Truck on ... safely: companies prepare road warriors for every situation.

• Author: Cutler, Debbie
• Position: TRANSPORTATION - Editorial

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The pressure is on.

I'm at Carlile Transportation Systems' Anchorage training center, about to test out their truck simulator. It teaches new truckers, and enhances the skills of experienced drivers in, safety and preparedness on harsh Alaska roads.

I know another media person came before me to try her skills on the one-of-a-kind machine in Alaska--months before. She did so well she was offered a job working as a truck driver. All I want to do is survive the road.

I jump into the driver's seat, fasten my seatbelt, while beside me sits coach John McCoy, manager of driving training. He has overseen the simulator hundreds of times, if not thousands, on average 20 to 25 per week. He knows how easy it is to crash and burn. But it's the simple stuff that gets to you. Brake too hard, drive too fast, don't use mirrors or turn signals, forget to turn wide around corners or watch traffic around you.

He puts me through all the elements, snow, sleet, ice and rain. We drive through traffic, on freeways and in the mountains.

A motorcycle runs into me from behind and flips off the road. The motorcyclist's fault, but mine, too, for not watching.

As I drive on ice around a steep curve on a cliff, I see my speed is too fast for the conditions. I slide and swerve, then brake fast. But much too late as I head downward in a tumble, just as McCoy turns off the system to prevent me from seeing me land and roll to certain death. I'm not offered a job.

SAFETY FIRST

Carlile has about 20 driver instructors companywide throughout their 11 terminals (seven in Alaska), and safety is always the name of the game.

The show "Ice Road Truckers," in which Carlile is star, is fun and flashy, but when it comes to their drivers, in reality it's safety first and foremost.

Drivers receive continuous training. Doesn't matter if you are new or a longtime staff member. You train, train, train and then train some more. "Training never ends," says Harry McDonald, chief executive officer.

For a new driver, it may mean a year-long program of watching safety videos, doing simulator work and driving with the pros. About seven to eight new drivers are trained per month at the Anchorage facility, about 10 statewide. For the long-term drivers, and also newcomers, there's some of the same, but also safety awards, remedial training, hazardous material training, toolbox meetings.

The total driver pool is 400 and company turnover is low, less than 30 percent, much less than the national rate of more than 100 percent, says McDonald. Pay is good, between $60,000 and $120,000 a year, depending on experience.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"We try to train ASAP," McCoy says. "Good drivers are hard to come by. There might be one or two in a class."

Truckers from different regions and experiences ask...