Truck Driver Training Instructors

If you enjoy trucking and have a good amount of knowledge and a flair for instructing others, you can look into the possibility of becoming a driving instructor. Many private and public institutions offer truck driving courses and they all need to have dependable and personable instructors to pass on their knowledge to their students.

Almost every large transportation company also has its own truck driving academy or school in-house to allow it to attract, train and retain drivers for the many driver positions that open up in the industry every year. In this way, the companies ensure that the students are fully trained in the various methods and protocols specific to each company. Drivers need to be trained in the proper and safe handling of dangerous goods as well as other specialized training particular to their work. Driving instructors are responsible for training these students and ensuring that the lessons are learned. Special handling methods for tarping and chaining down a load of steel, or the specific ways to transport and handle truckloads of gasoline are covered in the training courses offered by these companies.

Depending on the complexities of the loads being handled, the driving instructor can have his students ready for driving in as little as a day but the general time period is more like a few weeks, with driving time factored in. Trucking companies don’t want to put anyone behind the wheel of a truck that has the least bit of uncertainty about what they’re doing. That’s why a driving instructor is so important to the safety of the drivers and everyone else on the road. If the instructor doesn’t feel that a student is ready to take on the huge responsibility of handling a truck, that student is held back for further training lessons. The stakes are simply too high to allow anyone who’s not ready to handle a big truck on the highway, behind the wheel. Depending on your level of experience and the special courses and knowledge you have to offer driver trainees, the monthly salary for a driving instructor can range from $3,100 to $3,800 in addition to company or institutional bonuses and benefits packages.