Mentor Mettle

It’s said that those who can’t do, teach, but when you’re teaching or evaluating the skills required to drive trucks, experience really does help. It’s what makes you credible. It’s what makes you effective.

There’s no shortage of experience out there among senior drivers, and there’s a desperate need to help younger drivers improve their skills and professionalism.

But learning to drive wasn’t the same challenge a generation ago. There was less traffic on the roads, and shippers were more forgiving of so-called service failures. The industry today hasn’t the time or the money to let students learn by their mistakes. They’re expected to perform at near-expert levels from day one, and that puts tremendous pressure on a new driver.

Often, what rookies need to learn most has less to do with steering and gearing the truck and more with maturity, mental alertness, and common sense — intangibles you gain from time at the wheel. A superior driver, after all, is one who uses superior judgment to avoid situations that might require the application of superior skill.

Yet few trucking companies — or truck driving schools, for that matter — have formal training programs in place that pair a new driver with an experienced coach or mentor. They forget that new drivers are just that: new drivers. They’re still learning or honing their skills. They shouldn’t be seen as a second logbook to throw into the cab with an old hand.

Randy Barbrick, 22, of Shubenacadie, N.S., just earned his licence. His 12-week program at Commercial Safety College in Masstown, N.S., included 100 hours of on-the-job-training with trainer Cecil Mackie. “I got pretty flustered the first time I went into Montreal,” says Barbrick. “If not for Cecil’s patience and guidance, I might have left the truck on the side of the road and walked home.”

Barbrick says Mackie described how different cities tend to have different driving styles. He warned Barbrick about the legendary indifference of Montreal drivers, and cautioned him that the lanes on the freeway across the north side of the city are narrower than usual — insight that would have been lost in a classroom. Mackie was there with advice when it was asked for and a pat on the back when it was called for.

Mackie is a driver trainer with Hillman’s Transfer in North Sydney, N.S., and has been working with trainees for four years now (during that time he counts 26 wins, a few ties, and only a couple of losses). He says his job isn’t to lecture, chastise, or to re-teach his student. It’s to help the driver put into practice what he’s already learned in school.

It’s not an easy job, or a responsibility to be taken lightly.

Frank Henderson, president and general manager of Commercial Safety College, says the trainer (or coach, as Henderson calls them) is the bridge between the school and the real world. “The coach’s role isn’t so much to teach the student, but to guide them through situations that cannot be simulated during the course, such as crossing a real border or securing a load of unusually shaped cargo.”

The coach also evaluates the student’s progress, which means there’s more to the job than sitting there barking instructions. Commercial Safety College trains coaches on the principals of adult learning, motivation, and how to sequence tasks so students don’t get in over their heads too soon. It’s a two-day program for coaches; a full driver-instructor program can take anywhere from six months to a year to complete.

Kim Richardson, president of KRTS a driver training school in Caledonia, Ont., says maybe one driver in 10 has all the necessary attributes to become a good driver trainer. There’s a big difference, he notes, in showing a student how to do something and making sure he’s learned what he’s been taught.

“The wrong type of person playing the role of instructor can ruin a student in a hurry,” Richardson says. “We need a broader skill set than just 10 years of experience. We’re looking for communications skills, people skills, and a professional outlook on the job they’re doing.”

A cool head helps, too, Mackie, says, recalling a ride with his first student. “We were in Québec, getting off Hwy. 20 at the 185 exit, where the Irving is near Drummondville,” Mackie says. “When you first go into the turn, it’s pretty sharp. I watched the back wheels come right up off the ground as we went around. He got ‘er back down again, but there was nothing I could do.”

If that’s part of the excitement of being a driver trainer, Mackie says the hardest part is just letting the drivers go. He says you have to give the student a little slack during the first few days, “just to see where they’re at.” Once he knows what he’s up against, he tightens the reins and starts the teaching process.

Similar Opportunities

Lots of truck fleets use their senior drivers as teachers. Chances are, their first kick at the cat comes in being asked to take a new driver out on an orientation mission, or in the case of specialty work like tankers, to teach them how to handle the equipment.

It can be a highly satisfying opportunity to teach someone a new skill, but there’s quite a bit of responsibility that comes with the territory. This type of informal approach is where many fleets go wrong. They might inadvertently allow the “trainer” to pass along the bad habits with the good. And if the trainer isn’t able to recognize how a student is progressing, critical items might be omitted or skipped over in the assumption that the student is actually catching on. Prospective driver trainers should be provided with some formal training in how to teach, in addition to making sure they’re passing along proper techniques and procedures.

In Cecil Mackie’s case, he’s out for a couple of weeks with a student, then he spends a couple of weeks alone on regular runs just to break up the stress of the job. He sure isn’t doing it for the money. He’s paid $600 per student, and at 100 hours per, that’s just six bucks an hour extra on top of his mileage rate.

“Lots of drivers think I’m crazy,” he admits. “But I think the industry needs to take a real hard look at these programs. Guys like me are on our way out right now, and nobody is doing much to keep us here.”

He’s referring of course to the value of the exercise. The kind of experience Mackie brings to the table is invaluable, but nobody seems to have the money to pay for it.

“These new drivers can’t learn everything on their own without making a few mistakes in the process,” he says. “In the end, even the shipper has a stake in how well these people are trained. After all, it’s their load of groceries that might wind up in the woods one day.” S