With a wave of the checkered flag and cheers from spectators, a semi drove through a ribbon to officially open the new Davis Technical College Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Driving Range in Clearfield, near the Freeport west campus.
The facility will expand the hands-on training needed for future commercial drivers.
“Today we mark the official opening of our new Commercial Driver License practice range,” said Davis Tech President Darin Brush. “A project that represents not only a significant step forward for our college, but it is also a powerful representation of the collaboration and community commitment that we enjoy as a college.”
Three years ago, a change in federal regulation required that CDL training organizations had to become registered or accredited and that led to a number of them getting out of the business, he said. “In fact, what it did is it created a training desert in this part of the state.”
Brush said Davis Tech responded to its industry partners when they said “this is a problem.”
“A grant from the governor’s office, at the time Talent Ready Utah, which was in the governor’s office, provided the first two years of money. With some startup money from Talent Ready Utah, we were able to do a couple of things to respond quickly to this need.”
First, Davis Tech hired some outstanding faculty with strong industry experience, he said. “The second was we could purchase the tractors and trailers that we need with that money. But the money didn’t allow us to do a couple of other things. Most importantly, it didn’t provide for the practice range that we needed because it was a capital project and the money couldn’t be used that way.”
Brush said Davis Tech provided classroom instruction and also routed the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) routes on the public roads and highways. “There was still that last piece we couldn’t get. We needed this. We needed to practice backing the big rigs up. We’ve been at Weber State Davis campus almost two years and in Layton right in a corner of the parking lot there.”
However, this wasn’t a permanent solution, he said. “It was only a temporary solution and so we got busy and we looked and we hit upon this location, and Davis School District was incredibly generous to us and said that they would love to have us as a co-occupant of this land.”
It was perfect, said Brush. “There was still one piece of the puzzle left and that was we needed to improve it. It was raw land and that’s when Clyde Companies and Geneva Rock stepped in. That allowed for the improvement of this property. Then, finally, that last piece was in place.”
Brush said the site for the next decade and beyond Davis Tech will train at least 1,000 commercial drivers. “These are the people we depend on almost every day for our quality of life.”
“This new truck driving range for Davis Tech is more than just a training facility,” said Tim Roper, Clearfield City councilman and director of member development for the Davis Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a launch pad. It’s where students just starting their careers can gain hands-on experience and enter one of the most critical industries in our economy.”
“Here at Geneva Rock, we employ over 500 CDL drivers,” said Geneva Rock President Ryan Dalling. “What that means is that every day, every morning, we have 500 good men and women get up and haul the critical infrastructure materials that this state needs to build. When I say critical infrastructure materials, I mean sand and gravel and rock and structural fill and asphalt that you see.”
It’s not only the commerce of the state that relies on CDL drivers, he said. “It’s all the building within the state. Without these CDL drivers, nothing gets built. Nothing. And so I just want to say that for all the drivers out there: we need you. Our company needs you.”
“Everything we see had to come via semi truck,” said Linda Watts, Davis Tech director of programs – transportation and manufacturing professions. “The chairs you’re sitting on, the clothes you're wearing, etc., all of this was somehow moved via a semi truck and a semi truck driver.”
John Thomas has been in the CDL program at Davis Tech for four weeks. “I’ve kind of always wanted to do it (drive),” he said. “I have friends who are truck drivers too, so I heard good things about it.”
The program is mostly hands-on and one-on-one training, said Thomas. “It lasts about four to six weeks long. (When I finish) I want to do excavation or dirt work. That’s what the company I work for does.”
Davis Tech’s mission statement is “We Change Lives,” said Watts. “What does CDL stand for? ‘Changing Drivers’ Lives,’ one student at a time, because that’s what we do here at Davis Tech.”