Dump truck and garbage truck trainees learn proper driving and operating methods, load balancing, and safety checks. They must complete classroom training and ride with a qualified instructor before driving alone. Trainees must also learn to avoid hazards such as low passes, weight-restricted roads, and power lines.
A dump truck trainee rides along with a qualified dump truck driver and learns the proper method of driving and operating a dump truck. When loading, the dump truck trainee watches to ensure that the load is evenly placed on the truck. Tipping the dump truck, once loaded, is also usually left to the trainee. Once the truck arrives at the dump site, there are several things that must be done, such as checking for obstructions, hazards, and power lines. It usually takes a dump truck trainee to complete classroom training, plus many hours riding with a qualified instructor/driver before you can drive a dump truck yourself.
One of the first things a garbage truck trainee typically does is read a company policy manual on garbage truck drivers. Some companies will ask the driver to complete an exam, regardless of whether or not the student has graduated from a driving school or course. Once satisfied with the trainee’s skills, the trainee is assigned a qualified training driver. Learning the pre-op check is the first of several tasks the tipper truck apprentice will be taught. From the first meeting with the training driver, the trainee is usually responsible for maintaining and checking the dump truck.
It is common for the trainee driver to map all deliveries, avoiding low passes, weight-restricted roads and other hazards that may exist along the route. While on the way to a location, the trainer will usually ask the trainee questions about how things should be done. Much of the training relies on repetitive actions that become second nature to the trainee. Much of the critical training takes place when the truck dumps at the dump site.
Some of the most important training for any dump truck trainee concerns entering a busy location. There are several potential dangers in a given location and the dump truck trainee must always check all items. The overhead power lines are of great importance due to the height of the dump truck and the height increases as the tipper rises to unload the product. Many drivers and people on the ground were killed due to a dump truck becoming entangled in power lines. Obstacles on the ground are another danger the trainee faces, with drain fields, sidewalks and other fragile objects being obstacles to be avoided.
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