Issue #240 Bikers Trucking | Shift, Motorcycle, Training, Truck, Licence

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Issue #240 Bikers Trucking

Written by Nancy Irwin
Thursday, 27 March 2008
I don’t have statistics at hand but I can tell you that I’ve met a lot of big rig drivers over the years, and the reason they are so sympathetic to bikers is simple: at heart, they are bikers. From offering roadside assistance in remote places to blocking wind in bad weather, truckers have been my friends. Due to a recent career shift, it occurred to me that I could benefit from holding an Ontario D-class licence, which would allow me to operate “any truck or motor vehicle combination exceeding 11,000 kilograms provided the towed vehicle is not over 4,600 kg.” The category is one of 14 defined by the province’s Ministry of Transportation. So, I began looking in the Yellow Pages directory to see where I might learn to drive a truck. Anyone hoping to learn to ride a motorcycle can find many fine choices of accredited schools to attend. Most are reputable and training is normally offered at community colleges or at private facilities. This is in direct contrast to the sort of fly-by-night operations that I found in the Toronto phone book in the “truck driving schools” directory. The calls I placed to a selection of those establishments were answered by voices obviously speaking into cell phones while children were crying in the background. Another was fielded by someone smoking a cigarette with traffic driving by. There was something odd about three of four schools that I called—they seemed distinctly unprofessional. Only one offered training in standard transmission-equipped trucks and even there I was discouraged from pursuing D-class training. The suggestion was that I should instead consider a B-class licence (“Any school-purposes bus with designed seating capacity for more than 24 passengers.”) because that level supersedes D, or so I was told. Learning to shift would cost a couple hundred extra, and I was warned that my chances of having difficulty at the test centre were greater, so why not just go for the B? I was not impressed. I had almost exhausted the possibilities when I saw a school called shifters.ca. (www.shifters.ca) Aha! That was it. I mean, clearly, why pay to learn to drive a truck if you’re not also going to learn to shift? I called Shifters and spoke to owner Carlos Tomas, who by chance also holds a motorcycle licence. Carlos does not teach truck driving but he does train licenced car drivers how to properly operate standard transmissions. Many of his students are in the process of buying high performance sport cars or making plans for traveling abroad where most cars (including rentals) are standards. I told him of my plight and he recommended Toronto’s Humber College (www.humber.ca), saying the institution is the best and teaches only with standard transmission vehicles. That was good news, especially coming from a man who has taught at George Brown College, the Ontario Safety League and Young Drivers of Canada. With that portion of the business concluded, we got to talking about motorcycles. Guess what? People who ride motorcycles learn to drive manual shift cars much faster than others. Basically, we already know how to shift, plus we understand when to shift and why. However, some of us aren’t familiar with the automobile’s “H” shift pattern. Then I called Humber College where a receptionist confirmed the program teaches only with shift trucks. I got the run down on classes which cost considerably more than other courses but provide much longer class and in-truck sessions. I made a plan to head out to the college (located at the far edge of Toronto, right before you fall off the map) where I was to take a quick computer road quiz and fill in the appropriate blanks, assuring them that I already knew how to shift. Then I met Rick Mikula, program liaison officer for Humber College Transportation Training Centre. I sat in the chair across from him and immediately spied a photo of a dirt bike rider on the wall, a motorcycle calendar below that and on the other side a large, artist’s rendering of a group of dirt bikes enjoying a motocross track. I was beginning to feel perfectly at home here, but I had to ask: “This is the truck not the motorcycle department, right?” I pointed out to Mr. Mikula that there wasn’t a single truck photo on his walls. Oops. But trucking and biking have a lot in common, he assured me. You have to be extra attentive while operating either one. From there, he offered an overview of the specific truck-driving program I was interested in. He also mentioned that a B licence may indeed supersede a D. But if you’re looking for work and potential employers see that you have a B- not a D-class licence they know you earned the endorsement driving a school bus, not a commercial truck. The next question would then be: “Can you drive shift?” No shift experience equals no job. I was asked about my shifting experience, having clearly identified myself as a biker. It’s not just from riding a bike I assured Rick. I’ve spent years driving Volkswagens with manual transmissions and I currently clock enough kilometres per year (by motorcycle) to qualify for the course. This made me wonder what the school does about people who want to get their D-class licence but haven’t any shifting experience. Mikula told me there’s a company called Shifters who they recommend. I could see a circle forming. I told him about my conversation with Carlos and how we compared some of our preferred training routes. I explained what I do with new or refreshing bikers. That’s when I learned about more motorcycle courses. Rick (a dirt biker) believes everyone should learn in the dirt first. We discussed a new school at Horseshoe Valley where people can take beginner training. Then Rick called in Humber’s coordinator of motorcycle rider training John Reed, who brought with him a brochure that included the school’s new course for people who think they might want to ride a motorcycle. The three-hour Introduction to Motorcycling course has been designed to offer the curious a try in a controlled environment. It’s a teaser for sure but, priced at $75, it’s enough to discover whether or not you’re going to like the feel of a motorcycle. Humber also offers a three-hour ($145) course designed as a refresher for people who haven’t ridden in a while—$175 buys an advanced skills class. There’s also scooter training and two motorcycle maintenance courses. All this I learned from the office of the truck training department while “motivational photos” of bikers flashed across the computer screen. It seems bikers are everywhere. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.