As a nation we are heading into a period where there will be just as many retirees as there are workers – perhaps more. Baby Boomers are now reaching retirement age and like most industries the transport industry is already starting to feel the pinch. Most new drivers choose local and intrastate driving opportunities, often shunning any truck driving jobs that keep them away from home for more than a day. This has already led to a shortage of long distance truck drivers.

In the future, and I’m talking about the next three to four years, you’ll be seeing long distance truck driving jobs that use the words “urgent” as in “urgently wanted – long distance truck drivers.” You may even find phrases such as “immediate start,” “great benefits,” and perhaps even “minimal experience required.”

Those with vision can plan now to fill those vacancies as they arise. In fact, gain a commercial drivers license now and build your experience and you’ll be a truck driver who’s not only in high demand but able to demand a top wage and benefits package. Truck drivers with good reputations are already being offered good wages to switch employers – the old-fashioned corporate head hunting at a truck driver level.

How do you take advantage of the looming truck driver shortage? First, you need quality truck driver training, then a commercial drivers license, all followed up by experience gained on the job. We can provide you with the training and help you to obtain your commercial drivers license. Even better, we can help you find that all important first truck driving job, a job that will give you experience and help launch your career.

Are you always late? If so, you may not make it as a truck driver in today’s busy world. Time is one of the key factors to a successful truck driving career. If you consistently arrive safely on time without having run foul of the law, then you’ll develop a reputation for reliability. If you’re always late, no one is going to want to employ you.

Whether your driving a local dump truck or driving an interstate rig, truck drivers have schedules that must be met. Their schedules often dictate how other areas of a business operate. A good example is a dump truck driver delivering gravel to a road site. If the dump truck is late, work almost grinds to a halt as they wait for that gravel to work on the next section. Manufacturing often works on a just-in-time delivery system. Products are delivered and go straight into the manufacturing process. A good example is fresh produce that is processed into final products.

Truck drivers are one of the key components to a wide range of industries. In fact, some would argue that truck drivers are a key component to our society’s success. Fresh milk in your supermarket relies on several trucks – from dairy farmer to processing plant to supermarket, and to be fresh each movement needs to be done in a timely fashion.

Reliability is a trait that truck drivers can develop, however, they do need to develop that trait quite quickly. Learning how to navigate from A to B, how to follow GPS guidance, and how to avoid traffic snarls is all part and parcel of a truck driver’s job. We can train you to become a very good truck driver. It’s experience and the advice of fellow drivers that will teach you reliability.

The more training an employee has under his belt the more valuable they are to their employer. This is true in every industry, and this is especially true in the heavy equipment industry. There are numerous machines that an operator can get trained on that will make him more valuable. But, a unique route can be taken to increase an operator’s value even more. This is to combine the heavy equipment operator training certification with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) .

Every construction or engineering company needs to get their heavy equipment from one work site to another. With the majority of heavy equipment, this requires a flatbed truck which will also require a driver with a commercial driver’s license. This driver may then be required to move around the heavy equipment once he has arrived on a work site. By combining these two training programs, an operator can truly increase his value to any company. In this tight economy, any chance an operator has to improve his resume should be taken. This combination of training could make an operator invaluable to his employer.

An employer is always looking for ways to increase profits and speed up processes. A great way for an employee to save his employer money is to be able to perform the duties that would normally require two people. A heavy equipment operator that can drive equipment to a work site will stand out to his employer and will make him instantly more hirable. Today, millions are struggling to make ends meet, but a CDL licensed driver that can operate heavy equipment will be a highly coveted employee on any work site.

Many children have fantasized about becoming a truck driver when they grow up, but lately, fewer are actually doing it. Some studies actually say that US trucking companies are short 20,000 truck drivers! This is a result of many long haul drivers retiring and a lack of new truckers joining the ranks. Needless to say, now is a great time to enter a great truck driver training program and earn a CDL license.

Long haul trucking is a great way to see the country and meet new and interesting people. It is also a great way to make a living in these rough economic times. There is currently a high demand in many areas for long haul truckers, and when demand is high, wages tend to improve. A good truck driving school can have a long haul driver on the road with a CDL in hand in less than a month.

Truck driver training at a reputable school will generally take around three weeks depending on the state regulations where the CDL test will be taken. The training itself will include a combination of classroom training and behind the wheel training. The classroom work consists mainly of the basics, safety, rules and regulations mandated by the Department of Transportation. The behind-the-wheel training should include open road driving, backing exercises and pre-trip inspections. With proper training, all of these skills will become second nature to the driver and result in a safe operator that trucking firms will be looking to hire.

