Originally published at: Bring Back the Real CDL Training – Revisiting the Smith System in a World of Corners Cut - FreightWaves
When I first stepped into CDL school more than two decades ago, there was one thing that stuck with me—not just for the test, not just for the road exam—but something that still rides with me every single mile: the Smith System. They didn’t just teach it. They drilled it. Burned it into our brains…
I was also trained using this system 33 yrs ago.
I have over 2,000,000 safe miles.
The problem now? It won’t work because these idiots are too busy looking at Facebook riding down the road, or watching a movie. It is not the same.
Speak for yourself, I’m personally reading FW articles while I drive.
The problem is the system was good when it was first done. In the last 30 years the system has become so outdated that it is obsolete. People drive differently now. Vehicles are different now. The system doesnt even account for people in a rush, which everybody is. Nothing is what it was when the system was made.
How has safe driving become “outdated”? That doesn’t even make sense.