Anyone here failed out or know the story of someone failing out of company trucking school?
Posted by Classic-Box-3919@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 26 comments
My situation is deteriorating, i tend to wait till the last moment to do things and financially im a bit fucked r n. I have a job thats meh but that i can probs make work for the short term but housing wise i might be a bit fucked for reasons i dont need to get into will just make post long.
Stupid license suspension for lapse of insurance for FIVE DAYS has fucked me over and stopped companies from taking me till June (1 year) but i was trying to think long term what the play might be. Im debating just tryna make things work till june then sending it with hopefully prime since im out of scheniders area. But im worried that if i for some reason fail ill just be fucked since i obvs would have to quit my job to go there.
Anyone have any stories on past mistakes or just in general for reasons ppl failed out of the company schools? Or info on primes school? Any tips to pass i guess? I alr have my permit, got it in february.
Tiatake@reddit
I’m a trainer and I had to recommend around 10% of my students get dropped. Of course it’s not taken lightly and it’s something all trainers must agree on before they’re removed. So it’s not just one person taking someone out.
The top reasons in order:
Not memorizing the pretrip terminology
The new language barrier laws
Backing was so intimidating it was a jackknife every attempt
Drove me into the ditch more than once (spacial awareness zero)
Falling asleep while driving
Shit attitude
Classic-Box-3919@reddit (OP)
Falling asleep while driving seems a bit understandable at least compared to the rest tho its still bad, is urs company sponsored housing? Did they just not go to sleep for some reason
Tiatake@reddit
One incident was a guy who was working night shift then coming to training and also had an hour commute.
Another was a lady who just would be mid doing/talking and she’d just drop her head and be out. I thought she had a heart attack lol. It was terrifying. Putting seatbelt on and as she’s clicking it, it slowly comes out of her hand and she’s…asleep? 🤣
We train locally usually and anyone coming from too far has housing provided in town.
MillliM@reddit
Best thing you can do is start learning now to get your permit. The trainers at prime do their best at getting you your CDL cause they have incentives. You and your trainer both get a bonus for passing the CDL exam the first time. Just do it!!!
Gofindmango@reddit
I agree with a lot of these comments.. I’m just now finishing up my school.
The people who fail are the ones who don’t put in the effort.. In my school a lot of it is you going home & doing homework, for the PreTrip & Air Brakes…
What you mostly learn at school from a teacher is the skills. Backing up a trailer & driving on the road
The PreTrip & Air Brakes they go over them with you, but it is your responsibility to go home & do the homework to learn them.
Don’t be like my roommate in my hotel who doesn’t do the homework or even try.. He just sits around always on the phone & it’s his first week & it’s my last week..
I can just tell he isn’t gonna make it
spce-isthe-plce@reddit
It happens.. not everyone is meant to drive big rigs. Out of about 15 ppl in my training group, one guy didn’t make it thru. He could not grasp backing up and double clutching.
GreyGhost878@reddit
One of the ladies in my program failed out. The instructors worked with her and she just couldn't get the hang of the skills. Everyone else in the class was progressing and she kept falling further and further behind. The instructors tried to work with her but some people just aren't cut out for it.
Hairy-Internal2307@reddit
School/training is not hard. Just pay attention and ask questions and do exactly what they tell you to do. The people who fail/get sent home are the ones who cant put the phone down and act like they are children.
Don't sweat it get a good night sleeps and have fun
PlastomaGaming@reddit
Truly so. Honestly I think the test needs to be harder but that’s my opinion.
fusillijhericurl@reddit
You want to make company sponsored training easy? Start studying now. Get the manual, read it, take tests online. Go in knowing all that stuff inside and out. If you have the cash take the general knowledge test before you go. Take as many written tests. Company sponsored schools speed you thru. Be prepared before you go. Itll make your life easy as pie.
Classic-Box-3919@reddit (OP)
I have the cdl A permit already, so i alr got general knowledge. Unless theres another test im not aware of just concerned about passing and hopefully the schooling being not bad
kelmar6821@reddit
Get a pretrip study card app or something and know by sight what the relevant mechanical parts are. Drug tests were the single biggest flop out for my class. One old guy who pshyced himself out of memorizing the pretrip and left before tests, one bull headed young guy who wouldn’t do any studying at all. Some guys needed a second (or third) test but got it after that.
chico-dust@reddit
Most common reason I had students dropping out of my truck was they found out real quick that trucking wasn't the life for them after the company didn't give them a local gig straight out of training.
