Top 7 ways to tell a Trucker paid for a “bad” school

Is there a way to determine whether a Truck driver in Ontario has graduated from a legitimate Trucking school or one of the “fake” organizations selling fraudulent credentials?

On April 9th, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) released its report “Commercial Trucking: Insurance and Education” in which specific mention was made of the lack of oversight in Trucking schools.

“Driver training school oversight and compliance were consistently raised as key issues by interviewees,” the IBC report says. “The quality of schools varies, and this impacts training delivery. Interviewees cited instances of schools ‘cutting corners’, providing examples such as insufficient instruction where instructors simply read to students from the training book, or required hours being logged as complete when they are not. This has significant impact on students. Interviewees indicated there are significant differences seen in drivers coming out of ‘good’ schools versus ‘bad’ schools.”

Road Warrior News asked Truckers for Safer Highways co-founder Jeff Orr what he sees on the roads that make him question how, or where, or from whom, some Truckers got a license to drive a commercial vehicle.

“Either the test is too easy, or they’re not completing every step of the test but they’re still being passed. Something is missing,” Orr notes.

Here are Orr’s top seven “tells” a driver received insufficient training. Readers who have indicators to add to the list can send them to [email protected]

Top 7 Ways to tell a Trucker didn’t actually earn a license

1. Foot up on the dash.

No kidding. “We see it all the time, a truck passes you and the driver has his foot up on the dash,” Orr says with a disgusted sigh. “It’s not a joke. It happens.”

2. Tires dropping onto the shoulder of the road.

“We see a lot of muddy tracks…when you hear a Trucker say ‘I wouldn’t let that guy drive my wheelbarrow,’ they are not kidding.”

3. Driver cannot back into a parking space.

“They have no idea even how to set up to back into a parking spot. So it’s obvious, either the school did not teach them how to do it, or they got their license without having to prove that they could do it. And they can’t do it,” Orr confirms.

4. They park where it says “No Parking.”

“Look, there are signs EVERYWHERE, it’s raining signs that say “No Parking” and these guys are there, parked right in front of the sign.”

5. They’re driving in left lane.

 On the 401, where the highway is clearly marked “No trucks in left lane.” “They just blow right under the sign…this should be considered basic. But they do it.”

6. Driver cannot make it around the corner at a Truck Stop.

“I mean, they are pulling into a place designed for them to be able to drive in to…and they can’t do it; that’s a simple thing. It’s a dead giveaway they should not have been given a license.”

7. Hitting the fuel island.

“We are blocked from them by signs as high as me. Yet these guys hit them and drag them around the parking lot.” Orr says he has spoken to fuel plaza operators that say they have paid to have so many islands repaired, they don’t even pursue the drivers any more.

“So these guys are getting off without charge, while we have to pay to take a shower? They are destroying the very facilities we need to do our job, which is really sad.”