went ahead and got a job after the bad training experience at a local company where your brother in law was a team driver with you.

And just for clarification it is possible to run into a bad trainer at any company. I don't want anyone to take the impression from Alexx's remarks that Werner is a bad company to start with. We've got some Werner drivers in here who are doing very well.

Well I am not going to bad mouth the company I was suppose to had driven with but I was asking those same questions because what Alexx experienced with the trainer he got was something similar, in a way. You see one of the other ladies I went to school with, got into a car accident, by which she did not got cited by the officer, but she overheard the trainer telling the officer that she was supposed to have waken him up 30-40 miles from drop off. He also call the company and told them the same thing, by the way to begin with they were driving as a team she only got 17 days of driving school to get her cdl and had no idea how the water runs in the trucking industry or what to expect. She had only been on the road 2 wks after graduating and she ask me if there was such a policy since that was not mention to her by the school or the trainer until she got into that accident, unfortunately she lost her job on the spot and the trainer kept his. Well after doing my own investigation found out that she is not the first to get thrown under the bus by trainers of this company, and like you mention to Alexx there are bad trainers everywhere. She now has to wait 6 months to drive again with any company and payback to the company $4900.