Q. Why did Joe create Excell Professional Driver Training?
Joe saw a need in the industry to help drivers and trucking companies become safer, more proficient and more profitable. With his 30 years of experience and his drive to be the best, Joe’s grasp of how to be safe in adverse conditions, and how to work smarter not harder on and off road can benefit all drivers regardless of experience, and all trucking companies regardless of size.
Q. What makes Joe an expert? What kind of experience does he have?
In Joe’s 30 years of driving truck, he’s hauled on 22% grades, known to loggers as beaver slides, and he’s hauled on roads with 7% outslope. He’s learned the tricks of the trade by doing. Now he wants to pass them onto you to help the industry that he loves become better, safer and more professional.
Q. What does Excell offer professional drivers?
Excell offers easy-to-understand, detailed training on safety, tricks of the trade and even concepts like basic physics to help drivers make the best decisions possible. It is up to each one of us to make the roads a safer place for truckers, trucking companies and the public at large. Excell offers affordable education for the professional that will save money, time and lives.
Q. What does Excell offer trucking companies?
Excell training can help trucking companies lower their chain bills substantially by teaching drivers how to properly install and use chains. Our training will also decrease the amount of damaged equipment, and vastly improve their safety records. Excell will help drivers become assets instead of liabilities, which helps a company’s bottom line.
Q. Why is it so important to be proficient at chain installation?
For starters, it gives the driver less opportunity to be injured or hit in chain control. Being proficient at installing your chains reduces traffic back ups, making the roads safer for everyone. And it also cuts down on downtime, therefore increasing profits.
Q. When is it OK to wait out chain control?
There are five very good reasons:
- Poor visibility.
- High winds.
- Equipment failure.
- Hours of service.
- Extreme traffic conditions.
Making the decision to hold off on traveling for any of these grounds is well within reason as a professional driver. Safety must come first. What is not professional is deciding to wait out chain control because you don’t want to, or don’t know how to install your chains properly. That’s why drivers need Excell’s in depth training.
Q. How fast can Joe install chains?
Joe can install the minimum required chains in 7 to 8 minutes if his tractor has chain racks. However, chain installation is about proficiency, not how fast you move. When Joe installs chains, he goes twice around the truck and then he’s off moving up the road.
Q. What is Joe's favorite snow chain and why?
A square link chain is Joe’s favorite for many reasons. They have more surface area that grips the road, giving drivers more traction and resistance. You can run on bare pavement and not damage or break your chains like you can with soft steel twisted link chains. Also, they’re universal, meaning you can use both sides of the chains, doubling the life of your chains. They are the only chains Joe trusts with his life on severe terrain, both on highway and off highway. (This is NOT a paid endorsement, but rather a well-seasoned professional driver’s opinion.)
Q. Which does Joe recommend: rolling forward or backward onto chains?
While Joe doesn’t have a set preference, he does make sure to use gravity to roll onto his chains, which in most cases means rolling backward. Plus, he can more easily watch oncoming traffic, which makes installing chains safer.
Q. How do I encourage my employer to provide Excell training for all of its drivers?
Excell offers discounted rates for multiple drivers. Recommend Excell Professional Driver Training to your manager or safety inspector and let them know that there’s a discounted group rate for training. Just by mentioning Excell, you are demonstrating your concern for safety and the well being of the company and its employees.
Q. If I want to refer back to something I learned during training, what do I do?
Excell offers manuals that cover the material in each training video we develop. The manuals are conveniently sized to ride in your truck for easy reference any time you need it. We have designed a simple format so that you can keep all of your Excell manuals in one handy place. Visit our store for pricing and availability.