Beyond that you can't really fail if you pay attention, ask a lot of questions, and take your time on all the practical skills with an emphasis on safety.
Visual-Ad-6396@reddit
You can do it just study pre trip and be all about safety while your in training , usually more fail than pass at my company but it’s a much harder training than you will have to deal with probably , that’s UPS cause you have to take tests every day for 5 days and memorize paragraphs and shit word for word on top of driving perfect while in training
Virtual_Society_1852@reddit
I got my CDL through Celadon, but they don't exist anymore. Things may be different with Prime. There were 2 guys who showed it pretty well, I'll call them Bob and John because it was 10 years ago and I don't remember their names.
Bob cared a lot about this. He spent all of his time at the range (corner of the yard where we practiced backing maneuvers) either backing a truck, or waiting in line to back a truck up. Either that, or he practiced the pre-trip on a broken down truck nearby. He was working every second he could.
John would do one backing maneuver one time, then warm up the bench until lunch or the end of the day.
Bob got 3 chances at the CDL exam. He failed the first 2 and passed the third time, then got the job. John failed his first attempt and they gave him a bus ticket home less than an hour later. Working hard and taking it seriously will go a long way.
Be-It-coin@reddit
Happens ALL the time. 6 of the 11 finished trucking school with me.
CapitanPino@reddit
Yes, they couldn't memorize the pre-trip. Also couldn't keep the truck centered in their lane on the highway.
One guy passed everything but a fatality accident was brought up on his DMV record 9 yrs ago on the final pull of driving records.
Classic-Box-3919@reddit (OP)
He caused the fatality?
CapitanPino@reddit
No, but the company rejected because of too much insurance liability. Swift hired him a couple weeks later and just threw him into a trainers truck.
DifficultyBig2280@reddit
I saw someone get booted from Prime's school because they failed the cdl test 4 times. He got abandoned by his trainer in Salt Lake City and the trainers that happened to be there to try to help him said he wasn't a teachable person
disturbedrailroader@reddit
I only know of 2 failures.
One guy was so large and out of shape that he couldn't walk to the truck without taking multiple breaks. Obviously he wasn't physically fit enough to pass his medical.
The second assumed he knew everything because he'd had his license before and no one could correct him on anything. He then proceeded to jacknife so hard and so fast while backing up that the instructors couldn't stop him before he damaged the cab. He was given one more chance but got argumentative and the company let him go instead of dealing with it.
SlothyTendecies@reddit
I had I think 4 people fail the drug test and then one woman absolutely could not grasp the concept of back up. Couldn’t do literally any backing without somehow ending up jackknifed. If you have an IQ above 10 you can figure it out. It’s not as difficult as some people make it seem.
Proud-Pollution-1377@reddit
I did a private CDL school program as I was getting it for my own career progression in construction. It took place on Saturdays only and I live in a state with a particularly difficult CDL test. The only people who failed were insane situations. One dude crashed out hard and threatened the instructor and was trespassed off the property. Another dude was almost 40 and complained that his mom was making him get a job.
Other than that, there were people who never touched a stick shift in their life and the largest vehicle they drove was a Honda civic, they did just fine. You’ll be fine.
cowboygeo89@reddit
Go in like a professional act like an adult and you'll be fine. Failed drug test and acting like a child is what will get you failed. Be responsible they won't hand the keys to a $200k truck to a child.
TemporaryOk9310@reddit
My company took a guy from the warehouse for the program. Turns out the guy didnt have a drivers license for a car.
Jackso08@reddit
Twice I've witnessed someone fail trucking school. Once was because the guy was a complete and I do mean COMPLETE moron and the other was because the guy failed his drug test.
Trucking isn't rocket science, as long as you have a decent attitude and can learn a few rules and techniques you'll do just fine. The learning curve is a bit steep if you're doing the 3-4 week trucking school but getting your cdl through a company all but garuntees you'll succeed