An additional thing that should be part of any truck driver training program is career services. Ensure that the training company chosen will give assistance in job placement and that they are successful at this. Many training schools will have established relationships with trucking firms, and the best schools will know what these firm are looking for in a new truck driver. These schools can then focus their training to these current demands in the trucking industry.

In our current troubled economy, jobs may seem hard to come by in many industries. But, the trucking industry continues to grow, and at the same time, lose people to retirement. Now is a great time to get the training required for a CDL and hit the open road.

Most truck drivers work standard hours, Monday to Friday. Some are even required to work on Saturdays. Long distance truck drivers don’t have it so lucky. They can work long hours, amassing up to 82 hours over seven days. That is about to change with new federal regulations limiting the number of hours that a truck driver can work each week.

Truck drivers are no different to anyone else – they get tired after working long hours. One of the leading causes of truck accidents is driver fatigue, so to combat this, the U.S. Department of Transport is bringing in new rules. Drivers will be limited to 70 hours over seven days, with a maximum of eleven in one day. They will also need to take a break of at least 30 minutes after an eight hour driving stint.

If a truck driver does maximize their working hours (work the full 70 hours), they will be required to take at least 34 consecutive hours off, and that means out of the truck. The downside for some truck drivers will be the loss of income. Some drivers are paid according to the miles they drive each week – the loss of twelve hours represents a reduction of almost 15%; that’s 15% less mileage and 15% less in a pay packet.

On the positive side, it will increase the number of truck drivers required to complete the same amount of work as now. In theory, a 15% reduction in work hours should equate to a 15% increase in the number of new drivers required. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple – many trucking companies are already limiting their truck drivers to 70 hours each week.

For truck drivers, this change will have an important effect on their daily routine. They will need to keep very accurate log books that clearly show the number of hours they have spent behind the wheel, the length of any breaks, and the number of hours they have spent outside their vehicle. Failing to keep accurate logs is a serious offense, one that could result in a truck driver losing their job, their license, and their ability to work as a truck driver. In the long run, reduced hours are better for truck drivers, and perhaps other drivers on the roads as well. Tired truck drivers do cause accidents, so if this move helps to reduce that effect, then the roads will be safer for everyone.

When considering a new career, it’s important to thoroughly investigate the one group of people who will have the most influence on that career’s success. That group of people are those you entrust with your training. Get that first component wrong and your career is going to struggle to get off the ground. Get it right and your career is going to be off to a flying start. When it comes to truck driving, it’s not just your career that’s at stake, you are carrying cargo that is valuable to someone, and you are driving a vehicle that can cause a great deal of damage if mistakes are made.

Choosing a truck driver training school is not that difficult. Price is never a comparison tool when it comes to quality; it’s the people and the training programs that count. The easiest way to assess training schools is by asking former students. When it comes to truck driving, that can be difficult; they don’t exactly have an office you can visit.

There are several key areas that do indicate a quality truck driver training school. Longevity is one of the best guides – bad training schools just don’t stay in business for too long. You can also look at whether or not employers are willing to hire graduate drivers from a particular training school. Employers know which training schools are reliable, and they generally look at those schools when looking for new recruits to the industry. Finally, their recognition by third parties, for example, being endorsed to deliver training for government programs and being accredited by state education bodies.

Put all of that together and you have a good training school. A good truck driver training school will deliver training that has been designed according to industry, employer and legislative standards. This ensures graduate drivers are ready for entry level employment – employers know their new recruits are coming into the workplace trained to a set standards.

ATS Truck School can tick those boxes. ATS has been training truck drivers for almost fifty years – that’s a long time to be in the training business. ATS also has a job site where employers frequently post job vacancies. We also have a career services department that frequently works with employers to find the right recruits. We are also accredited to deliver training for a variety of government programs and have been registered as a training provider for many years.

We have discussed in the past the attributes required to become a good truck driver. However, sometimes it’s worth turning things around. Today, we’ll discuss whether truck driving is suitable for you – and it’s not suited to a wide range of people. So what does truck driving offer people who decide to take it up as a career?

Truck driving can be a demanding job. There are schedules that must be met, sometimes crucial schedules. Manufacturers now work to a system known as ‘just-in-time deliveries’. This is a situation where little stock is held for long periods; rather, they rely on stock (or parts or raw materials) arriving ‘just in time’ for processing. If those materials are held up, production grinds to a halt. Meeting schedules is one of the major factors that measure whether or not a truck driver is very good, or just hum-hum satisfactory, or plain unreliable (a short career there).

Obviously, driving skills are important. Where arriving according to schedule is important, it goes without saying that arriving safely is equally if not more important. A manufacturer may excuse a load that is half a day late, but they’ll never excuse a situation where a load doesn’t arrive at all because of poor driving skills.

