Truck Driving Simulator Training at Doug Andrus
Description
If you're a new CDL holder, the single biggest variable in your first year is where you do your on-the-job training. This video is fairly blunt about what that industry looks like.
Two practices get named. Some companies use recent training-program graduates to train new drivers — people a few months ahead of you teaching what they barely know. Others permit team driving during training, which means the trainer is asleep in the bunk while the trainee is at the wheel. The video plays the second one for laughs, then stops laughing.
What happens here instead: training is led by highly skilled trainers and certified safety professionals, all of them current or former drivers. Trainees learn in top-of-the-line equipment rather than whatever's left over. And the company uses driving simulator technology to teach drivers what to do in dangerous situations without putting them in dangerous situations — you can practice a blowout, a skid, or a bad merge and get it wrong at no cost. The simulator is featured on the driver benefits page as well.
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Video Transcript
If you're a new CDL holder or a recent CDL school graduate, where you go to do your on-the-job training matters.
Doug Andrus Distributing offers industry-leading training by highly skilled trainers and certified safety professionals, all of whom are current and former drivers.
Not all training programs are created equal. In fact, some companies use recent training program graduates to train new drivers. Doug Andrus doesn't do that. Other companies allow team driving during training, so the trainer is actually asleep when the trainee is driving.
Right — what do I do now? Oh, sweet mercy. Help me. Uh, what do I —
Here at Doug Andrus, we don't do that.
At Doug Andrus Distributing we train drivers in top-of-the-line trucks, and we utilize cutting-edge driving simulator technology — technology that can teach a driver what to do in dangerous situations without actually putting them in those dangerous situations.
Don't take shortcuts with your training.
Well, get on in there. You want me to get in? Take it around the parking lot a couple times, you'll figure it out. Okay. Okay.
Start your career off on the right foot and learn from experienced drivers with the best trucks and tools available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who trains new drivers at Doug Andrus?
Highly skilled trainers and certified safety professionals, all of whom are current or former drivers. The company specifically does not use recent training-program graduates as trainers.
What does the driving simulator teach?
How to handle dangerous and high-stress situations — without being in one. You can make a mistake in a skid or an emergency maneuver and learn from it at zero risk.
Does the trainer sleep while the trainee drives?
No. The video calls out team driving during training as a practice at other carriers and states plainly that Doug Andrus doesn't do it.
Do trainees learn in older equipment?
No. Training happens in top-of-the-line trucks, the same standard as the working fleet.
I just got my CDL. Is this a good first company?
That's the audience this video is aimed at. The argument is that your first year's training shapes your whole career, so the program you pick matters more than the sign-on bonus.