The driver was referred to psychologist Bill McConochie, Ph.D., for an evaluation. Testing with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (Revised) revealed an I.Q. of only 79, in the borderline retardation range. The driver simply was not smart enough to learn and remember the many details of flatbed load-handling.  The trucking company had to let him go and the driver found a job with a company that did only local hauling with vans.

A month later, the owners of the company asked Dr. McConochie about the feasibility of developing a paper-and-pencil test for screening truck driver job applicants. Their firm serves eleven western states and employs about 100 flatbed and other truck drivers.  At the time, they were growing and having difficulty finding good drivers by traditional screening techniques. Hiring and trying to train drivers who weren't qualified was wasteful and expensive.

Interstate flatbedding in particular is especially demanding, requiring skills for securing a wide variety of loads.  This trucking company's drivers are typically out on the road for a week at a time, and must be able to supervise the loading and unloading of a changing variety of freight on their trailers without immediate supervision.

This company has a Mayflower franchise with several household goods drivers. They also have some loboy drivers. Their flatbeds carry liquids in rubber bags on some routes. Thus, they needed a test which would enable them to assess applicants for a wide variety of heavy trucking jobs.  This research and need helped produce the first version of our configurable multi-section truck driver test.

Updating for the Fortune 100

In 2001, we found ourselves presented with another challenge: Updating and customizing the exam to meet the needs of a major Fortune 100 company.  This company has over $35 billion in annual revenue and nearly 2,000 stores across the United States and Canada.  The company had requested that we modify the exam to fit their particular testing situation for hiring drivers.  This included customizing the exam to be seamlessly integrated with their intranet as well as configuring test sections relevant to their operations and re-calibrating the exam with their drivers and company needs in mind.  The needs also included coordinating and standardizing the exam administration among numerous physical locations.

Through our partnership with this Fortune 100 company, we were able to begin development on many of the tools used on this website today.  These include automating the exam process and making the administration and analysis of results as easy and problem-free as possible.  The requirements brought us to create a testing system where administrators can easily add driver accounts and administer the exam online with just a couple steps.

We also developed a host of reporting tools to aid administrators in analyzing the data after the exam is taken by the driver.  These sort of tools include numerous online charts and graphs detailing a driver's strengths and weaknesses as well as downloadable Excel spreadsheet documents containing current and historical driver data.

In response the the varying needs of the multiple test locations, we developed a dual testing system which includes the option to administer an exam online or administer a paper version of the same exam and score the exam through an automated Scantron-like system.  This system duality gave the flexibility in infrastructure to administer the same exam whether or not a testing location had appropriate computer and internet resources.

Building A Nationwide Product

Both the testing system technology and the exam itself that we use on this website have come together based on years of research, development, customer feedback, and improvements.

In building TruckDriverExam.com, we approached the project with the end user and the administrator in mind.  The tools we added for this site are designed to give the test administrator an easy interface from which he or she can effectively administer multiple truck driver exams and make sense of the results.  That is why our testing process is not more complicated than it is and our reports do not provide you with stacks of irrelevant information.  Our tools and process are to-the-point giving you the tools you need to be effective in your test administration.