But this crowd of schools makes our job even more difficult. The problem remains—how to choose the right school? Despite this huge number of Truck Driving Schools in the country, there are few indeed which have met the highest standards.

Schools can be divided into three types—schools licensed by the state, which means that the school has met the minimum standards set by the state; certified schools, which means that it has met the standards of skill, knowledge, and curriculum set by Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI) of Virginia; and accredited schools, which have the highest standards as they are approved and accredited by the US Department of Education.

Truck Driving Schools usually offer a mixture of classroom and on-road lessons. After imparting and making the students strong in the basics of truck driving, they take them out to the road to get real hands-on experience. Good schools also offer hours of one-to-one driving practice on well-maintained machines.

Some schools which not only offer truck driving training but also help assist in further internships and placements include the following—Fox Valley Technical College, SAGE, Diesel Driving Academy, Isothermal Community College, LCTI Professional Truck Driving School, KIM Richardson Transportation Specialists, Western Pacific Truck School, Georgia Driving Academy, and American Truck Driving School.

Accredited Driving Schools such as Diesel Driving Academy, National Truck Drivers School, International Institute of Transportation Resource, Inc, and Georgia Driving Academy offer placement opportunities. Georgia Driving Academy provides ‘pre-hire employment offers’ even before graduation.

SAGE has earned the reputation of being among the top Truck Driving Schools in the country. It provides both beginners as well as advanced driving courses, and helps its students to develop their profiles and get placements in established companies.

Finding Truck Driving Schools on the World Wide Web

These can be found using a search engine like Bing, Google or Ask.com. The search results you get will tell you something. If you feel like you have reached an actual school, then your looking good. You’ll notice very little advertisements on the home page. If you get the feeling like you have reached a web site that was set up to advertise for the benefit of many other schools, then your probably right. Your dealing with an advertiser. Not someone that is going to train you. A little more attention to detail is needed. You should be watching out for yourself on these types of site. Ultimately, they are at the top of the rankings for good reason so you may still find a quality truck driving school here.

How About the Yellow Pages.

This can be a great way to find a truck driving school. You can even search the yellow pages on the internet. The nice thing here is that the companies listed in the yellow pages have to pay for their ad space. That will usually rule out the fly by night operations.

Find Trucking Magazines and Other Printed Media Publications.

Like the yellow pages, schools that advertise in magazines have paid for advertising space. This again rules out the fly by night operations. Also, the advertising terms can be shorter, so the chance of seeing a printed ad and then finding out the company has closed up shop is unlikely.

Advertisements or Training Truck Logo’s

Almost all truck driving schools will put signs on their training equipment. Also, you can watch the training process in action. This is also an absolutely excellent way to spot a few things about the truck driving school itself. Consider the condition of the training equipment. The condition of the equipment can be a sign of how well the school takes care of its students. Also, Is the equipment out dated? Most major carrier use late model equipment. It will be a tough transition if you’ve learned on an old truck.

Career Centers and Workforce Service Locations

This is probably the least used but can be the best option for finding a quality truck driving school. Workforce service centers specialize in helping people find employment. They also know where you can go to get the training you need for the job you want. Workforce service centers only work with legitimate truck driving schools that have a positive reputation in the community, making this an excellent resource for finding a truck driving school.