If you are involved in the training of CDL drivers it is pretty safe to say that you do what you do because you care about this industry and you want to make it better. After all, our students are a direct reflection of the training they received and will always carry that down the road with them mile after mile.
I still remember my instructor at Western Truck Driving School 38 years ago. Ryan was extremely dedicated and thorough. He made each of his students feel like he had our best interest at heart. Granted, Ryan had three months and 430 hours to develop our skills and prepare us for our next phase in the trucking journey. I think the biggest change in driver training over the past 30 years is the amount of time students are fully immersed in the CDL training process
But what if there was a way to reset the training clock? In other words, increase the number of training hours for drivers, all while raising our standards and expectations.
Why should we do this, you ask? Because it is the right and responsible thing to do.
What’s on your CDL training wish list?
If you could make a wish list of all the types of training you would love to include in a comprehensive CDL training program what would be on your list?
I was asked this question 10 years ago before launching one of the nation’s first high school truck driving schools in the U.S. at Patterson High School (PHS) in Patterson, California.
Although it has been modified and enhanced over the years, here’s what ended up on my list:
- Offer a one-year elective class (180 hours), open to seniors.
- Incorporate the latest technology in driver simulation (30 hours).
- Ensure our graduates have long, healthy careers by teaching them to reduce musculoskeletal injuries and providing health and nutrition curriculum.
- Include daily updates to ensure students keep on pulse with the industry: new technologies, legislative news, business and regulatory insights.
- Create meaningful industry connections and relationships through volunteer opportunities, field trips and guest speakers.
- Offer leadership development: soft skills, public speaking and accountability.
- Provide comprehensive pre-trip training that encompasses 180 parts.
- Offer Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) certification.
- Help launch careers through resume creation and interviewing training and practice.
It should be noted that students complete the ELDT (entry-level driver training) theory at PHS and then transfer to the district’s adult education program, where they will complete their behind-the-wheel training.
Why start training truck drivers in high school?
The beautiful advantage of incorporating a high school program that funnels into a private or publicly funded truck driving school is the amount of time that is opened up at the high school level for additional training.
Although we’re extremely pleased with the current high school training content at PHS, there is still so much more we can and should be teaching. In fact recently the question came up:
“What if we turned the current one-year program into a two-year program?”
What would we add to the curriculum wish list? How about:
- Entrepreneurship: The basics of how to start a trucking company;
- CPR and basic first aid certification;
- Personal finance;
- Electric and zero-emission vehicles : from an operators perspective; and
- Logistics and supply chain overview
We are acting upon that question and are currently in the process of developing the above curriculum. The end result will be a 530-hour program!
Ask yourself: What will my legacy be to future generations of drivers?
If we all are doing this for the right reasons, then the time is now to take action. Here’s my challenge to you:
If you are at a private or publicly funded truck driving school, take the initiative and reach out to your local high school to see if you can partner with them.
We have found that many high schools are receptive to the idea; it is just about educating them on how to do it. Our nonprofit, the Next Generation in Trucking Association, would love to be a part of that conversation and provide the necessary support. We also offer a free curriculum guide to member schools that outlines the entire high school curriculum, so there’s no need for you to re-create the wheel, so to speak.
As for Ryan, my CDL instructor from 1988, I really don’t know whatever happened to him. However, I do know that I’m a living example of the care and devotion that he poured into me. I carry that with me every day as I’m teaching in my classroom.
Dave Dein is the truck driving program coordinator and instructor at the Patterson High School Supply Chain and Logistics Training Center and the co-founder of the Next Generation in Trucking Association.
With a career spanning over three decades in the trucking industry, Dave has worked as a driver and a manager. He is also the founder of Faith Logistics, a nonprofit truck driving school ministry dedicated to providing career opportunities through trucking.
For the past 27 years, he has been a dedicated educator within the Patterson, California, Joint Unified School District, holding both multiple and single-subject teaching credentials.
His commitment to shaping the next generation of trucking professionals has earned him significant recognition, including being named the 2025 California and Region V Teacher of the Year.
27 years of driving experience