USTDS easily offers the skills a driver needs to receive your Commercial Driver's License. You'll get plenty of driving time in a variety of settings to round out your experience. I was lucky enough to be paired up with Norm, the most experienced instructor in the school, with over 40+ years of long-haul trucking under his belt. He has an outstanding, highly professional, and affable demeanor which perfectly suits him to the teaching position. Never flustered, Norm has endless amounts of patience. Put the truck in harm's way or a hairy spot downtown...it doesn't faze him. Nothing shook his nerves or pushed his buttons. That's exactly the kind of teacher you want for something like truck driving. A virtual Yoda, if you can get Norm as your lead instructor, you'll be set.

I had a great time driving the truck, and the school experience was overwhelmingly positive. USTDS has great relationships with local and National trucking companies, and you could easily have a job waiting for you when you get your CDL through the job fair/luncheon they host. That was an excellent opportunity for folks in need of a job.

The negatives of the school, while few, are issues that could (and should) be easily remedied. The school trucks are pretty dated (1980's models mostly), and though they run very well, they could use a serious upgrade. Mine didn't have even basic accessories like a cup holder, and the clutch just about wore out my left leg. That may sound trivial, but it won't after 4-5 hrs of solid driving every day for 3 wks. The headlights on my truck were so clouded and dim that they were fairly useless when driving at night. Slightly newer trucks with updated interiors would be welcome, but a deep cleaning would be a great start.

The vehicle condition is indicative of the areas of the school that need improvements. Broken windows, absurdly low ceilings, decrepit old trailers, cracked toilet lids, and general disrepair on the school grounds do take the otherwise high professionalism down a notch.

The gravel/dirt "yard," where you practice driving, shifting, clutching, backing and parking skills before hitting the streets should be a terrific practice space. Unfortunately, it's filled with a myriad of pot holes, lumps and bumps. 18 wheelers don't normally drive off-road too much, so I'm not sure this condition helps students out in any way.

Some of the instructors are what I'd call a little rough around the edges in personality and appearance. While they generally seem to have the experience and knowledge required, not all have the disposition or highest levels of professionalism required to teach. I know we're talking about truck driving here, and not some fancy blue collar office job, but that doesn't mean it should live up to the old stereotypes either.

That seems like a lot of negatives, but honestly, they are fairly minor in the big picture, and this school will get you where you need to be with CDL in hand.