Truck driving careers are not about long days and weeks away from home, and poor work conditions. Truck drivers now have good working conditions, are well paid, and choose the type of work they wish to do – local, intrastate or interstate. A truck driver’s hours are now regulated so it is illegal to drive for long hours at a time – you must take breaks and you must spend time out of your truck.

So what does a truck driving career demand of its drivers? Good driving skills, the ability to think and plan ahead so that you can avoid problems and arrive on time, and a dedication to looking after both your truck, the load you are carrying, and yourself. Really, they’re not too demanding – all you need is a good truck driver training school and your set to go.

Taking on a new career can often be difficult, and truck driving is no different. However, the real difficulty is trying to decide on the type of truck driving you want to do. There are so many different options available ranging from long distance to local – and even then you have options within those options.

For example, there are many truck driving jobs that will have you home each night. These jobs include:

• dump truck driving
• waste disposal trucks
• heavy equipment transport
• delivery trucks

When it comes to delivery trucks, the options are very broad. You could be driving a tanker full of milk or grain from the farm to a processing plant, live animals to a feed lot or abattoir, or just general deliveries from factory to bulk store, rail head, port or another business.

You have similar options when it comes to long distance driving. You can also add international driving for rigs that cross international borders. With long distance driving, you could be driving trucks with multiple trailers and when it comes to the types of goods transported – it could be anything.

There are few careers that offer so many different options based on a single training program. Three weeks of truck driver training will have you ready to undertake your commercial drivers license test. From there, your biggest decision is going to be the type of truck driving you want to do. Fortunately, most people enter their truck driver training with a firm idea of the type of truck they want to drive, where they want to drive it, and whether or not they are looking at home each day or long distance driving. If you’re looking to become a truck driver, perhaps you should consider the type of truck you want to drive first – that then is one decision out of the way.

Training to become a truck driver is fairly straightforward. A couple of weeks in the classroom and behind the wheel and you’re ready to pass your commercial driver license tests. In most cases, students come to training with a preset notion of the type of truck they want to drive. Some students choose dump trucks while others may have a desire to haul long distance freight. Our suggestion – broaden your horizons, holding a commercial drivers license really does open the door to a very diverse truck driving career.

In theory, you can drive any truck that your license and its endorsements permit. You may prefer dump trucks, and we’ll never dissuade you from seeking a career as a dump truck driver. We will suggest you jump at any opportunities to drive trucks other than dump trucks. The more experience you have on a broad range of trucks, the more opportunities you will have in the future. Why? None of us have crystal balls.

Right now, there is work available across a range of industries for truck drivers. However, we don’t know what next year, or five years from now, has in store for us. Construction may take a huge dip and this will reduce the number of truck drivers required. If you have skills in a wide range of trucks, you can easily switch your focus to alternative trucks until the construction picks up. We do know that truck driving opportunities run in cycles with some years and/or some industries having large peaks and troughs.

With a diverse career in front of you, you may find that alternative work is more interesting and more challenging than your original truck driving choice. The bottom line? When undertaking training to gain a commercial drivers license, don’t be too restrictive in your choice of driving options. The wider your choice, and experience, the more successful your career will be, and you’ll rarely have quiet times.

There’s more to driving a truck than most people realize. Simple maneuvers like going around a corner takes planning, yet skilled truck drivers do it without an apparent thought. The same can be said for reversing a tractor trailer – skilled drivers do it with ease while novices invariably take several attempts before they come close to achieving the desired results. When undertaking truck driver training, the most important component is your skilled training instructor. From the student’s perspective, getting the most out of that instructor is what will count at the end of your training.

It can be hard, but often the first thing a student needs is to forget all preconceived ideas about truck driving, and to put aside their experiences as car drivers. Cars and trucks are very different when it comes driving, and one of the biggest mistakes new truck drivers make is to attempt maneuvers that they perform everyday in their car – lane hopping is a good example; you just cannot do it in a truck. If, as a student, you can clear your mind, you’ll soon start to absorb and put into practice the training provided by your instructor.

Instructors have two advantages over students – truck driving experience is obviously one of those advantages. The second advantage is their skill in passing on that knowledge and experience. A good quality truck driver training school will employ instructors that are skilled in both areas. There are tens of thousands of truck drivers on the road today, but very few of them have the skills to pass on their knowledge effectively. Those that do have that ability should be treated like gold mines. The more you dig, the more knowledge you’ll acquire, and the more knowledge, the better your skills.

When undertaking truck driver training from a recognized truck driver training school, take every advantage to gain as much knowledge and experience from your instructors. When your behind the wheel, listen to them, follow their instructions, and feel free to ask questions – if you don’t know, and it’s related to truck driving, then you need to know, and the only way you’ll find out is by asking. Get the most out of your training and you’ll be a better driver for it.