Truck driving instructor

Truck driving instructors teach people the theory and practice of how to operate a truck safely and according to regulations. They assist students in developing the skills needed to drive and prepare them for the driving theory tests and the practical driving test.

The duties of a truck driving instructor include, but are not limited to:

• Instructing students on safe driving practices, including rules of the road and defensive driving techniques
• Performing inspections on trucks and equipment to ensure they are in safe working condition
• Conducting driving tests to determine if candidates have met state requirements for obtaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL)
• Providing guidance on how to overcome challenges with driving maneuvers, such as backing up or shifting gears
• Explaining local and national regulations regarding the safe operation of commercial vehicles
• Observing students’ performance during driving lessons to identify areas for improvement
• Teaching new drivers about vehicle controls, inspection procedures, and proper driving techniques
• Coordinating with other instructors to ensure that all students receive adequate training
• Providing feedback on driving performance to students so they can improve their skills

The following job titles also refer to truck driving instructor:

lorry driver training instructor
driving instructor
HGV instructor
truck driving instructor
LGV instructor
commercial vehicle driving instructor
lorry driving training instructor
Cat C/C+E instructor
lorry driver instructor
truck driving training instructor
driver training instructor
truck driver instructor
driver education instructor
lorry driving instructor
truck driver training instructor
Cat C instructor

Truck driving instructors typically work full time, although some may work part time. They may work evenings and weekends to accommodate their students’ schedules. They typically work in trucking schools, but some may work for trucking companies.

Truck driving instructors may be exposed to fumes from the trucks, and they may be required to lift and carry heavy objects. They may also be required to travel away from home for long periods of time.

Most employers require truck driving instructors to have at least a high school diploma. Some employers prefer candidates who have a minimum of an associate’s degree in education, teaching or a related field.

Many companies require new truck drivers to complete a training program before they are allowed to drive on their own. These programs are often taught by experienced instructors who have worked in the trucking industry for many years. They teach new drivers how to operate a truck safely and efficiently, how to navigate the roads and how to handle common situations.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Truck driving instructor is a Skill level 2 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to truck driving instructor.

motorcycle instructor
bus driving instructor
car driving instructor
driving instructor
cargo vehicle driver

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of truck driving instructor. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of truck driving instructor with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

vessel steering instructor
outdoor activities instructor
lifeguard instructor
first aid instructor
survival instructor

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of truck driving instructor.

• Types of vehicles: Field of information which distinguishes rental agency classification systems, containing types and classes of vehicles and their functioning and components.
• Road traffic laws: Understand road traffic laws and the rules of the road.
• Mechanical components of vehicles: Know the mechanical components used in vehicles and identify and resolve potential malfunctions.
• Health and safety measures in transportation: The body of rules, procedures and regulations related to health and safety measures intended to prevent accidents or incidents in transportation.
• Types of vehicle engines: Types of car engines in road and racing cars, inclusing those with emerging technologies like Hybrids and electric motors, and how they work.
• Curriculum objectives: The goals identified in curricula and defined learning outcomes.

These skills are necessary for the role of truck driving instructor.

