PTD - Professional Truck Driving

This course introduces students to the trucking and transportation industry. Classroom instruction will help prepare students to take the Department of Licensing Knowledge exams. Classroom instruction will follow subjects in the Washington State Commercial Drivers Guide along with standard curriculum units set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Units covered are A1.1 Basic Operation, A1.2 Safe Operating Procedures, A1.3 Advance Operating Practices, A1.4 Vehicle Systems and Reporting Malfunctions, and A1.5 Non-Driving Activities. Students will demonstrate knowledge by earning a minimum score of 80 percent on theory assessments. This course also covers the Washington State required 40 hours of classroom training and .5 hours of Instruction on Truckers Against Trafficking.

This course covers the importance and process of vehicle/pre-trip inspections, techniques to couple and uncouple tractor trailers, hours of service (HOS) requirements, and extreme driving conditions. Students will receive instruction and become proficient with straight line, alley dock and off-set backing. Students will also have the opportunity to become proficient with parallel parking on the sight and blind side of vehicle while demonstrating the need to get out and look (GOAL). Behind the Wheel (BTW) Public Road training will provide students with instruction and experience on shifting transmissions, double clutching, visual search, speed and space management, communications/signaling and safe driver behavior. Upon completion, the student should be able to perform vehicle/pre-trip inspections, demonstrate the ability to perform backing maneuvers and safely operate a Class A Commercial Vehicle on public roadways. This course also covers Washington State required 18 hours of street driving training, 16 hours of training in backing maneuvers, 16 hours of proficiency development, and 70 hours of combined lab training, range training, and observation.