s i d e b a r

DRIVER TRAINING: SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL

Despite all the fuss about attracting new people into the driving profession, there are a lot of schools “literally teetering on the edge right now,” said Don Hess, director of transportation and public safety programs at John Wood Community College, Quincy, IL, and president of the Assn. of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools.
     Those that are surviving can almost always point to the support of one or more carriers. While Hess won’t name a benefactor (“publicity shy,” he explained), he said John Wood’s program exists almost entirely because of one local carrier that provides trucks, classroom space, offices and land for a training range.
     Ironically, the carrier doesn’t hire many drivers fresh out of school. Instead, Hess said, it sees training as a long-term investment — creating a pool of drivers from which it can draw veterans some day.
     Other carriers can do less and still make a difference, he said, but more need to step up to the plate. “I hear a lot of carriers crying about empty seats, but I don’t see them lining up to actually do anything.”

Return to Main Story