• Guarantee students’ safety: Ensure all students falling under an instructor or other person’s supervision are safe and accounted for. Follow safety precautions in the learning situation.
• Control the performance of the vehicle: Understand and anticipate the performance and behaviour of a vehicle. Comprehend concepts such as lateral stability, acceleration, and braking distance.
• Monitor developments in field of expertise: Keep up with new research, regulations, and other significant changes, labour market related or otherwise, occurring within the field of specialisation.
• Drive vehicles: Be able to drive vehicles; have the approapriate type of driving license according to the type of motor vehicle used.
• Observe student’s progress: Follow up on students’ learning progress and assess their achievements and needs.
• Show consideration for student’s situation: Take students’ personal backgrounds into consideration when teaching, showing empathy and respect.
• Diagnose problems with vehicles: Diagnose issues with vehicles and assess the efforts and costs required to resolve them.
• Adapt teaching to student’s capabilities: Identify the learning struggles and successes of students. Select teaching and learning strategies that support students’ individual learning needs and goals.
• Apply teaching strategies: Employ various approaches, learning styles, and channels to instruct students, such as communicating content in terms they can understand, organising talking points for clarity, and repeating arguments when necessary. Use a wide range of teaching devices and methodologies appropriate to the class content, the learners’ level, goals, and priorities.
• Adapt to new technology used in cars: Adapt to new technology integrated in cars; understand systems operation and provide troubleshooting.
• Ensure vehicle operability: Keep the vehicle clean and in roadworthy condition. Ensure regular maintenance of the vehicle and provide valid official documents such as licenses and permits where appropriate.
• Teach driving practices: Instruct students in the practice of driving a vehicle such as a bus, taxi, truck, motorcycle or tractor safely, practice mechanical operation on roads with little traffic, and promote an anticipatory way of driving. Recognise the student’s difficulties and repeat the learning steps until the student feels at ease. Plan routes on different types of roads, during rush hour or at night.
• Give constructive feedback: Provide founded feedback through both criticism and praise in a respectful, clear, and consistent manner. Highlight achievements as well as mistakes and set up methods of formative assessment to evaluate work.
• Interpret traffic signals: Observe lights on the road, road conditions, nearby traffic, and prescribed speed limits to ensure safety. Interpret traffic signals and act accordingly.
• Park vehicles: Park motorised vehicles without compromising the integrity of vehicles and safety of people.
• Ensure vehicles are equipped with accessibility equipment: Ensure that the vehicle is equipped with accessibility equipment such as passenger lift, seat belts, restraining harnesses, and wheelchair clamps or webbing straps.
• Assist students in their learning: Support and coach students in their work, give learners practical support and encouragement.
• Apply health and safety standards: Adhere to standards of hygiene and safety established by respective authorities.
• Encourage students to acknowledge their achievements: Stimulate students to appreciate their own achievements and actions to nurture confidence and educational growth.
• Perform defensive driving: Drive defensively to maximise road safety and save time, money, and lives; anticipate the actions of other road users.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of truck driving instructor. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Customer service: Processes and principles related to the customer, client, service user and to personal services; these may include procedures to evaluate customer’s or service user’s satisfaction.
• Operation of different engines: Know the characteristics, maintenance requirements and operating procedures of various kinds of engines such as gas, diesel, electrical, and engines with steam propulsion plants.
• Adult education: Instruction targeted at adult students, both in a recreational and in an academic context, for self-improvement purposes, or to better equip the students for the labour market.
• Learning difficulties: The learning disorders some students face in an academic context, especially Specific Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and concentration deficit disorders.
• Driving examinations: The components, regulations, and properties of theoretical and practical driving tests.
• Mechanics of motor vehicles: The way energy forces interact and affect components in motor vehicles such as cars, buses, invalid carriages and other motorised vehicles.
• Driver’s license structure: The different types of driver’s licenses, the procedures for obtaining them, and which vehicles may be driven holding each type. Any special conditions or responsibilities tied to a driver’s license.
• Mechanics: Theoretical and practical applications of the science studying the action of displacements and forces on physical bodies to the development of machinery and mechanical devices.
• Engine components: Know the different engine components, and their operation and maintenance. Understand when repairs and replacement should be undertaken.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of truck driving instructor. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Drive in urban areas: Drive vehicles in urban areas. Interpret and understand transit signs in a city, the regulation of traffic, and the related common automobility agreements in an urban area.
• Read maps: Read maps effectively.
• Assess students: Evaluate the students’ (academic) progress, achievements, course knowledge and skills through assignments, tests, and examinations. Diagnose their needs and track their progress, strengths, and weaknesses. Formulate a summative statement of the goals the student achieved.
• Manoeuvre heavy trucks: Drive, manoeuvre and park tractors, trailers and lorries on roads, around tight corners, and in parking spaces.
• Demonstrate when teaching: Present to others examples of your experience, skills, and competences that are appropriate to specific learning content to help students in their learning.
• Teach driving theory: Use didactic ways to educate on road traffic laws, on the appropriate driving behaviour, on authorisation requirements for vehicles and trailers, on the operation of different types of vehicles, and on the dangers of road travel.
• Use geographic memory: Use your memory of geographic surroundings and detail in navigation.
• Provide lesson materials: Ensure that the necessary materials for teaching a class, such as visual aids, are prepared, up-to-date, and present in the instruction space.
• Operate an emergency communication system: Efficiently operate common communication systems used in emergencies, such as base station mobile transmitters and receivers, portable transmitters and receivers, repeaters, cellular phones, pagers, automated vehicle locators, and satellite phones as required.

5165 – Driving instructors

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References

1. Truck driving instructor – ESCO
2. Truck Driver Job Description: Salary, Duties, & More – Climb the Ladder
3. Featured image: By EliannahK – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0