M T C Driver Training - Hazelwood,MO Review

I have some medical conditions now that stop me from driving a truck.  So I took the disability income and RAN! (I'm Retired) However; what I'm about to write here, hopefully, will 'shock & aw' most people.  Did you know that less than 10% of all trucks on the road are UNION?  Did you know most of these 'trade schools' last only TWO WEEKS?  Did you know that many trucking companies are now hiring drivers from Bosnia, India, and Mexico?  Some of these drivers are working for the same wages I made in 1985! 

Most OTR Drivers (over-the-road) are paid by the mile, not the hour.  Driving 3,000 miles per week at .15 cents per mile = $450.  That's it!  And that's before taxes!  That's what some of these foreign drivers are making.  Now consider buying every meal on the road.  Doesn't leave much.  Graduates of these trade schools usually start about .25 to .30 cents per mile.  But, does two weeks of training make them a "trucker"? NO!  Hopefully, most of these graduates start off driving teams with a trainer.  I tried that for about one year...being a trainer.  That's how I got most of my gray hair.

Sorry, this is going to get lengthy...  When I started years ago, stats were that only one in three graduates would last a year in the business. (My trade school lasted eight to ten weeks.)  The odds go down after that.  It's not an easy job.  To me, one of the most important things to learn was how to say NO to dispatch.  NO, I'm too tired to take another load now.  Or, NO, the roads are iced-up now and not safe.  I'll continue when the snow plows and salt trucks make it passable.  Dispatcher, "It's a "hot load".  It's got to get there."  Me, "Ask them if they want the load there late...or in the ditch!"  I was late twice in seventeen years.  

Whether it's this trade school, or any other, they are out for one thing....the $$$.  Shove 'em through as quick as possible.  Trucking used to be a "Profession".  Now it's just a trade.  A "Professional trucker" knows how to be safe and courteous.  I think they are a dying breed.  I'm very proud of my ring. (See picture)

There are several things you, the motoring public, can do to protect yourselves & families.  My number one 'pet peeve' was and still is turn your lights on during rain, fog or snow.  Think of all that spray truck tires spit out in the rain.  If you're right next to that truck with no lights on, he/she can't see you.  Know what the "No Zone" is. (sharetheroadsafely.org) That's the truck's blind spots.  This has improved over the years, but they still exist.  Think of it this way...if you can't see the truckers mirrors, he/she can't see you.  Don't tail-gate, don't sit right next to one. (Either pass or slow down & get behind.) Don't pass & then immediately cut back into the right lane.  Leave some space.  It takes a tractor-trailer about 100 to 120 yards to stop from 60 mph.  It takes a car about 120 feet.  Three times the distance in a truck.  Learn how to share the road with these 80,000 lb. monsters.