SMITH & SOLOMON INVESTS HEAVILY IN THEIR FLEET

LINDEN, NEW JERSEY—With the demand for CDL drivers ever increasing Smith & Solomon Commercial Driver Training,  a leading East Coast school with more than 25 years of training experience and  30,000 graduates, has announced the acquisition of a fleet of 22 Columbia Class Freightliner trucks and Great Dane dry freight trailers for its training programs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

The new tractor trailer fleet will replace vehicles currently being used for open road commercial driver training at Smith & Solomon’s centers in Linden, Edison, Bordentown and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, New Castle, Delaware and in Philadelphia, Norristown and DuPont, Pennsylvania. The acquisition reflects the school’s commitment to provide top quality professional training on modern equipment, which is representative of equipment being used by major trucking companies nationwide. The Freightliners feature Detroit 60-Series engines with Eaton 10-speed manual transmissions. The engines are equipped with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valves which significantly reduce exhaust emissions. In addition to the EGR valves, the engines are programmed to shut down after two minutes of idling. This feature reduces emissions and fuel consumption. The new equipment will provide students with a training platform to gain the experience needed to qualify for careers in the trucking industry today.

“Top trucking companies update their fleets often in order to cycle out the old and stay current with technology. So likewise, we need to do the same in order for our graduates to be more job-ready and to uphold our philosophy of putting the safest drivers on the road,” notes John  Diab, Jr., at Smith & Solomon in Linden. “Essentially, the new equipment is more representative of steering systems and shifting patterns found on equipment used in company fleets and logistics companies throughout the country.  When our students start driving for a company and go through its orientation, they’ll be right at home with the vehicles,” he added.

Providing a student with a driving experience as close to the real thing isn’t the only benefit of the acquisition, said Diab. “Not only is the new fleet more technologically advanced , safer and cleaner, it also better meets air quality emission standards” he pointed out.

This  major investment in acquiring a new fleet is only one of the many differences that set Smith & Solomon apart from other training schools. In addition to training for commercial drivers licenses for tractor trailer, straight truck and bus, the Linden-New Jersey based company also offers corporate and government defensive driver and driver evaluation courses, “train the trainer” programs, OSHA forklift training and U.S. Department of Transportation Regulation Compliance Consulting.